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Poultry

How to Prevent Frostbite in Chickens: Signs & Treatment

Combs, wattles and feet are prone to frostbite during cold winters. Adobe Stock

Knowing how to prevent frostbite in chickens plus the signs and treatment if it happens is important during the cold weather months.

Several years ago, just a few days before Christmas, a powerful cold front dipped down from Canada and sent most of the country into the single digits. As a cherry on top, it also brought with it howling winds, ice and heavy snow.

On our Tennessee homestead, we knew it was coming. We prepared with extra feed and bedding for our livestock and lined our coop with empty feed bags to cut out drafts.

However, despite everything we did to prepare and keep our flock protected from the winds, which hit negative 20°F during this storm, a few birds developed frostbite.

chicken suffering from frostbite even when keeper knew how to prevent chickens from frostbite
The author put her Welsummer chicken “Miracle” in a frostbite ICU after discovering her legs had been frozen. Photo by Heather Levin

One of our Welsummers froze in the snow after accidentally stepping in some warm water I had just put out. I was checking on the birds every hour and found her in the snow and wind, literally frozen in place and unable to get back to the shelter of the coop. The frostbite on her legs was so severe she had to be culled.

Some chicken keepers assume that frostbite is only a problem in northern regions with harsh winters. But frostbite can happen whenever temperatures drop below freezing and humidity is present. The lower the temperature and the higher the humidity, the bigger the risk.

SIGNS OF FROSTBITE

Frostbite occurs when blood and moisture in tissues freeze. Look for these signs:

  • gray, white, or yellowish tips on the comb or the edge of wattles, which can turn black days after exposure
  • reddish toes and feet
  • blistering, which can occur within 24 to 48 hours of exposure
  • listlessness and loss of appetite

There are several stages of frostbite, just as there are several stages of burns.

STAGE 1 is superficial frostbite, often called “frostnip,” and birds typically make a full recovery.

In STAGE 2, the skin hardens and freezes completely, but deep tissues aren’t affected. In extreme frostbite cases, the affected area can become necrotic, which means the cells in the deeper tissues die completely. This is considered third- and fourth-degree frostbite. It’s permanent and irreversible.

It can take several weeks for necrotic tissue to present. The dead tissue will eventually blacken, shrivel up and fall off, causing intense pain to the bird.

TREATMENT

Treating frostbite takes some care and patience.

First, don’t rub frostbite areas to restore circulation. This can do more harm than good, and it causes intense pain to the bird. Don’t use a focused heat source (such as a hair dryer or heat pad) on the frostbitten area to rewarm the tissue.

Instead, warm the area slowly if it’s still frozen. Put the chicken’s feet in warm water (not hot) for up to 20 minutes at a time. The comb and wattles can be unthawed with warm, damp cloths.

chicken foot with blisters from frostbite
Frostbite can result in blisters that should not be popped. Photo by Heather Levin

Once the tissue is unfrozen, apply a wound spray such as Vetricyn, or a healing herbal wound salve that contains skin allies such as calendula. If blisters develop, don’t pop them.

Another treatment option is St. John’s Wort oil, which is a fantastic natural wound healer and anti-inflammatory that will help alleviate pain, prevent infection, and speed healing. St. John’s Wort oil is specific for burns, which is what frostbite essentially is (just with cold instead of heat). This oil should be applied topically to the frostbitten area at least twice daily.

Keep the bird indoors in a warm room with food and water for several days. Don’t let the bird walk on frostbitten legs, as this can worsen damage. Provide soft bedding in a crate that forces them to lie down and rest.

HOW TO PREVENT FROSTBITE IN CHICKENS

Thankfully, there are several things you can do to prevent frostbite in your chickens.

IMPROVE VENTILATION: Chickens generate moisture constantly when they’re inside the coop from breathing and droppings. And it’s this moisture, coupled with cold temperatures, that causes frostbite.

It’s essential that your coop has good ventilation all year, but it’s particularly important during the winter months. Vents near the ceiling are best to help prevent moisture build-up.

CLEAN THE COOP: Keeping your coop clean during the winter is an essential part of preventing frostbite. Chicken droppings are mostly water, and when those droppings accumulate in the coop humidity levels rise.

An easy way to keep an eye on temperature and humidity levels in the coop is to purchase a wireless outdoor digital thermometer. Putting the sensor on the wall, right at roost height, can give you a clear picture of the internal environment and help you take action when temperatures drop and humidity rises. If you purchase a wireless digital thermometer, just make sure that the range of the device and the sensor will reach from the coop to your home.

Opinions differ on what humidity levels should be in the coop. The Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia recommends coop humidity levels of 50% to 70%.

If you do the deep-litter method during the winter, turn the bedding regularly and apply a dry top layer.

PROVIDE WIDE ROOST POLES: Providing your chickens with wide roost poles can also help prevent frostbite on toes and feet because chickens are able to use their entire body to cover their feet during the night. Wooden roost poles that are 3 to 4 inches wide or wider are ideal for winter roosting.

KEEP CHICKENS HYDRATED: Chickens that are dehydrated are at greater risk of developing frostbite. Chickens can quickly become dehydrated in winter when water freezes, or when chickens don’t want to walk through the elements to get to water.

During the winter months, it’s essential that you have some means of keeping a chicken’s water dish unfrozen. One of the best options is a heated waterer, which keeps the water temperature just above freezing. Small portable greenhouses can also help keep water from freezing when waterers are placed inside, especially when the greenhouse is placed on the south side of the run.

TURN TO CAYENNE: Cayenne is a very warming herb known to help improve circulation. You can sprinkle cayenne directly on their feed or add it to any cooked treats you give out to them.

All chickens, whether they’re classified as “cold hardy” or not, can develop frostbite. And while most instances of frostbite are mild and treatable, occasionally, severe drops in temperature can lead to permanent damage or even fatalities if you’re not careful. Even then, accidents can and will happen.

There’s still a lot you can do to prevent frostbite. Simple steps like regularly cleaning the coop and ensuring adequate ventilation can help ensure that your chickens make it through the winter healthy and whole.

