kopetsa
2524 posts
Dec 13, 2008
1:52 PM
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By tonight it is suppose to be well over -40 with wind chill.. I have one heated loft and the water doesn't freeze at all. But the kit I can only have a heavy duty 175 Watt bulb that is unbreakable unless dropped.. The water freezes within about 20 mins.. (there is half ice half not) Is there anything I can put in there that it won't freeze? Some kind of healthy oil or anything? lol I am going to buy a heater but.. for now this is a pain in the buttox.. :(
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Andrew Carmichael
AB Canada
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
2975 posts
Dec 13, 2008
2:41 PM
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Hey Andrew, make it easy on yourself tonight, just put them in the heated loft. There is nothing heroic about leaving them in the kit box. You'll sleep better tonight not worrying about it. Stay Cool Man! ;-)
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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PR_rollers
GOLD MEMBER
2131 posts
Dec 13, 2008
2:45 PM
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Tony you mean stay warm he is already cool..lol..
Andrew put those birds in a stocking by the tree so they can stay warm and fuzzy..:)
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Ralph
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
2977 posts
Dec 13, 2008
2:46 PM
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HAHA!
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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true spin
38 posts
Dec 13, 2008
2:57 PM
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hey andy just bundle them all up & bring them in the house im sure your dad wont mind haha!!! damn i thought it was cold here still no snow
thanks rick
true spin
Country Creek Loft
Last Edited by on Dec 13, 2008 2:58 PM
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quality
50 posts
Dec 13, 2008
3:14 PM
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When you feed them, keep the water in for 20 minutes & take it out. Do the same the next night, take it out after feeding. The 2nd night all the birds will eat then take a drink, good until the next feeding.
If you want to stay warm in freezing weather, get a down filled jacket. Never keep my birds in a heated coop. Never had an old bird die in the winter, no matter how cold it got.
When it gets really cold 0 degrees or so, start feeding your birds husked barley. It has the same amount of heat as corn , but with the same fat content as wheat.
My coop is all screening to the south & is open all winter, when the snow comes in the birds love to bath in it.
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Yours in the Hobby
Don Lunau
Ontario, Canada
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quality
51 posts
Dec 13, 2008
3:14 PM
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When you feed them, keep the water in for 20 minutes & take it out. Do the same the next night, take it out after feeding. The 2nd night all the birds will eat then take a drink, good until the next feeding.
If you want to stay warm in freezing weather, get a down filled jacket. Never keep my birds in a heated coop. Never had an old bird die in the winter, no matter how cold it got.
When it gets really cold 0 degrees or so, start feeding your birds husked barley. It has the same amount of heat as corn , but with the same fat content as wheat.
My coop is all screening to the south & is open all winter, when the snow comes in the birds love to bath in it.
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Yours in the Hobby
Don Lunau
Ontario, Canada
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kopetsa
2526 posts
Dec 13, 2008
3:29 PM
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Ok guys I've decided to leave them in there.. Since nobody else around this joint even has one heat bulb in their lofts.. I dont want to add them to the breeders loft because then the birds may get sick. As it is, in the breeders loft I have had to minimize ventilation. As well as in the kit too..
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Andrew Carmichael
AB Canada
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DeepSpinLofts
1091 posts
Dec 13, 2008
6:09 PM
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Wow Andrew.... you live in a very cold place. Hope your birds can make it through the tough Winter cold.
Hmm....
It appears that year-round breeding is something you should definitely try to avoid.
Good luck with them!
Marcus
Deep Spin Lofts
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RodSD
106 posts
Dec 13, 2008
7:43 PM
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I don't know what kind of substance that you can add to stop freezing. I know that antifreeze prevent water from freezing, but that will definitely kill your birds. It can kill dogs and cats right? By the way I can't imagine living on a -40 F. I can't survive below zero.
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ROLLERMAN
231 posts
Dec 13, 2008
8:16 PM
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take one of the old type xmas lights and put it under a metal pan works great.
al
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Canspinners
283 posts
Dec 13, 2008
10:01 PM
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you know i was reading the responses and came to one which is exactly Andrew I do exactly what don advises except I keep mine on corn.
Let nature take its coarse ....if you have a weak bird let it fight the elements to get strong if not it will die,
No insulation in my loft .
