Here in the south where we live, there are not many times in the winter when you have to think deeply about how to protect your fine feathered friends, since it is rare to experience temperatures lower than 20 degrees.  As of this writing however, we had a record low of 11 degrees last night and we are expecting temperatures to be around 17 tonight.  I must admit that I am not fond of cold weather and so glad that I do not live any further north than I already do.  

Sadly, I must say that last night, I lost one of my girls and will say goodbye to my sweet little tenacious Golden Laced Wyandotte (pictured).  She has been with me for 3 years now and donated many eggs to my table.  I always hate to lose a good egg layer and especially since my chickens are also my pets as well, then there is a deeper loss.  I always feel bad when I lose a hen, and wonder if there was something more I could have done.  

Since my chickens are  in an extremely large barn, then it is next to impossible to add artificial heat, however after last night, I am beginning to think of ways to enclose a small section to run them into when we have rare nights like this.  It was difficult to sleep myself last night, wondering how my little hens would fare in the weather, so I jumped out of bed this morning, and ran right to the kitchen to make a batch of warm oatmeal to carry to them.

Walter had gone up earlier to carry them some water, since the water that was there was frozen.  He came back and reported that we lost one hen.  Since losing only one out of 25, I suspect that she had another issue going on and that the cold weather was just the "straw that broke the camel's back" so to speak.

2.  Boost their feed intake.  Chickens can produce more body heat after eating scratch grains.  But be sure not to make scratch grains their complete diet since there will be inadequate nutrition.  Continue with their normal feedings, but just give them a little extra scratch feed in the cold days.  This will provide more heat and also help them to put on a  little more fat for the cold winter, which is also a protection from the weather.

And as mentioned above, carry them a little treat of homemade oatmeal.  Adding milk to the oatmeal will also provide extra protein, and chickens seem to never get enough protein. 

3.  Protect combs and wattles.  This is not my picture (click here for picture credit), but I'm including it to show you what frostbite looks like.  Notice the dark areas on top of the comb and the the lower parts of the wattles.  To protect against this, consider rubbing petroleum jelly on their combs and wattles.

Ah, you might say, "there is no way to catch all my chickens, it would create trauma for them."  That is true, I agree, but the alternative will also create trauma for them if they endure frostbite.  So here is a better way to catch them.  

I've noticed that I can do anything that I need to do to my chickens after they go on the roost in the late evening.  They are like "sitting ducks" so to speak and they do not fly or try to get away from you, so just go down the roost and rub some petroleum jelly on each one.

4.  Keep the coop warm.  Consider draftiness and how you can eliminate this, but remember that if closed too tightly then necessary oxygen may be depleted.  Make sure their roost is wide enough so that they can crouch down onto their feet to keep warmer.  I use a flat 2x4 so that their toes will be straight and then they can settle down onto their feet and legs.  Never use metal roosts since this will be even colder.  If your coop is small then surround the coop with many hay bales.  Never add a heater to the coop that may allow a chicken to catch feathers on fire and burn down the whole building.  This is tragic.   If you do decide to add heat, you must be very careful not to create too much heat as this can also be stressful on the chickens.  Put a thermometer on the roost somewhere to see how you added heat is effecting the temperature.   Provide sunny areas out from under trees so that they can get into the sun as soon as possible.

5.  And finally, don't forget to gather your eggs regularly.  Eggs can freeze just like their water freezes, and then you won't be able to enjoy them.  

Aren't we blessed by God to have such amazing creatures as sweet little hens who provide us with EGGstravagant eggs for a healthy diet, one that provides many many nutrients.  Check out this link on the benefits of eggs from The World's Healthiest Foods.

Do you have other ideas on how to keep the flock protected from the cold?  Please leave your comments.  Thanks!

As many of you know, my flock of hens had grown to around 50 and I thoroughly enjoyed caring for them and selling eggs.  I even had two hens, Scarlet and Carlos, that stayed close to the house all the time.  

About a month ago a pack of dogs killed Carlos at the house (but it was not even the first attack) leaving me to work with Scarlet to integrate her within my flock of hens or finding a new home since they are social creatures.  She would not fit into my flock and so Scarlet was relocated through the work of my friend, Debbie B. where she was accepted.  

Immediately after that was done, the pack of dogs returned and this time broke into the chain link fence by pushing the gate hard enough to bend the latch.  I can't tell you the devastation they left behind.  I was in tears for days over the loss of half the flock as they were actually considered pets but also they were a $2,000 loss according to estimates.  The horror of seeing the poor suffering hens with the flesh torn off their bodies and still alive was more than I could stand.  We shot and killed one dog that was still in the pen and the others were tracked down but did escape.  I needed a friend at that point and Debbie B. again comes to the rescue.  We loaded up chickens and carried to the vet.  Some were euthanized and others were treated and brought home.  