This article about how to prevent frostbite in chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Poultry

Are Chickens Warm-Blooded? Know the Importance

understanding are chickens warm blooded means the black and white chicken and white chiken eating at a food container suspended from ceiling in an outdoor run are comfortable in many types of weather
Daniel Johnson

Are chickens warm-blooded? The short answer is yes. But the long answer means understanding how this impacts the behaviors and day-to-day care of your flock.

Are Chickens Warm-Blooded?

Caring for livestock begins with learning the basics about your chosen species, but after a time, it can be beneficial to dig a little deeper into the physiology of your animals. We often first learn how to care for our livestock, but later, it can be useful to gain a deeper understanding of the whys.

To best understand a particular living creature, compare them to others and see where there are similarities and differences. For instance, what attributes do chickens share with, say, mammals? At first glance, it might seem like chickens and mammals have little in common because there are major differences such as feathers instead of fur and eggs instead of live birth. In fact, you could almost make a case that chickens have more in common with reptiles.

But the last item on this list — that chickens are warm-blooded instead of cold-blooded — is extremely important and has a large impact on the care and behaviors of your chickens. Don’t be fooled by the eggs or scaly legs: Because chickens are warm-blooded, their metabolism and lifestyle has more in common with mammals than reptiles. Understanding this fact can help you understand the whys behind a lot of other aspects of your chickens’ health and life — from calorie needs and shelter requirements to activity levels and mothering instincts to intelligence. Examining the biology behind the whys can help make you a better chicken keeper and help you enjoy your flock even more.

Your Active Chickens

Warm-blooded animals must maintain a specific body temperature to survive. For chickens, this number is about 105 to 107°F. Even if the air temperature is far colder — even below freezing — a chicken’s body temperature will consistently remain within that specific range. Where does that heat come from? It comes from metabolizing food — that is, taking the energy contained in food and converting it into heat.

The bodies of cold-blooded organisms such as reptiles (also amphibians and fish) don’t perform the work of converting food to heat in the same way. Instead, the bodies of these animals tend to be roughly the same temperature as their surroundings. This is why you see snakes or turtles sunning themselves on a dark rock in the morning; they’re trying to warm up enough to function effectively, and their body temperatures can fluctuate wildly throughout the course of a day in some cases. But the warm-blooded nature of birds and mammals means they can be much more active all day long and must eat throughout the day to power this activity. (Cold-blooded animals can eat much less often because they aren’t powering an internal furnace.)

For chickens, foraging can take up more than 60% of their active hours, but the muscles of cold-blooded reptiles can’t perform for long periods of activity; the energy just isn’t there. Chickens, on the other hand, love to explore and actively poke and peck at the world all day long; again, their warm-blooded physiology makes them behave more like mammals despite the other biological differences between the two.

baby chickens in the garden
Daniel Johnson

Parental Instincts

The warm-blooded nature of your chickens also plays a role in their parental behaviors. Think about reptiles or amphibians for a minute; most take an extremely hands-off approach to parenting. In many cases, reptile parents don’t linger after the nest has been created and the eggs laid, so the juveniles may hatch and start off life in the absence of a parent. (Alligators are an anomaly to this.)

On the other extreme, mammals are probably the most hands-on when it comes to caring for and raising their young. Chickens, being warm-blooded, have parental behaviors that are much closer to mammals. Besides the obvious “brooding” behavior of wanting to maintain a nest and incubate eggs, hens are also quite protective of their hatched chicks, constantly offering them a warm wing to hide under.

Hens serve as role models, showing their chicks how to forage effectively and demonstrating proper roosting techniques. The hen and her chicks form an emotional attachment, and the chicks learn to seek her guidance to differentiate threats from nonthreats. Hens teach their chicks to recognize her comforting clucking sounds as well as her warning calls. The term “mother hen” doesn’t exist for nothing!

And don’t forget the protective role a rooster plays as guardian of the flock. All these active parenting behaviors are possible because of the high energy levels that come with being warm-blooded.

Intelligence

By and large, warm-blooded animals — mammals and birds — are the most intelligent in the animal world. Their complex hearts and high metabolisms ensure that plenty of oxygen is available to power large brains. This means that you’ll find species such as raccoons and ravens on lists of the most intelligent animals, but you won’t find a single snake or salamander (though cold-blooded octopi are pretty clever). So appreciate the intelligence of your warm-blooded chickens; when compared to the vastness of the animal kingdom, chickens are actually quite smart!

Lori Marino, founder of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, published a review article called “Thinking chickens: a review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken,” (Animal Cognition, 2017). It showed that chickens can perform basic logical inferences, perceive simple concepts about time and numbers, exhibit positive and negative emotions, possess individual personalities, and may even be self-aware. So while your hens obviously won’t perform complex tricks at the level of a dolphin or dog, they are very intelligent — as any long-time chicken keeper will readily attest.

chickens in a snowy run attached to a chicken coop
Daniel Johnson

Cold Weather Needs

When cold weather approaches, snakes, turtles and other reptiles have different cold-blooded behavioral techniques to respond to winter. Often this involves burrowing and brumation — the cold-blooded equitant of hibernation. But the chickens in your flock don’t hibernate, can’t migrate out of the weather and, being warm-blooded, must stay active and warm all winter long.

We instinctively understand that our chickens need shelter in cold temperatures, but we don’t necessarily think through why this is the case. Part of the reason has to do with the original natural habitat of chickens; they’re native to the warm jungles of Southeast Asia. This means that while modern chickens can handle a certain amount of cold weather, they’re a prone to frostbite on their legs and combs and aren’t nearly as comfortable when it’s cold. So providing a warm winter shelter helps mitigate these issues.

But there’s another good reason why we provide our chickens with a shelter from the cold, and this has to do with the fact that your flock is made of warm-blooded creatures. A chicken’s body is going to do whatever is necessary to maintain its needed 105- to 107-degree Fahrenheit core temperature. So if a chicken is exposed unnecessarily to prolonged cold weather, extra calories are needed to order to metabolize enough heat to keep the chicken alive. Extra calories mean extra feed requirements, so farming costs increase.

If a chicken’s body is working extra hard in the cold to maintain core temperature, the body may scale back on energy-demanding biological functions — such as egg laying. Providing a warm shelter means that the chickens are more comfortable and their bodies are more efficient because biological functions don’t need to expend as much energy just maintaining a constant body temperature.

