I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 6, 2014 at 5:21pm

Hard to say without knowing more. Is the coop protected from the wind? Properly enclosed? Are they hardy North American breeds or more fancy breeds?

If you are concerned, put them all in a big cardboard box (big enough to fit them all) and put that inside or in the basement. Anything out of the cold should be fine. You can close the box, just leave a small opening for them to breath. They should survive the night without water or food.

Good luck

h' 1.0 said:

I am the backup chicken tender for my tenant's chickens while they are away.

Tonight I changed the water but really couldn't do much else in the dark and cold.

I opened the top to see if there were eggs and they were all huddled together in one big ball, making pathetic little coo-squeeks.  So I closed it back up (probably cost them a bunch of heat.)

Do you think they're in danger?

Duppie said:

The chickens are fine. They are cooped up all day on days like today. Their coop is insulated, so it is a balmy 18 degrees in there. They just sit on the roost with their feathers puffed up. We just need to change their water 2-3 times a day.

While 16 degrees might sound cold for chickens, they usually go outside for extended periods when it is 16 degrees, so they are used to that.

Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

Phew! How are the chickens?

Duppie said:

Nope. Working from home. Went out to check on the chickens dressed only in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and promptly locked myself out. Luckily, Mrs. Duppie was home and saved me from becoming a statistic...

Permalink Reply by Anika on January 6, 2014 at 5:57pm


Duppie said:

Hard to say without knowing more. Is the coop protected from the wind? Properly enclosed? Are they hardy North American breeds or more fancy breeds?

If you are concerned, put them all in a big cardboard box (big enough to fit them all) and put that inside or in the basement. Anything out of the cold should be fine. You can close the box, just leave a small opening for them to breath. They should survive the night without water or food.

Good luck

h' 1.0 said:

I am the backup chicken tender for my tenant's chickens while they are away.

Tonight I changed the water but really couldn't do much else in the dark and cold.

I opened the top to see if there were eggs and they were all huddled together in one big ball, making pathetic little coo-squeeks.  So I closed it back up (probably cost them a bunch of heat.)

Do you think they're in danger?

Duppie said:

The chickens are fine. They are cooped up all day on days like today. Their coop is insulated, so it is a balmy 18 degrees in there. They just sit on the roost with their feathers puffed up. We just need to change their water 2-3 times a day.

While 16 degrees might sound cold for chickens, they usually go outside for extended periods when it is 16 degrees, so they are used to that.

Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

Phew! How are the chickens?

Duppie said:

Nope. Working from home. Went out to check on the chickens dressed only in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and promptly locked myself out. Luckily, Mrs. Duppie was home and saved me from becoming a statistic...


Was the water solid when you checked on them? If not, they are probably fine. It's more about wind protection than actual cold. Huddling helps them maintain body temps. Tossing them something rich and fatty (like scratch) also helps bring up body temp. Warm oatmeal goes a long way as well. It's unlikely there are eggs in there though - ours are saving all their energy for keeping warm.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 7, 2014 at 2:41am
13 of them? are they running a cockfighting ring?

I agree that you are not going to move 13 chickens.

How are they doing this morning? Ours are fine, if a bit grumpy.

h' 1.0 said:

Thanks guys.

The top part where they are huddled is enclosed/protected from the wind, and the coop is in a lot between two buildings.

There are 13 of them and I ain't going back out tonight, so no cardboard boxes in basements.

I went over to change the water out from an ice block to a more  liquidy kind of water. Guessing it had been frozen since yesterday evening. One chicken came down when I was changing it but I had to struggle a bit to secure it and he went back up (OK, pretty guaranteed not to be a "he" I guess.)

I guess I was surprised that they weren't all excited about the water like they were last time I changed it on Christmas day.  Maybe because it was dark out?



Anika said:



Duppie said:

Hard to say without knowing more. Is the coop protected from the wind? Properly enclosed? Are they hardy North American breeds or more fancy breeds?

If you are concerned, put them all in a big cardboard box (big enough to fit them all) and put that inside or in the basement. Anything out of the cold should be fine. You can close the box, just leave a small opening for them to breath. They should survive the night without water or food.

Good luck

h' 1.0 said:

I am the backup chicken tender for my tenant's chickens while they are away.

Tonight I changed the water but really couldn't do much else in the dark and cold.

I opened the top to see if there were eggs and they were all huddled together in one big ball, making pathetic little coo-squeeks.  So I closed it back up (probably cost them a bunch of heat.)

Do you think they're in danger?

Duppie said:

The chickens are fine. They are cooped up all day on days like today. Their coop is insulated, so it is a balmy 18 degrees in there. They just sit on the roost with their feathers puffed up. We just need to change their water 2-3 times a day.