Since then we have sunk a panel fence underground around the chicken pen so as to thwart digging and also put an extra chain wrapped around the gates hoping it would hold the next attack.  For the past few days, now we have noticed that the fish food can near the pond was turned over and something was eating the fish food. 

And now this morning, I was rudely awaken by Walter dashing into the bedroom making lots of noise getting a gun out as I said "Please, I'm still trying to sleep!"   He said "the dogs are back!"  With heart pounding as I sprang forth, I was hoping that our hens that remained were not attacked again. 

 He quickly jumped in the car in pursuit of the pack.  They were so fast that he did not catch up to them until they made it back to the neighbors home panting on the porch.  He went up to them and told them what their dogs had done and told them that if it happened again he was going to call the law.  They said they would do away with the dogs today.  I don't know what that statement meant and I hate to speculate but I wonder do they really care about their dogs anyway.   

Walter also called a friend who is a game warden and he said that there has been a task force recently set up that may can help us and he said they would call us.  And they did call us within the hour and will be coming out to check on the situation soon.

I am happy to say that the fence held this time, and my remaining flock is safe for now.  My story about my chickens being attacked was the subject of of an article in the O-A News by Karlene Turkington as she is a writer on the subject of caring for dogs called Ruffly Speaking (scroll down to "A Loose Dog Problem") and it was also a post  in my chicken pal friend Debbie B.'s blog called A Tragic Day for a Dear Friend.  

Poor Carlos, her tail feathers will never be the same, but she is alive and well and acting as if nothing happened.  She and Scarlett are best friends, and they roam freely around my house.  Scarlett is a Rhode Island Red just like Carlos.  And yes, Carlos is a hen. That was her name when we received her from a friend.

One morning last week, two stray dogs appeared in my yard and were determined to have chicken for lunch.  I ran out the door to see what all the commotion was about and saw a clump of tail feathers with skin at the front steps.  I chased the dogs off and ran to find out which one of my feathered friends had lost her tail.  It was Carlos, and she was hiding under the car.  She had a gash in her backside and I knew it needed stitching up.    

So off to the vet I went.  I have the most wonderful vet around, Dr. Mark Moore, in Union Springs, Alabama.  I held Carlos and he put her to sleep and then sewed her up.  I brought her home and she stayed in a box in the house.  In about two hours she woke up and poked her r head out of the box, all fit and ready to go.  Upon her release back out in the yard, Scarlett was so glad to see her.  Later on, she was found doing her normal routine of scratching in the ground searching for bugs.

Remember the Got Milk commercial, where the person in the commercial was wearing a milk moustache?  I think Henny Penny, Goldie and Violet have been rehearsing for the part.  They love milk, especially milk kefir.  It is especially good for chickens if they are sick, however, they are not sick in this picture, but enjoy the milk kefir anyway.  
 
Do you cringe when someone mentions probiotics because you really don't want to think about those zillions of bacteria living in your gut?  The truth is that taking probiotics is probably one of the best interventions you can do to stay healthy or regain your health, and milk kefir is loaded with probiotics, even more so than yogurt.  We have about 3 to 4 pounds of these little critters in our gut and to a large degree, they are our immune system, and they hold the keys to our very existence.

Milk Kefir is full of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast living in symbiosis as the result of the fermentation process. Kefir is loaded with vitamins, minerals and easily digested protein. It can even be consumed by the lactose intolerant because the yeast and bacteria provide the enzyme lactase, an enzyme which consumes most of the lactose left after the culturing process.
Want to make your own milk kefir?  It's easy to do and will save you money over the store bought version.  Click here for information on an upcoming milk kefir class in East Alabama.

Source:  http://www.naturalnews.com/024477_kefir_bacteria_probiotics.html

If you grow tomatoes there is no doubt that you are familiar with the tomato hornworm.  This tomato plant pest can do some serious damage in just a very short time.  If left unharmed, this ugly bug will turn into a beautiful moth but then you would have no tomatoes.  Not wanting to spray pesticides on my garden left me with few ways to deal with the critters.  I could pick them off and drop them into soapy water, squash them, find some parasitic wasps (didn't know where to look however) or I could carry with me the new "Garden Pal."  This device needs no gas or electricity.  There is no back breaking work lugging it around as it will just follow you as you go along.  My "Garden Pal" was given to me by a friend and was ready to work upon arrival.

Meet Daisy, my friendly Buff Orpington "Garden Pal."  All I have to do is break off the limb with the hornworm attached and the "Garden Pal" does it all.  There's no need for stooping and bending as the "Garden Pal" leaps high into the air, and

in a split second the job is done.  See how fast!  The camera couldn't capture this without the blur.