Chickens also have several biological ways to keep their body temperatures under control on hot days; they can constrict or widen blood vessels to either keep heat in or help it disperse. They can increase blood flow to their combs and wattles to help dissipate heat and fluff up their feathers to permit extra airflow. Too much heat isn’t a good thing for warm-blooded animals either.

For chicken keepers, it’s important to study housing requirements, winter needs and how to keep humidity in the coop at a proper level. This will all help to keep your flock healthy.

Are Chickens Warm-Blooded? A Better Understanding

Studying the physiology of your chickens and their contrast to other animal classes may seem a bit superfluous, but it can really help you gain some insight into why your birds act the way they do. The naming and classification of animals has a long history and is certainly among humanity’s oldest scientific endeavors; taxonomy (in a way) is mentioned as far back as the Biblical Genesis.

The type of scientific exploration into your birds shown in this article can give your another “layer” of enjoyment with them. Chickens are amazing creatures and a deeper exploration into their interesting lives can be well worth the time and effort.

This article about are chickens warm-blooded was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Animals

Livestock Health Monitoring: Know Vital Signs

goat and chicken on meadow
Adobe Stock/Carola Schubbel

Livestock health monitoring is critical even if you’re lucky enough to have a fabulous veterinarian who treats the myriad critters you have on hand. However, even if your vet’s incredible, learning to recognize that an animal is ill or unwell will go a long way to ensuring you’re not the owner who cries wolf and monopolizes your vet’s time with issues that aren’t actually issues.

Learning how to take an animal’s temperature, pulse and respiration rates can give you insider information as to whether an animal is well. Comparing the numbers you gather while livestock health monitoring with values deemed normal for farmyard friends can tell you immediately if a call to the vet is crucial.

While the information provided in this article offers ranges of values considered average by species, it’s helpful to take the pulse, respiration and temperature of each animal you own a few times over the course of a few weeks so you can determine what is normal for your herd. Some individuals run hotter or colder than average or their heart may beat slower or faster than what the guidelines deem as normal. This in and of itself isn’t cause for concern; if you consistently replicate the same or similar values, those numbers are just what makes your animal a unique individual.

When referring to what’s deemed typical, consider other parameters as well, such as the animal’s age and phase of life. For example, how old an animal is and its size may affect how often it breathes or how fast its heart beats. Newborn animals will have higher heart and respiration rates than adult animals, and larger livestock tend to have slower heart rates than those that are smaller in stature.

livestock health monitoring by veterinarian taking the respiration rate of a chicken with a purple stethoscope
Adobe Stock/wifesun

LIVESTOCK HEALTH MONITORING

TEMPERATURE

An elevated temperature is often the first indication that something is amiss with an animal’s well-being. However, things such as season, time of day, weather conditions and exercise may influence an animal’s body temperature.

Livestock owners should use a digital thermometer to take their animal’s temperature; though it can be tempting to use the no-contact thermometer, these tools have proven inaccurate on animals (most likely because of the fur, feather, fiber or hair covering most of the animal’s body). The end of the thermometer must be placed inside the animal’s rectum to get an accurate reading of the critter’s core body temperature.

Placing a thin layer of lubricant such as petroleum jelly on the end of the thermometer will make taking the animal’s temperature more comfortable. It’s vitally important that the person doing the temperature-taking not stand directly behind the patient to avoid getting kicked. Most animals do better when someone who isn’t the temperature-taker is restraining their head.

To take the temperature of a four-legged animal, grasp the tail at its base and gently shift it to the side, the slide the thermometer into the rectum, ensuring no force is used. Once the thermometer has beeped that a temperature has been determined, remove the thermometer.

PULSE

Locating an animal’s pulse can be a bit trickier than taking its temperature, and finding the heart rate of larger livestock can sometimes be easier than locating it on smaller animals. To take an animal’s pulse, find a large blood vessel close to its skin. Pressing hard enough that you can feel the rhythm of blood in the animal’s artery, count the beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four. A heartbeat has two distinct sounds:a “lub” and then a “dub,” but the two together (“lub-dub”) is one heartbeat.

There are multiple places you can check your horse, donkey, mule or cow’s heart rate, including under the jaw, beneath the tail bone or on the fetlock. If you have a stethoscope, find the animal’s pulse behind the point of the left elbow. No matter where you find the animal’s pulse, count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by four.

An elevated pulse (or respiration rate) doesn’t always indicate illness; it could be simply that the animal is fearful or excited.

RESPIRATION

Respiration is the act of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. To get an accurate respiratory rate, the animal should be quiet; it shouldn’t be taken immediately after the animal has exerted himself.

Often an accurate respiration rate can be obtained by simply observing the animal, counting the number of times his nostrils flare or his ribs expand. If you’re struggling to see either of these, you can also place a hand in front of the animal’s nose to feel him exhale. Determine how many times this happens in a 15-second period, then multiply by four.

Respiration rate should never exceed the pulse rate.

LIVESTOCK HEALTH MONITORING: ANIMAL AVERAGES

The accepted average ranges for temperature, pulse and respiration rates for common hobby-farm livestock follow.

HORSE

Temperature: 99 to 101°F

Pulse: 28 to 44 beats per minute

Respiration: 8 to 14 breaths per minute (at rest)

The easiest way to take an equid’s pulse is to place your fingers under the jawbone and press lightly toward the cheek, like where you would find the pulse in your neck. The artery will feel like a piece of thin rope; you’ll feel the blood flowing through the vein by applying gentle pressure.

MULE

Temperature: 99 to 100°F

Pulse: 29 to 36 bpm

Respiration: 11 to 24 breaths per minute (at rest)

While mules are not a species (they’re a hybrid of a horse and a donkey), information on clinical parameters such as temperature, pulse and respiration in mules is incredibly scarce. When looking at recent studies, heart rate in mules appears slower than in other equine, but respiration rate appears to be comparable to those reported in horses.

DONKEY

Temperature: 97.2 to 100°F

Pulse: 36 to 68 bpm

Respiration: 12 to 44 breaths per minute (at rest)

If you’re handling an animal that is unfamiliar with having its temperature taken, assess its pulse and respiration rates before taking its temperature. This will eliminate the possibility of these rates being falsely elevated by stress from the introduction of a new procedure.

