I read that making up some hot mash or hot oatmeal is good for cold chickens. So when we had power, I whipped up a cup of quick oats and took it out to my hens.
My hens were not impressed. I honestly think they accused me of trying to poison them. I left it where they were less likely to step in it (again), because sometimes when I leave, they scarf up new treats. An hour or two later it was a definite no go, and I had to pick up the frozen, uneaten masses of oatmeal.
The cameras in the coop and run have been offline since November. Every once in a while I would start the troubleshooting process, then give up because it takes forever and I was busy. The camera would connect, but not stream video. So frustrating. I finally carved out some time to disconnect the devices and bring them inside, where they performed perfectly. Huh. So I bought a repeater, and after more time spent moving it around to get the best signal overlap and extension, found a spot where the cameras would work again. I have no idea why they used to work just fine on the single router, but I’m glad that the repeater worked and I can see them roosting again. Especially since it is cold and it makes me feel better to see that they turn into nice warm fluffy feather balls.
Now that we have rolling blackouts, checking on the chickens via video is spotty. I do go out to break the ice off the water every couple hours because the heated water bowl doesn’t work without power. The chickens are all huddled in the coop, not happy, but surviving. No signs of black on the combs, and we are still getting eggs!
I’m so glad that my husband installed a utility sink in our small bathroom. It made cleaning up Magic’s dirty bum possible, seeing as how it is freezing outside and the water to the coop is off. I saw she was plugged up and brought her in for a rinse and a blow dry before taking her back to her flock. She was amazingly calm through the whole process and even accepted grubs from my hand when she was back in the coop! Magic’s usual elimination is a bit watery, and she tends to not have a fluffy butt when she is laying. Despite that, she is my sweetest hen.
For my dehydrated apples I used my handy peeler corer, which makes lovely strings of apple peel. I twisted them into a wreath and hung the bundle up for the chickens. A had a longish stand fall loose and witnessed first hand why I want the chickens to have to pick off bits, as a hen picked up the end of the strand and gulped down the whole piece! I can image the tangle a whole peel would make in her crop!
Hurray! My chickens have gained their weight back! My eldest and I did a chicken check and all the chickens are heavier. They feel much healthier too. No mites under the wings, vents all look fine (and it is apparent that some are laying), no bumbles, but some have some very prominent scales on their feet. So another round of vaseline on the feet at night is in order. On the encouraging side, more feathers are growing in on their feet, so maybe the last two rounds of scaly leg mite treatment helped some.
Critters and Craft 