Ice on inside of chooks house!

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Lucylou

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Thanks Tim for the tips on looking after our chooks in the weather.I've got a problem caused by the cold temperatures.

I'm hoping one of you clever DIY people can help with this.

My OH made a small house for my cockerel (who can't integrate with the main group). He lives in a pen on his own (aahhh :cry: ) & sleeps in his little house which is made from thick marine ply (I think its half inch thick, maybe more). It has 5 x 1.25" diam ventilation holes in the top edge of one side & is raised off the ground.

The problem is that since the weather has turned so bad (sunday night) on the inside of the house overnight a very thin film of frost/ice forms but dry outside. Obviously he's producing warm moist air & I thought that more ventilation was needed. So last night I did this by propping the lid open a crack at one end but the same thing happened. His pen is within the main one & all undercover.

I'm worried about draughts so not sure how much more ventilation is needed if in fact this is the cure. No-one I've talked to seems to know the science on this one, is it too cold outside & warm inside or something along those lines - never was good at science :lol:

Any ideas anyone? thanks.
 
I had one hen house that had ice on the inside the other night, so I put an old decorating sheet over the house and seems to have done the trick. One bird on its own will not generate as much heat as say 3 birds in the house. Can he not have any female company whilst the cold weather is upon us.

Sue
 
Hi Sue,

Sadly the ladies don't like him not the other way round! He's the proverbial henpecked husband & dispite various attempts to integrate him, it always ends in tears (or feathers flying!) Although he was brought up with them, same age etc the girls just turned on him & never the twain will meet. They even 'have a go' now & again through the wire of his pen. That's why I'll have to re-home him if I possibly can (I really don't want to think of the alternative for him somehow, I wasn't so sentimental about the other 2 cockerals but he's different :( )

I'll find something to throw over tonight & see if that works, I'm just a bit worried about the dampness in the air inside the house. Its been snowing golf balls today so the run is completely covered again :o but not so cold ..... yet!

The glycerine in the water is working though :)
 
Glad the glycerene has worked, does save alot of time, although I ran out a few days ago and is now taking 3 hours to feed and water the birds each morning at present :cry: :cry: hasn't been above -3 all day. Is it possible to get some girls for your cockerel? Poor thing...
 
It's condensation I think - The coop cools down and the warm air that he is exhaling has moisture in it (think kettle steam against window that isn't double glazed) as the warm air hits the cold surface, it condenses.

I haven't had this problem - I'm wondering whether it's quite small and for the size, not enough ventillation. If the air he was exhaling was in a larger area or was vented, it shouldn't be so bad. As long as there are no draghts (and it is quite still at the moment, no wind) you should be ok opening his house up a little, assuming he is safe from the fox.

The same sort of thing can happen in a bedroom - you get lots of water around the windows in the morning if there is little ventillation, unless the bedroom door is open.

Hope this helps / makes sense...

Will have to add the glycerene trick to the Snow FAQ... forgot that one..
 
Sorry, how much glycerene do you add to the water and where can you buy it from?

Thanks, Tim
 
Hi Tim,glycerine is available from most supermarkets in the home baking section.It is an additive for icing to keep it workable.
In a litre of water you only need a few drops,so it does last.It is also very cheap,less than 50p.
 
Home Baking section - that'll be why I haven't found it then!

Sorry didn't mean to hijack your post Lucylou!
Tim
 
Hope someone can help with this. I have heard (somewhere) that glycerine can harm small birds. I have an enclosed area for my chickens and ducks but have a lot of dunnocks popping in and out during the day to grab a bite to eat and as eyerywhere is frozen at the moment they will no doubt be having a drink also. I wouldn't want to harm any bird if i can help it.
 
Vivsy said:
Hope someone can help with this. I have heard (somewhere) that glycerine can harm small birds. I have an enclosed area for my chickens and ducks but have a lot of dunnocks popping in and out during the day to grab a bite to eat and as eyerywhere is frozen at the moment they will no doubt be having a drink also. I wouldn't want to harm any bird if i can help it.
Click to expand...


Glycerine is fine for all birds and humans too!!
 
Thank for that. Bought a bottle today so will add some tomorrow. Perhaps my little legs will get a bit of a rest although running up and down with fresh water and warm porridge is certainly working off my christmas excesses. :D
 
Just a thought about trying to get the hens used to him or him not being on his own.

Have you tried removing the quietest hen (or the lowest ranked one) from the main bunch and putting her and your cockerel in together apart from the others, as in out of sight, so the hen can't see the other hens and want to get back to them. If you give them time together on their own I am sure they would bond. They need to establish a pecking order and so a few feathers flying would be normal. I always used to put new birds in together at night and then go out early before they got up to check all was well.

I just think if you keep them in sight of each other its possibly going to make it impossible for a hen or two to settle in with him. However, once you've got one hen to settle with him, you could then take out the next lowest ranked hen and introduce her to the cockerel and hen in their pen and then hopefully after a bit of time has elapsed and the main bunch have forgotten all about them, you can try intorducing them to each other again. If it then fails, simply keep the boy and his lady or two in together and the other hens in their pen. That way they'll both have company in the long term.
 