PIG

Temperature: 101.5 to 103.5°F

Pulse: 55 to 86 bpm

Respiration: 8 to 18 breaths per minute (at rest)

An arterial pulse cannot be found on a pig; his heart must be felt directly to check his pulse. It’s worthwhile to train your pig to lie on his back so that when you need to feel his chest for his heart rate, the position won’t be completely foreign.

DAIRY CATTLE

Temperature: 101 to 103°F

Pulse: 48 to 84 bpm

Respiration: 18 to 28 breaths per minute (at rest) Respiration rate in cattle is often taken by counting flank movements more than the flaring of nostrils. Start timing on an exhale.

BEEF CATTLE

Temperature: 100 to 102.5°F

Pulse: 50 to 70 bpm

Respiration: 10 to 30 breaths per minute (at rest)

A cow’s pulse can be taken by feeling the artery along the lower edge of the mandible or by feeling the coccygeal artery near the base of the tail. It can also be taken by placing a stethoscope on the left-hand side of the cow, behind his elbow.

SHEEP

Temperature: 101 to 104°F

Pulse: 70 to 80 bpm

Respiration: 12 to 20 breaths per minute (at rest)

The pulse of sheep and goats is often most accessible by feeling the saphenous artery, which runs down the inside of the hind leg. A sheep’s heartrate may increase by more than 50 percent if handling causes him stress, but it will return to near-normal in 5 to 10 minutes.

GOAT

Temperature: 101 to 103.5°F

Pulse: 60 to 90 bpm

Respiration: 12 to 20 breaths per minute (at rest)

Goats and sheep should have noses that are cool and dry; healthy animals will frequently lick their noses with their tongues. A goat that sneezes occasionally is nothing to worry about; goats sneeze when they sense danger to alert other herd members; young goats may sneeze while playing.

LLAMA & ALPACA

Temperature: 99.5 to 102°F

Pulse: 60 to 90 bpm

Respiration: 10 to 30 breaths per minute (at rest)

When checking for the respiration rate of any animal, determine if the animal is struggling to get air into or out of its lungs. Begin by looking at its nostrils and note if they’re flaring (indicating the animal is breathing hard) and if there is any discharge. Is he coughing or sneezing?

Work your visual assessment backward, to the abdomen: Does the animal appear to be struggling to either get air in or expel it from his lungs? Does the animal make any noise while he’s breathing? Any wheezing, snuffling, rattling or groaning is a sign something is amiss; normal breathing is silent unless the animal is exerting itself.

CHICKEN

Temperature: 105 to 107°F

Pulse: 250 to 300 bpm

Respiration: 12 to 37 breaths per minute (at rest)

Like a dog, chickens don’t sweat, so if a hen is breathing through her mouth, she’s likely trying to regulate her body temperature. However, this can also be a sign of stress or illness.

A chicken’s temperature is often more easily taken when there are two handlers: one who can restrain the chicken and one to insert a digital thermometer about an inch into the chicken’s vent.

Livestock health monitoring is relatively easy and few tools are needed other than a keen eye and a watch with a second hand or timer. However, it’s important to know what “average” is for the animals you have. Additionally, as individuals can have their own “normal” that is unique to them, knowing each individual animal’s routine pulse, respiration rate and temperature is key to ensuring you know when something is amiss.

This article about livestock health monitoring was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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Farm & Garden

What Sells Best at Farmers Markets in the Fall

carrots and veggies pictured on a table are what sells best at farmers markets in fall
Suzie's Farm/Flickr

Knowing what sells best at farmers markets in the fall can be difficult. During this time, the customer population tends to decrease. But as many growers know, the fall can also be the most bountiful time in the garden. This provides lots of incentive to make the most of the fall market table.

For that reason, it’s worth considering some ways to make the most of the customers who do come. You want to sell a nice heaping load of vegetables (or whatever you produce) every week. Here are four helpful tips.

1. Consider Gifts & Decorations

Some farmers might complain that what sells best at farmers markets in the fall is not primarily food but rather holiday gifts or décor for the holiday table. Rather than complaining about this, see it as an opportunity. Decorations you might provide include gourds or the Thanksgiving cornucopia, garlic braids for the kitchen or wreaths for the door. Some customers might simply want something to give the foodies in their lives—a locally produced basket of storage crops and preserves, or maybe some local honey.

Some customers might want to sign up a friend or relative for a CSA the following year—so you can display information and label it “Give the Gift of a CSA.”

Having some form of gift on your table might be a bring customers in for the food, or have them buy a little (or big) something extra on their way out of the booth for their family or friends. Get creative here. T-shirts, totes, homemade goods and wool are farm-made items that make great gifts.

2. Keep Quality High

One thing I notice about what sells best at farmers markets in the fall is that lots of people bring greens such as kale and collards, but lots of farmers also allow these items to sit on the table and wilt. In the fall, any extra effort stands out, so any products you bring should look fresh, vibrant and healthy. Always keep a cooler of ice and keep swapping out any rough-looking greens, and remember to mist them with clean and fresh tap water regularly so they look happy.

3. Keep Summer Crops Coming

Certainly, customers expect and want tables piled high with carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but as long as you can keep tomatoes coming, they won’t complain. We always like to do a late planting that, in our region of 6b, will produce in the field up until the first frosts (early to mid-October). Not everyone does that, so it’s one way, of many, to help you to stand out with what sells best at farmers markets in the fall.

4. Make Your Inventory Look Plentiful

No matter what you put on your table, try to put out a lot of it. Figure out ways to keep your display looking heaped and bountiful; customers always respond better to a full table of goods than a thin or bare one. Be creative here, too, though. Don’t stack more than you can sell and end up wasting food. Try to elevate the stacks of food with boxes and non-food items to make each pile of greens or whatever more visible and appealing. If you get customers into your booth and keep your food looking fresh, having a successful fall market should be a breeze—a nice, cool, welcome one after a long, hot summer.

