As if the snow weren’t bad enough . . .
I’ve got a chicken who is molting for the second time, in the middle of winter. I thought this was a little strange, and so I asked over at backyardchickens.com about it. The feedback I got was that certain things could trigger a second molt, like, say, extreme weather. And I thought, “Oh, you mean like TWO POLAR VORTEXES?” So, I think we may have the answer.
Regardless, poor Suzy Creamcheese looks really rough, but is holding out o.k. in the cold. I was tempted to bring her inside, but I think she’s better off with the others, and people said their chickens that had this happen were fine in the cold. She lost her tailfeathers this week, and looks stubby.
Guess what?
And we just got 8 more inches of snow yesterday, with more on the way tomorrow and Monday night. The chickens won’t see bare ground until August at this rate.
But you’ll see new Too Many Chickens! full posts starting again on February 28th, when Garden Guys returns to the internet airwaves.
Tags: backyard chickens, chickens, cold, Erik P. Kraft, Garden Guys, hipster farming, molting, snow, winter
Awww, Suzy Creamcheese. She could benefit from some extra protein over the next few weeks. A little daily fistful of sunflower seeds, or peanuts (unsalted), or mealworms. Poor little half-naked sweetie.
I got a bag of the black oil sunflower seeds that I’ve been putting out for them every morning. Someone told me dry cat food would work too, but they didn’t pay any attention to it at all.
Sunflower seeds are good. I can’t bring myself to give them cat food… No telling what’s in that stuff. Peanuts are a great protein source. I shell and break up a few dry-roasted peanuts and they go ga-ga. If you’re really concerned about your molting gal, buy a cup of live mealworms from Petsmart or Petco. A few a day just for that little lady, and she’ll be growing feathers double-time.
We get fancy cat food because one of the cats has allergies, but I guess in the end it didn’t matter. I’m not sure I have the stomach to try live mealworms, but if it helps, maybe I’ll try.
I was grossed out at first. I got the mealworms for a sick hen. Now I have a mealworm farm on top of my fridge. They’re kind of fun. I creep out my daughter with them.
I thought about raising my own, but worried it might be going overboard with the DIY. Also that they would escape.
No, they can’t climb out of a bin. Even when they turn into beetles, they just stand around. A layer of wheat germ for them to live in, and every now and then a banana peel or apple slice is all it takes.
On the other hand, I’ve tipped the bin over once or twice. Major teenage girl freakout.
The morning after I got my worms for my worm bin, I came out and the kitchen floor was covered with worms. That’s the experience I return to when I think about anything wormy. Jailbreak!
crikey! yeah, I don’t trust those worm-bin worms.