Among the many green hornworms, I found this rather large brown worm.  The smaller worm in this picture is not the same kind as the larger one in the picture.  I do not know what kind it was but the "Garden Pal" works on all kinds so it didn't really matter.   I still would like to know what it is if someone can tell me though.

See the "Garden "Pal" in action again.

Aim

Leap,

and done.  

Today my "Garden Pal" had a real workout as we exterminated about a dozen hornworms.

The title of this post is, "Daisy the Hornworm Slayer" and it reminded me of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."  I guess Buffy would be a good name for Daisy since she is a buff colored Buff Orpington, but maybe not a fitting name for my black Lab.  Regardless, that is her name anyway.

I call this picture "Buffy the Tomato Slayer."  She got bored watching the "Garden Pal" work so she decided to find a green tomato to eat and pass the time away.

Gardening is more fun when you have a "Garden Pal."      Life with pets - never boring :)

Do you want healthy chickens?  Then for the most part it will depend on you. 

I have only lost one chicken due to sickness that I can recall and that was soon after I started raising chickens and didn't know much about what to do.  We house our 60 chickens in spacious old quail pens because a few years ago we were in the commercial quail business raising 100,000 per year.  That was a lot of work and we do not miss most of what was involved with that job.  The pens went silent for about a year and then I decided that I would like to raise a few chickens just for eggs for our family and a few to sell.  What better place to house them than our "out of use" quail pens.  I wanted the chickens to always have access to good fresh green grass so we invested in netting to span the distance overhead between two of the pens and put chain link fencing on the ends including a gate as you can see in the picture.  This gave our chickens very spacious outdoor area free of hawk problems.  

But one of the problems that has risen with the chickens is that we believe that CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease) is occasionally picked up by the chickens due to the fact that the disease was in the buildings prior to their arrival from the quail.  Usually the chicken who catches it will eventually get over this on its own but if it gets down, I then isolate and administer one shot for three days of Baytril and that clears it up.  Once they get over this they will not catch it again but they are carriers of the disease.  

I have noticed that if the chickens eat well, have plenty of water and green grass and are not under stress of any kind, then they do not come down with the disease.  But if under stress of any kind they are more susceptible.

 A couple of cases come to mind to back this point up.  One of my chickens had gotten inside a closed building because the door was open and we did not know she was in there and closed the door.  She lived for two days in there without water until I realized I was missing her and went to look for her.  You can read of her adventure here, called Bluebeard's Adventurous Week.  Due to stress and lack of water within a few days after release she was down with the disease.  

Another time, I had a hen who went broody as I have many that do but you can break this up.  See how I do this here.  When hens go broody, they neglect to eat and drink as they should and they become pale and lose a lot of weight.  They will sit on the nest way beyond the normal time that it takes to hatch an egg.  Since I remove all eggs daily, you can see why she will never hatch one.   I had a hen to sit on the nest for a month once.  After a certain particular hen had set on the nest too long because I had waited too long to break it up, she came down with CRD.  Again, due to stress, the disease had opportunity to take hold.  

So you can see the importance of taking care of your flock.  It all depends on you. 

 Make sure they have adequate feed and water at all times and access to good green grass.  If you do not have green grass then provide greens by either mowing and bagging your grass and dump in the pens or by asking your grocery store if they have greens that they will not be selling.  Many times the grocerer can get the greens that have fallen loose in the bins and boxes to give you.  I even got some once that were organic so you might even try your health food stores.  And another way for the chickens to get some greens is if you let them out of their pen for at least 15 minutes a day while you stand guard for hawk watch.  You can train them to come back to the pen if you have scratch grain.  Believe me they will come running for this and should this fail they always return to roost at dusk.  

Another important thing for chickens is that they have access to a dust bath because this is how they rid themselves of mites and lice.  It breaks my heart knowing that in big commercial confined chicken egg houses the chickens never see the light of day nor get the chance to rid themselves of pests.  Vote against this with your purchase of eggs from pastured chickens.  Dust baths are essential and this site will tell you how to make a dust bath. 

Chickens also need plenty of perch space for sleeping so they won't be crowded.  Chickens can be down right mean to other chickens if they don't like their bed fellows.  You can see in my picture that a roosting perch can be made by obtaining some saw horse legs (see bottom of this post for ordering) and you can make your own and in any length you prefer.  We put a 10 foot 2 x 4 on end and then nailed a 10 foot 2 x 4 flat on top so that it would be better on their feet and give them more foot perch space.

If you have laying hens, you might want to make available some oyster shell.  However, if you supply them with a good laying feed ration they may not need the extra calcium from the oyster shell but it doesn't hurt to offer it free choice and it's cheap and lasts a long time.  If chickens get too much scratch feed which is a treat then they will not eat enough of the balanced ration feed and this may cause a lack of calcium so be careful not to overdo on the treats.  Do not give a laying ration to a hen that is not at least 4 months old and maybe not until you see that first egg.  Laying rations contain less protein and more calcium.  Too much calcium in immature birds can cause organ damage and laying problems later on.  If you have a mixed flock it's best to keep them all on unmedicated starter or grower/finisher feed.