This article about what sells best at farmers markets in the fall was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Poultry

Warm Squash and Oatmeal for Chickens in Cold Weather

chicken eating warm squash and oatmeal for chickens

Warm squash and oatmeal for chickens make wonderful breakfasts to warm your birds from the inside out during cold weather.

As the days get shorter, we chicken keepers start heating the coop waterers. Our chickens are adapting to the changes in weather and temperature, and though they’re hardy animals, it doesn’t mean they’re always comfortable in the cold especially if some are molting late in the season. A warm meal can ease the shock and make the weather a bit more bearable.

Cooked Winter Squash

Pumpkin, like other winter squashes, is high in vitamin A, vitamin C and beta-carotene. It’s just as healthy for chickens as it is for us (when we don’t purée it into a custard full of sugar).

To cook a ripe pumpkin, break off the stem, stab a few holes around the top, and bake at 350°F for one hour. To contain the mess, put the pumpkin in a 9-by-13″ pan lined with aluminum foil. After an hour, turn the oven off and leave the pumpkin in the hot oven for 20 minutes or so, just to make sure it’s nice and soft. After the pumpkin cools enough to touch, slice it into quarters, let it cool a little more, and then serve it to the chickens.

If you try baking a fresher pie pumpkin or other winter squash, like butternut or spaghetti squash, you’ll find they’re very tough to cut into with a knife. In these cases, grab a drill and make two holes in the top of the squash using a 1/2-inch drill bit. This not only saves fingers, but it lets the steam escape the squash so it doesn’t explode all over the oven.

Some people feed their jack-o’-lantern pulp to their flocks when they’re carving pumpkins for Halloween, but I haven’t had success with this. My picky flock will only eat pumpkin seeds if they’re cooked. If you find your flock is like mine, and you can get to your jack-o’-lantern before it starts to decay, cut it up and steam the pumpkin flesh for your flock so it doesn’t go to waste. It’s a great supplement, low in calories and makes a small dent in feed costs.

Warm Oatmeal for Chickens

What I love about feeding warm oatmeal for chickens to my flock, especially on the coldest mornings, is that it’s cheap, it’s hydrating and I can mix in kitchen scraps to make it a little more exciting for the foragers.

I don’t bother cooking the oatmeal because then I have to wait for it to cool. Instead, I put about one cup of old-fashioned oats into a glass bowl, then simply add hot water from the tap. I let the oats soak for a few minutes and sometimes add a little more water.

I always stick my finger into the oatmeal to see if it’s warm enough. If not, I’ll microwave it for 30 seconds, but not more without checking the temperature. I don’t want to risk burning the chickens.

This article about warm squash and oatmeal for chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Farm & Garden

Halloween Pumpkins: 9 Uses After the Holiday

birds eating at halloween pumpkins made as a bird feeder
Adobe Stock/KP Images

Halloween pumpkins can have lots of uses after the holiday is over. Instead of throwing away a porch-worth of jack-o’-lanterns, here are nine uses for them beyond Halloween.

Halloween Pumpkins 101

First, let’s discuss the pumpkin. Chances are that you bought or grew a large pumpkin to carve and decorate as a jack-o’-lantern. These pumpkins are a different variety than the type we normally use for pie. Pie pumpkins, sometimes called sugar pumpkins, are generally a smaller variety with dense and sweet flesh. They have fewer seeds and tend to be less stringy. Pumpkins made for jack-o’-lanterns, on the other hand, are larger pumpkins that have a thinner wall of flesh under the skin. They tend to be more stringy, have more seeds and contain more water than pie pumpkins. That said, you can still eat jack-o’-lantern pumpkins, though.

Here’s a list of uses for your jack-o’-lantern pumpkin after Halloween.

1. Save the Seeds for Eating

jack-o-lantern pumpkin seeds
Melissa Griffiths

Once you have a hole cut in the top of your pumpkin, scoop the seeds into a bowl. There’s no need to put them right in the trash. When you have scooped out all the seeds, fill the bowl with water and use your hands to separate the seeds from the stringy flesh. Place the seeds in a colander and spray or rinse them in water, using your hands as needed to remove any additional stringy flesh, until they are cleaned. Set them aside to dry. You can roast them in all sorts of way. My very favorite way to eat saved pumpkin seeds is to make honey roasted pumpkin seeds. They’re easy, healthy, full of fiber and excellent on salads!

2. Save the Seeds for Planting

jack-o-lantern pumpkin seeds
Joanne/Flickr

Treat the seeds the same way you did to prepare them for eating except don’t cook them. Once the seeds have been washed, lay them on a towel to dry. Pick out a nice selection of the largest blemish-free seeds. Let the seeds air-dry completely and then store them in a brown paper bag. After a month take a look at your seeds. This will have given your seeds time to fully dry. Discard any seeds that show signs of rot or mold. Label your seeds and store them in a dark, cool place until you are ready to plant them in the spring.

3. Cook With the Extra Jack-O’-Lantern Flesh

halloween pumpkins flesh used for cooking
Cascadian Farms/Flickr

While you are carving your jack-o’-lantern you might end up with some extra flesh. Once the slimy parts and seeds have been removed, you might want to remove some of the extra flesh to make carving easier. I like to use a sturdy spoon or even an ice-cream scooper to scrape some of it away. Keep the flesh in a bowl and rinse off any extra seeds or stringy parts. You can use the flesh by microwaving it, boiling it or roasting it until it is fork tender. Turn the cooked pumpkin flesh into pumpkin purée by running it through a food mill, blender or food processor, and then use it in your favorite pumpkin recipes.

Avoid using the flesh of a pumpkin that’s been sitting on your porch and is starting to turn black. This could be harmful to your health.

4. Pickle the Rind

Have you ever tried pickled pumpkin rind? Any pickle lover will tell you it is delicious. You can pickle the rind of a very recently carved pumpkin—one that shows no signs of rot or mold—or you can save the pieces that you carved, like the smile, eye and nose of your jack-o’-lantern that you no longer need.

To pickle the rind, use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer orange skin of the pumpkin. Cut the rind—this will be an inch-thick section right under the skin—into 2-inch squares. For each pound of pumpkin, use 2½ cup of sugar, 2 cups white vinegar and a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger. A cinnamon stick is good, too. Put the sugar, vinegar and spices in large pot, bring to a boil, add the pumpkin, and cook until the pumpkin is tender. Chill overnight before serving.