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Canspinners
284 posts
Dec 13, 2008
10:13 PM
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Andrew seperate the males from the females take out all the heat feed and water after they eat one drink is all they nee per day.
you can get all done in a half hour.empty the water containers that way you will not have ice to chip out the next day. I feed them after work same time in the evening never lost a bird to the cold.
andrew the birds need the winter to rest you should not be disturbing them to much .YOu need abreak as well. In the spring and summer i am in the coop or back yard with the birds min 4 to 5 hours.
in the winter 1 hour tops
If you try this your birds will be rested and you will have a great breding season ..(all eggs laid at same time all babys hatched the same time ,fly the same etc
take a break you need it as much as the birds do
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kopetsa
2532 posts
Dec 13, 2008
11:34 PM
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For me to take a break would be to spend even more time with the birds! lol I just am changing the water every couple hours, WHEN I'M HOME OF COURSE.. :) Oh yeah the antifreeze in our cars is frozen.. :( My back window in my birds house cracked on the edge of the sliding part. And on the older junky cavalier, large areas of paint are peelings off and flaking.. >:
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Andrew Carmichael
AB Canada
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AK-Roller Loft
52 posts
Dec 14, 2008
3:31 AM
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1 degree here and it's the fullest moon in years. my birds nice and toasty in their loft.
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Ak
Last Edited by on Dec 14, 2008 3:38 AM
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DeepSpinLofts
1094 posts
Dec 14, 2008
5:41 AM
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Ak.... these holdover cocks (kitbirds) are nice and toasty too!
Marcus
Deep Spin Lofts
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cvr(FR3rd)
128 posts
Dec 14, 2008
4:53 PM
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its cold over here too its 70 degress... just playin
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Fernando Ruelas
CVR
Ruelas loft
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Ballrollers
1625 posts
Dec 14, 2008
5:51 PM
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I can't hang with those kinds of temps....no way! I left Ohio for that very reason after 25 years there. Its going to be in the 60s here this week.....I flew six kits today while pairing up birds....several pairs down on eggs...that's the way I like it. I feel for you guys with the big kahunas, though.
Cliff
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Longroller
GOLD MEMBER
85 posts
Dec 14, 2008
7:11 PM
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Cliff, you are spoiled..We have a lot of muff birds here because it keeps their feet warm (smile)..as I type, it is 14 degrees 2 inches of snow..and 20 MPH wind...we are haveing a HEAT WAVE !!!...good stuff, chickens will be thin next summer as the bug population will be down. Nothing special except an extra ration of corn..lots of wire on my lofts..I just brace up plywood to cut the wind down..my birds like the cold weather..had some exceptional flys yesterday. Oldsters used to say that we do our birds a disservice when we coddle them in the cold and hot weather. Let them deal with the elements and we get a body system in the birds that is immune to lots of stuff that comes around..we get better feather quality ect.
Last Edited by on Dec 14, 2008 7:14 PM
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belle
307 posts
Dec 15, 2008
6:25 AM
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That is to cold for me, when it is 22 at night, Im as cold as i can get -40 that just sucks. Follow the birds south.
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Justin
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kopetsa
2535 posts
Dec 15, 2008
7:01 AM
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Nice pics. guys! Thanks for posting them up! They look toasty alright.. :) Oh THISROLL, you don't know how many pine tree I have.. :D
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Andrew Carmichael
AB Canada
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J_Star
1806 posts
Dec 15, 2008
7:23 AM
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Kopesta, Use the Coffee mug wormers to keep the water from freezing in the kit box. You can find them in Wal Mart for around $5. if you don't have electric in the kit box, just run an extension cord.
Jay Alnimer
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Canspinners
288 posts
Dec 15, 2008
2:50 PM
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Jay alnimer ...theres a thought andrew .
Jay do those mug warmers stay on all the time or do you put a timmer to them ?
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Mount Airy Lofts
842 posts
Dec 16, 2008
4:47 AM
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I flew my birds on Sunday after noon. It was about 29 degrees. Drizzling with a little fog. They flew for a good 40 minutes before dropping down on to the roof. As they circled in, I noticed a strong gust. It was blistering cold. All but 4 birds trapped in by this time.
As I was feeding the breeders, I noticed that two of them had dropped down to the ground. I found this weird as my birds are trained not to go there. As I walked up, I noticed they weren't able to fly. Their flights were frozen solid. I scooped up the two and placed them in the kit box. As I called the other two in, they a lifted to about a foot before flopping to the ground. They too had frozen over their flights. In a matter of minutes, the temp dropped down to the singles digits.
Since it was drizzling when I flew the birds, they stood no chance as the weathered dropped so quickly. Reminded me of that movie "The Day after Tomorrow". Where every thing froze in place in a matter of seconds.
After scooping the last remaining birds off the ground, I dropped in their feed. As I did, I noticed that my gloves were sticking on to the metal feeding pans.
Never once had I seen it drop 20 degrees in a matter of minutes. After feeding all the birds and watering them. The temp went all the way down to only 10 degrees. Had to blow on the locks to defrost them just to be able to lock them. By 5 PM, we were in the negatives.
Just got up and it is a blistering -10 'F.
Never did I experience that before. Birds dropping out of the sky due to frozen feathers. Weird sight is all I can say. Should of kept them in that day but any chance I get to let the birds out, I usually cave in. Never figured it could get so cold in just a hour time.
It sure is an adventure flying birds isn't it,
Thor
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It's all about the friends we make :)
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