While 16 degrees might sound cold for chickens, they usually go outside for extended periods when it is 16 degrees, so they are used to that.

Sarah D. 1-3.3 said:

Phew! How are the chickens?

Duppie said:

Nope. Working from home. Went out to check on the chickens dressed only in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and promptly locked myself out. Luckily, Mrs. Duppie was home and saved me from becoming a statistic...


Was the water solid when you checked on them? If not, they are probably fine. It's more about wind protection than actual cold. Huddling helps them maintain body temps. Tossing them something rich and fatty (like scratch) also helps bring up body temp. Warm oatmeal goes a long way as well. It's unlikely there are eggs in there though - ours are saving all their energy for keeping warm.
Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 7, 2014 at 2:46am

I'm not riding today, so I guess I can discuss chickens instead. How does one tell if a chicken is grumpy?

Duppie said:

Ours are fine, if a bit grumpy.
Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 7, 2014 at 5:17am

I'm learning so much about chickens!

As for riding, I rode again today and it was noticeably warmer.  Went to Walgreens to get hand warmers, but they were out.  I bought a Thermacare heating pad (the kind people buy for neck pain) and cut it up into a few pieces.  It fit into my lobster gloves perfectly and fingers were very cozy. 

I'm looking forward to getting the bike lanes and side streets back once it's not so cold out. Other than that, I don't think the cold was too bad.

Permalink Reply by Barclor on January 7, 2014 at 5:40am

Yes.
My only issue is my goggles fog up and then freeze. But I was toasty warm!

Permalink Reply by Eric R on January 7, 2014 at 5:59am

Yes but it was uncomfortable. My DIY hand warmers (microwaved uncooked rice in small cloth pouches, since I'm all out of legit hand warmers) helped my hands but my toes were numb by the time I walked into the office building.

Ski goggles also froze over after about ten minutes.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 7, 2014 at 6:23am

If you are a pet owner, you simply know what your pet is thinking by the way he interacts with you, right? You end up vocalizing his thoughts, even though those thoughts are more what you would think if you were a pet.  Similar with chickens. When I say they are a bit grumpy, I really mean that if I were a chicken I would be grumpy this morning, after spending the night in a 17 degrees coop. I just interpreted their clucking and shaking of their feathers that they were grumpy.

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

I'm not riding today, so I guess I can discuss chickens instead. How does one tell if a chicken is grumpy?

Duppie said:

Ours are fine, if a bit grumpy.
Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 7, 2014 at 6:39am

1-7-14 Bike Commute: -7 Degrees and -30 Wind Chill 1 Minute Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VmKP4Iqc-k&feature=c4-overview...

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 7, 2014 at 6:44am

I did not ride yesterday because the windchill was hovering at about -45 and I thought, that's just crazy. I didn't need to be in the office for anything, so I just worked from home.  I walked around in it for about 20 minutes and decided that -45 windchill does in fact feel qualitatively different than -25 windchill. 

So when I saw that today's forecast was for not less than -30 windchill, I jumped at the chance. That and the fact I needed to be in the Loop for something at 9:30. I have a comparatively short commute of only 4 miles each way.

It still feels really cold. I was pretty well covered up, but one errant breath resulted in my sunglasses completely fogging over and freezing. When my nose went from being uncomfortable to comfortable, I didn't know if this was the result of increased capillary action or if it had in fact turned black and fallen off (it didn't). My hands stayed comfortable with snowmobile gloves and pogies. Zip ties securing a basket to my rear rack became brittle enough to break. Small bits of snow on the road are as hard as granite. I hope my bike is fit for the ride home. 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 7, 2014 at 6:48am

Gene--looks very pretty.  Thanks for sharing.  I am still not riding.  Found my threshhold, I guess. 

Permalink Reply by Thomas Bruzan on January 7, 2014 at 7:22am

The zip ties holding my cycle computer broke this morning. Pretty ride though.

Kevin C said:

I did not ride yesterday because the windchill was hovering at about -45 and I thought, that's just crazy. I didn't need to be in the office for anything, so I just worked from home.  I walked around in it for about 20 minutes and decided that -45 windchill does in fact feel qualitatively different than -25 windchill. 

So when I saw that today's forecast was for not less than -30 windchill, I jumped at the chance. That and the fact I needed to be in the Loop for something at 9:30. I have a comparatively short commute of only 4 miles each way.

It still feels really cold. I was pretty well covered up, but one errant breath resulted in my sunglasses completely fogging over and freezing. When my nose went from being uncomfortable to comfortable, I didn't know if this was the result of increased capillary action or if it had in fact turned black and fallen off (it didn't). My hands stayed comfortable with snowmobile gloves and pogies. Zip ties securing a basket to my rear rack became brittle enough to break. Small bits of snow on the road are as hard as granite. I hope my bike is fit for the ride home. 

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