5. Compost It

halloween pumpkins in the compost
kitty meets goat/Flickr

Pumpkin is such a great addition to your compost pile. If you’re using a heap method to compost, just toss your pumpkins on the pile. If you are using a more delicate method, you might want to cut your old jack-o’-lanterns into smaller pieces before adding them to your pile.

6. Bury Your Jack-O’-Lantern Leftovers

If composting isn’t your thing but you have a garden, dig a hole, toss them in, and let nature take over. By simply burying your leftover jack-o’-lanterns you will easily amend your soil. When it comes time to till the soil in the spring, you won’t find many jack-o’-lantern leftovers. You may find a few volunteer plants later in the season, though, if there were any seeds left in the pumpkin!

7. Feed Your Livestock, Chickens or Worms

Livestock love pumpkins! So do chickens and worm farms. Did you know that pumpkins can be used as a natural dewormer? Here’s what Lisa Steele from Fresh Eggs Daily has to say about that, “The pumpkin seeds (as well as the seeds of other members of the cucurbitaceae family, such as winter, summer, zucchini and crookneck squash, gourds, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon) are coated with a substance called cucurbitacin that paralyzes the worms. The larger fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of cucurbitacin, while the smaller cucumber contains far less.”

8. Turn It Into a Planter

halloween pumpkins turned into planters
gardenworkscanada/Instagram

Keep your jack-o’-lantern around longer by turning it into a planter. After you’ve carved your pumpkin, dip it in a large bucket of vinegar solution: one part vinegar to four parts water. This will help slow the decay process. After Halloween put a layer of burlap or landscape cloth inside the jack-o’-lantern where you’ve carved the face—this will help to keep the soil from falling out. Fill the pumpkin with soil and add a fall plant. Mums are inexpensive this time of year and make a great choice. Plant the mum, or plant of your choice, and water well. Place the planted jack-o’-lantern on your porch with the carved part facing the house so you don’t see it as well.

9. Make a Pumpkin Bird Feeder

pumpkin jack-o-lantern bird feeder
Dreamy Whites Lifestyle/Instagram

This is a really fun craft project with kids or grandkids. You can simply fill up your old Halloween pumpkins with a layer of bird feed and put them somewhere you’ll be able to watch the birds come and go. You can get more creative by hanging pumpkins. You can also carve out a large section of the back of the pumpkins so that you can see more of what the birds are doing inside. The birds might eat a bit of the pumpkin, as well as the seeds.

Don’t stop there! There are all kind of ways you can use your Halloween pumpkins after Halloween. Let this list be your springboard, the possibilities are endless.

This article about Halloween pumpkins was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Farm & Garden

Fall Vegetable Garden: 11 Crops to Plant

leeks fall garden crops
liz west/Flickr

A fall vegetable garden is the perfect place and time for getting your favorite root vegetables in the ground and seeding perennial staples. While you plan and tend to your fall garden, it’s also the time of year to leaf through catalogs and order seeds for early spring planting.

Why to Plant in a Fall Vegetable Garden

By taking advantage of autumn’s cooler temperatures and bouts of rain, you can extend your garden season quite a bit. Although North America offers a huge range of winter temperatures, in all but the coldest regions, it’s often possible to harvest crops right through December, January and February—that is, if you select the right ones. Some crops, such as members of the onion family, like a blanket of snow, and even tender crops such as spinach and lettuce, as well as many herbs, can handle sub-freezing temperatures, especially if you grow them under row covers or in cold frames.

If you’re working on a plan to put your summer growing space to bed and need some help determining which crops to include in the fall garden that can take you into the cooler months, here’s a quick guide for planting and transplanting.

1. Garlic

If you want to harvest big, juicy heads of garlic in July, you need to plant them in October. It’s important to order seed garlic—large heads of garlic that are free of sprouting inhibitors—from seed companies in late-summer to early fall, as supplies often run low. Separate the garlic bulbs into cloves, leaving the skin on, and plant each clove with the pointed side up and the blunt side down 1 to 2 inches deep in well-worked soil. Cloves should be spaced 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 1 foot apart.

Plant shallots for the fall garden using the same growing instructions.

2. Leeks

Other members of the allium family—onions, leeks, chives and shallots—all do well in the garden over the winter, as well. Leeks especially love the cold weather, so sow seeds directly in the fall vegetable garden or start seeds in peat pots in late summer for fall transplant. Space the plants 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 1 foot apart, and mound dirt around the stalk every couple of weeks to encourage the white end. (The part of the stalk that grows above ground will turn green.) You can harvest leeks when the base of the stalk reaches 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

3. Onions

Onion sets, or bulblets, are widely available in fall, and by planting as cold weather approaches, you may get fresh scallions over the winter. In the coldest regions, the sets may hibernate underground in winter, but they will pop up in the spring. Plant onions 1 to 2 inches deep in soil mixed with some compost—a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 is preferred. Avoid burying the neck of the plants too deeply to avoid rot, and provide consistent irrigation until the bulbs get bigger.

4. Chives

Chives can be seeded in the fall vegetable garden. You can also split existing clumps to transplant in the garden or pot up to bring inside for year-long use. Snip chives for use in cooking 30 days after transplanting or 60 days after seeding. If you cut the chives down 1 to 2 inches from the base, you should be able to get three to four harvests per year.

5. Strawberries

Young strawberry plants are typically sold for spring planting, but plenty of companies sell them in the fall, as well. With this seasonal jumpstart, you may be able to pick up a whole season of productivity. Many gardeners pinch off all the blossoms during the first season to allow the plants to put energy into root development; fall vegetable garden planting lets you leave the spring blossoms on and harvest a crop the first year.

6. Rhubarb

Late fall is a great time to split existing rhubarb crowns. If you don’t have plants of your own, seek out a friend who can share their wealth. Divide the crown into sections that contain one to three buds, and replant about 2 to 3 feet apart before the bulb dries out. Amend the soil with a 12-12-12 fertilizer, compost, bone meal or rock phosphate, and cover the area with mulch. Rhubarb takes a few years to get established, and fall planting lets the harvest begin a year earlier than otherwise.