You can also purchase grit if you pen does not supply this.  Chickens do not have teeth so they need grit in their crop to help grind the food they eat.  

One little addition to their water supply will provide great benefits for your chickens and it is Raw Apple Cider Vinegar.  Do not use the pasteurized kind.  The kind that I and most food bloggers use is "Braggs" brand.  If you make Kombucha Tea then you can add this to the water as Kombucha Tea is kin to Vinegar.  In fact if brewed long enough it is vinegar.  Add 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water and do this for one week per month.  The benefits are that it will correct the ph balance of the chicken's crop and help prevent against infection, it's an immune booster and full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements.  They really like the taste and will drink more water.  Don't use it in a metal waterer, however, as it will react with the metal.  And by the way, ACV is good for humans too.  I drink a teaspoon in a glass of water every morning.  Other great uses for vinegar here.  Cheers!  Here's to healthy chickens.

This afternoon as I was checking on my chickens, I looked down toward the end of the pen and there was a fuzzy black and white object.  I immediately recognized it as a skunk and ran back to the house for my camera and my husband.  I wanted to shoot a picture and I wanted my husband to shoot the skunk.  Husbands are good for things like this.  

After we tied the dog up to the house (because the dog gets in the middle of the action) we headed back up the hill.   As my husband entered the pen, he didn't know I was going to take this picture so he didn't wait for me to focus.  Did he get the skunk?  You bet, and on first shot!  He was using a 10/22.  The chicken standing in the picture was a bit rattled when the gun went off so she quickly scampered out of sight and all the hens and the rooster were quite upset about it too as there was much cackling after the shot.  In fact those who were already perched for the night came down and out to see what all the commotion was about.  Now after the shot, I probably do not need to tell you what happened next.  The stench that followed had the ability to curl your nose hairs.  My husband got a shovel and carried the skunk off.  In the house now, we can still smell the critter.

Skunks may kill and eat domestic poultry and their eggs. They pose only a little threat to adult birds, but prize eggs as a tasty treat and will often break up a nest when the opportunity avails itself.  
They normally do not climb fences to get poultry. If skunks gain access, they will normally feed on the eggs and occasionally kill one or two fowl. Many times the skunk will remove the head from the chicken to drink the blood. Eggs usually are opened on one end with the end crushed inward. 
Source:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/skunk-chicken-predators-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-skunks

After watching my hens sit on their nests for many days, I decided that I needed to discourage them from this continued practice.  My egg production had dropped due to the fact that about 8 hens decided to go broody and when this happens they do not lay any more eggs.  I thought that after about three weeks they would give up when no eggs hatched (because I would remove them daily) but they were still determined and I didn't count the days but I'm pretty sure that a couple of hens had been on the nest for over a month.  A hen will sit on the nest so long that they neglect to eat enough and they begin to get thin and pale.  Pale combs and wattles are an indication that a hen is not laying.  

I have read many sources saying that to break up broodiness then remove them from the nest daily.  I did this and they went right back to the nest each time.  I also read about getting a bucket with ice water and put them down in it up to their breast bone with the idea of cooling it down and this should break up the broodiness but you have to do this several days in a row and I thought it sounded like too much trouble so I have not tried this but I did read somewhere that if you put them somewhere away from their nest for three days this would work.  I was hoping that just isolating them for one day would work and so I tried that and it did not.  On a separate occasion, I tried it for two days and it did not work.  Wherever I read three days, they knew what they were talking about.  I kept the 8 hens in another pen for three days and then released them.  I was happy to see that they did not return to their nests except for one.  I quickly went to the nests and removed all eggs so that she would not see any to sit on.  Sure enough she looked into every nest and did not find any and it was about time to go to roost and so she did and the next day it appeared that she had indeed given up on nesting.  

I am happy to say that three days is the charmer and no less and all 8 hens have been cured of their broodiness - at least for now.

This afternoon as I was trying to close up my chickens for the night, I had a little surprise visitor.  Actually I had seen her or him a couple of days before.  Maybe he or she is hanging around because I have a waterer that I keep on the outside of my chicken pens under a flat bed trailor.  About three years ago we ended a 50 year old business operation of raising quail.  We raised about 100,000 per year and sold to hunting preserves.  Mostly we sold Bob White Quail but there were a few years that we also raised Tennesee Red Quail.  Evidently this little visitor is a mix between a Bob White and a Tennesee Red. 

Here is a picture of the backside but the head is a little blurry due to movement.