I was thinking of that Snifter, I feel so sorry for him!

I think he is an Asian Hard Feather, I've had a bit of insight into the breed from nnbreeder in USA who knows about them, he thinks he's poss a Reza. I'm not sure how they take to other breeds, he's quite large already, if he started throwing his weight around it'd be no contest. I'll maybe ask him or he might see this post......

As they're a rare breed I'm hoping there's more chance of rehoming him. Might be wishful thinking but you know what its like, always favouring the underdog!!
 
victorias poultry said:
I had one hen house that had ice on the inside the other night, so I put an old decorating sheet over the house and seems to have done the trick. One bird on its own will not generate as much heat as say 3 birds in the house.
Sue
Click to expand...

Hi Sue, Tried throwing an old blanket over the house last night but no change, but worth a try.

I'm going to try to increase the ventilation so I'm thinking maybe it needs a through flow of air somehow but not sure how to achieve this without causing a draught. Because he's a big chap & its a small house (but easily way big enough for one bird) got to make sure the vent is above head height.
As its quite secure away for Mr fox within an enclosed run, anyone got any ideas on this,would it be too cold if I left the pop hole half/part open?
 
Hi Lucylou,I think leaving the pophole partly open would make it too cold.I'd suggest having some holes on one side of the coop,and some more on the other side directly opposite.
Try not to have either on a side where you usually have wind blowing directly in.
The other thing you could try,there is a site called Happy Chicks that sells hen jumpers.They are actually made of fleecy material.I got 3,which I've been putting on my moulting 'baldy' birds(not on fully fledged birds) they don't object to it and hopefully it helps to keep them warm.
I wouldn't suggest it for fully feathered hens but thought it was worth a try.I've been popping them into their jumpies when they come out the hen house in the morning,and taking them off at bed time as they are in their house and all snuggled up together.
Also,I think they do benefit from fresh air around the feathers.
 
Hi Lydia,

(you're up late too :lol: )

I've seen this site & the hen jumpers! how do they move their wings with them on?

Did you see the photos in the paper a while ago of the knitted jumpers the WI ladies knitted for ex-batts? My Mum's offered to knit Henny (Sophia LeHen :lol: ) one but can't work out how they'd move with one on!

Funny time to moult, poor thing. Her body clocks gone heywire, must be this strange weather, so mild then overnight... White Christmas!. Got 4 eggs today - another one's started laying :D Never had so many in the same day ever! Their run is covered with snow so its dark for them so didn't expect even1!
 
Hi Lucylou,
The jumpies are basically large-ish rectangles,with a hole for their heads in the centre.You slip them over their head,and their is elastic either side that comes up under their wing,and fastens to a button.
mine can all move their wings fine.
the jumpies wouldn't fit my RIR though,it's a struggle on 1 of my ex-batts who is a bit plump,but luckily she is fully feathered at the mo.
My 2 baldies don't seem to mind at all,and can move their wings fine,I'll try and take some pics tomorrow and put them on here.
We are both up late,I dozed off earlier so now I'm wide awake,I'll regret it in the morning though.
I'll put a lonk for the jumpies on,then other ppl can go and have a look and see what they think.
http://www.happychicks.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/Happychicksshop/_238677/1/Poultry%2520Gifts%252C%2520Books%2520%2526%2520Cards
Christ,that's a long link.
 
It's the plywood. The marine type will not absorb the extra moisture so it condenses on the inside. Take and drill about four holes close to the bottom of the coop, one in each corner, of about 1/4 inch diameter. That way there will be slight airflow through it but not enough to make it drafty. If you have bedding in the bottom it will act as a buffer.

With his close comb and hard ,tight feathers he will be fine. Last night it was -9C here with winds of up to 65 mph (104kph) and our birds were out doing their chicken things early as usual. I will throw tarps or whatever over the coops when weather gets this cold and the birds have always pulled through like troopers!

But of course the wife's Silkies are all in the house with us. She just worries way too much!!
 
When I found ice inside my chooks house I draped a thin old duvet over three sides and made sure there was some ventilation open to let the air in the coop circulate more freely. Since then there has been no more ice inside. I've checked the girls late in the evening and they are nice and cosy. The duvet keeps the snow off the house so I know any dampness is from inside rather than external. The house I got didn't come with any ventilation holes, but drilling a few holes wasn't difficult!

Take Care

The Allotmentgolfer
 
nnbreeder said:
It's the plywood. The marine type will not absorb the extra moisture so it condenses on the inside. Take and drill about four holes close to the bottom of the coop, one in each corner, of about 1/4 inch diameter. That way there will be slight airflow through it but not enough to make it drafty. If you have bedding in the bottom it will act as a buffer.
Click to expand...

Thanks nnbreeder, seems obvious now you mention it! I wasn't thinking of that when I got the marine ply, only the waterproof aspect. As he sleeps on the floor (the perch was lengthwise but he's too big to fit sideways now & has to sleep lengthwise & I can't redo the perch at the moment) do you think he'll be OK with holes in the bottom? He does have wood shavings on the floor.

Do you think this breed would get on with a hen of a differnt breed, much smaller, just for company? Would be interested in your opinion. Many thanks.
 
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