7. Horseradish

Like rhubarb, horseradish can also be divided in the fall vegetable garden and will take a couple years of growth before you can harvest. It likes very cool temperatures for root growth and flavor development, so it’s an excellent choice for cooler climates. It’s also fairly drought-tolerant, but regular irrigation will help prevent woodiness.

8. Greens

Spinach, chard, kale and lettuce are must-haves in the fall garden. Plant seeds in late-summer to early fall for a quick crop of these greens—the cool weather sweetens them and prevents them from bolting. If you happen to get seeds in the ground too late, do not worry. Look for the sprouts to come up in spring.

9. Radishes

Radishes are famous for their speedy growth—as few as four weeks from planting to harvest for some varieties. Those planted from seed in the fall vegetable garden will provide a nice crop of rosy roots and edible greens after summer crops are through. The cool weather enhances their flavor, and you can sow them successively for a constant crop.

10. Cilantro

Lacy and delicate, cilantro is really pretty tough. It sprouts quickly from seed, producing edible leaves in a few weeks, followed by the seeds, known as coriander. If planted in late fall, cilantro seeds may stay dormant over winter and sprout quickly in spring. The plants will also frequently self-sow.

11. Parsley

Parsley is another great cool-weather crop for the fall vegetable garden. While growing it from seed can take forever, you can transplant clumps in fall that may stay productive much of the winter.

Protecting Your Fall Vegetable Garden Crop

It’s a good idea to protect fall-planted areas over the winter with a layer of straw to provide a layer of insulation and prevent frost heaving as soil freezes and thaws. Frost heaving is not as big a big concern with small seeds and seedlings as it is with crops like rhubarb and horseradish, which have larger roots. Don’t lay the straw down in a thick layer; rather, remove sections from the bale and fluff them up and sprinkle the loose material over the soil.

Avoid adding too much water and fertilizer to the soil in the fall. You don’t want too much tender growth too fast. Frail stems are susceptible to the cold.

This article about what to plant in the fall vegetable garden was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Recipes

Apple Tea: How to Make This Fall Recipe

apple tea served in a silver mug with apple slices
istetiana/Adobe Stock

Apple tea is perfect for celebrating cool fall temperatures and apple-picking season.

Below is a recipe from The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants and Flowers, written by Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano.

Have you heard the term, “Green Witch” over the past few years? The definition of a green witch is someone who embraces nature and intentionally works toward living in harmony with the earth and humanity. Green witches believe that their “connection to the earth and the universe allows them to draw great power from creating love, health, peace, blessings and harmony in their world.”

Magical herbalism is the central practice of a green witch. The two Green Witches who authored this book seek to encourage readers to transform everyday flowers, fruits and plants from the garden into salts, herbal infusions, soaps, sachets, tinctures and more.

Enjoy the recipe below. I’d say this apple tea is definitely worth making again and again.

Apple Tea Recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients

  • 2 green tea bags
  • 2 sticks of cinnamon
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 4 whole allspice berries
  • 1 cup unsweetened organic apple juice or apple cider
  • 1 green organic apple, sliced
  • Maple syrup or organic sugar, to taste

Instructions

In a saucepan, bring teo cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags, cinnamon, cloves and allspice to the pan. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep for three minutes.

Discard tea bags and spices. Stir in apple juice (or cider) and heat through.

Always remember that spoons are a kind of wand. You can use them while you cook to direct your energy and intentions to empower whatever you are preparing.

Serve tea with the green apple slices and sweetener of choice.

This recipe has been shared from The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants and Flowers with permission from Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

This article about a fall apple tea recipe was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Equipment

Tracked Vehicles: Can Your Farm Benefit From One?

skid steer carrying dirt in front bucket is an example of tracked vehicles for the farm
Skid Steer carrying dirt to build foundation pad in front bucket. Adobe Stock/Susan Waldron

Tracked vehicles can be a game changer in certain circumstances. Learn how your farm may benefit from the use of a vehicle with tracks instead of tires.

What are tracks?

Tracks go by a few different names. You might know them as caterpillar treads, and vehicles that have them are sometimes known as crawlers. Picture a military tank driving around on continuous bands of interconnected metal plates instead of tires—that’s an example of a tracked vehicle.

Many tracked vehicles have two tracks, one on each side. Some large agricultural tractors have four tracks, with two on each side. The length, width, and configuration of the tracks can vary depending on the vehicle and its purpose. Tracks can be made of metal, rubber, or a combination of both.

You don’t have to invest in a powerful agricultural tractor to gain the advantages of a tracked vehicle. A skid steer with tracks is a more affordable and practical option for small-scale farmers looking to benefit from tracks without breaking the bank. Also, some utility tractors are either designed to work with tracks or can be fitted with them. An example is the John Deere 40C, a version of the John Deere 40 that came with tracks instead of tires.

Advantages of tracks vs. tires

Tracks offer a big advantage over tires: improved flotation. What does this mean? It means the tracks spread the weight of the vehicle across a larger footprint and decrease the likelihood of the machine sinking into soft or wet ground. They “float” across the ground and won’t rut the soil as much as tires, especially if you opt for wide tracks that spread weight even more. With improved flotation, a tracked vehicle is less likely to get bogged down or stuck in wet ground. Traction in soft conditions can be much superior with tracks than tires.

Another advantage of tracks compared to tires is the fact tracks can’t go flat. Tracks can become damaged, true, but you don’t have to keep an eye on tire air pressure and won’t be interrupted by flat or punctured tires.

Tracked vehicles can also offer a smooth ride, since their large footprint evens out bumps and dips in the terrain. And they can be quite maneuverable, even turning in place by driving the tracks in opposite directions, much like a zero-turn mower. Most farm vehicles with tires don’t have this turn-in-place ability.

Disadvantages of tracks vs. tires

Of course, it’s hard to engineer perfection, and tracked vehicles have disadvantages too. Maintenance is a downside; the components of the tracks suffer a lot of strain while in operation, so you may find yourself replacing parts (like rollers, idlers, etc.) as they wear out. Maintaining proper track tension is another area requiring attention. And while specifics may vary, the track components also require grease and oil. Regularly cleaning the tracks can help prevent excess wear and mechanical issues, but that’s an extra chore, and not always an easy one.

Another disadvantage? Tracks can inflict damage to the terrain over which they drive. Tracked vehicles steer by driving their tracks at different speeds. This method of turning can be damaging to various types of ground, including lawns and grassy fields. Plus, metal tracks can damage pavement. Rubberized tracks can help alleviate these issues, but no solution is perfect.

Also, tracked vehicles tend to be more expensive than similar vehicles with tires.

Will your farm benefit from a tracked vehicle?

It comes down to this: if you need to tackle farming jobs over wet or soft ground, a tracked vehicle can allow you to power through conditions that would stop wheeled vehicles, either because they would get stuck or because they would cause too much rutting. And if you need to operate, say, a front-end loader in tight spots where maneuverability is critical, a small tracked vehicle like a skid steer might be perfect.

However, if you don’t see yourself in these circumstances—if your land is typically dry and firm and you don’t need to maneuver in tight spots—a vehicle with tires can alleviate the disadvantages of tracks and serve your needs just fine.

This article about tracked vehicles was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Categories
Poultry

How Much Does It Cost to Raise Chickens?

group of chickens inside a chicken coop which is included in how much does it cost to raise chickens
Adobe Stock/nd700

How much does it cost to raise chickens? While purchasing chicks is relatively inexpensive, the coop, run, feed, and other expenses quickly add up. Learn how much it costs to raise chickens before you get started.

What Do You Need to Get Started

All chickens need some basic essentials: a coop, run, feed, feeders, water fountains, perches, nesting boxes, and protection from predators are all essentials your chickens can’t live without.

The Coop

If you have ever Googled, “How much does it cost to raise chickens?” You have already learned that the coop is the largest expense. Coop prices vary depending on the size of the coop you acquire, whether you purchase an already-built coop, assemble one yourself, or construct a “coop” in an existing outbuilding.

Before purchasing or constructing a coop, consider what you want your future flock to look like. By planning ahead, you can prevent having to erect another coop in the future, saving you further expenses.

group of chickens at a feeder included in how much does it cost to raise chickens is the feeder, feed, birds and their shelter
Adobe Stock/thomaszobl

Pre-Built Chicken Coop Costs

Despite their cost, pre-built chicken coops are a popular option for starter flocks.  Assembled coops range in price from several hundred dollars to over six thousand dollars, depending on the coop size, whether there is an attached run, and the quality of the coop you are purchasing.

Bear in mind that for pre-built coop companies to cut costs, they may also be of lesser quality, so be sure to shop around for the safest coop, not just the cheapest.

DIY Coops

If you are handy at building things, DIY coops are an excellent way to cut costs. DIY coops also allow you to be creative and build the ideal coop to fit your needs. Construct a coop that is functional, human-accessible, predator-proof, and weather-proofed to keep your flock safe for the best chicken-raising experience.

When purchasing coop building supplies, avoid cheap materials such as chicken wire to create a safe home for the flock. The average cost of a DIY coop falls between three hundred and one thousand five hundred dollars.

Barn Coops

Constructing a coop in an existing barn or other outbuilding is the most budget-friendly option. Take care to only house chickens in an outbuilding with a wooden or cement floor. The estimated cost of constructing a coop in an outbuilding is between three and six hundred dollars. (Bear in mind that this cost does not include any repairs needed to make the outbuilding predator-proofed.)

Building the Run

Many chicken coops have runs attached to them, but constructing a run is necessary if you plan on housing your flock in a building without an attached run. Like the coop, the run should be safe from predators (including digging and ariel predators).

Chicken tractors are the most popular run options and generally cost between three hundred and four thousand dollars, depending on the size. Chicken tractors are often not completely predator-proof, which will add additional costs.

Coop Essentials

Coop essentials should not cost too much unless you plan to be extravagant. These essentials include nesting boxes, a perch, feeders, and water founts. To better learn how much does it cost to raise chickens, let’s look at the prices for these coop essentials.

The Perch

Untreated 2x4x8 boards (cut down to desired perch size) are really the best perching option, costing under five dollars per board. These boards make for better perches than old ladders, as the narrow side of the board is the ideal width for hens to easily grip the perch with their feet.

Nesting Boxes

Nesting box prices vary depending on whether you buy some from a manufacturer, build your own, or use some old storage containers. My flock uses plastic containers from Walmart, as they are budget-friendly and easy to clean up any accidental egg messes.

Nesting box prices vary from twenty dollars to several hundred, depending on your chosen style.

Feeders & Water Founts

Like all chicken care products, feeders and water fountain prices vary depending on style and size. However, for basic water founts and feeders for small backyard flocks, each feeder and water fount should cost approximately ten dollars.

Always have at least two feeders and two water founts in case one accidentally spills to ensure your flock has water and food at all times.

Feed Costs

Pellets, crumble, organic, natural, and non-organic are some of the choices to make before you can decide the estimated cost of feeding chickens. Estimate one fifty-pound bag of feed per month for every ten chickens (depending on the chickens’ age and the time of year).

  • Organic Feed Cost: $30.00-$40.00 per forty lbs. of feed
  • Non-Organic Feed Cost: $20.00-$25.00 per fifty lbs. of feed

Predator Protection

Predator protection costs vary depending on the condition of the coop/barn or existing outbuilding and run you have and the predators found in your area. Remember, predator-proofing is a life-long endeavor, not a once-and-done chore, leading to additional costs per year.

Chicken Costs

The average laying pullet (chick) costs about four dollars. For a flock of ten chickens, the estimated cost is forty dollars. Purchasing chicks through a feedstore will help cut costs, as you won’t need to pay for shipping.

How Much Does It Cost to Raise Chickens in Total?

How much does it cost to raise chickens in total depends on your specific wants and needs. However, the estimated startup costs for a flock of ten usually fall between one thousand three hundred dollars to over eight thousand dollars.

Additional costs should be considered when raising chickens for pets, including treats, supplements, and vet care.

How much does it cost to raise chickens depends on how you want to raise your flock and how important it is to protect them from predators. But for those drawn to raising their own food or pet chicken flock, the costs and effort are well worth the money and time.

This article about how much does it cost to raise chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.