OT. Colorado people could help here

Could anyone living in Colarado tell me how cold your weather has been
(minimum temp) up to now this winter.
The reason I ask is that there is a the start of a flame war on my chicken
group. Person from Colorado posts to say she has lost chickens. Person
from Michigan posts saying what do you expect if you keep them outside in
your sort of weather.
Person from England (someone a bit like Megan, means well, but attacks too
quickly) posts to say
"I find it deeply saddening that someone got chickens knowing full well she
didn't have proper housing for them and seems totally unconcerned that they
are freezing to death :0( "

There's no question that these chickens had some sort of hut or shed for
shelter. How realistic is it for it not to be insulated in a Colorado
winter, and if it wasn't, would you expect chickens to freeze to death
inside there?

This UK poster can be a PITA about this sort of thing, without knowing the
facts will accuse people of cruelty, mostly unfounded and very insulting to
those concerned.
So, my friends on rpca, if you can arm me with the true information, I would
take a great delight in shooting her down in flames. To tell the truth I'm
fed up with her assumptions and the upset she keeps causing. Often genuine
newbies search for a newsgroup to air their problem. To me that shows
someone that cares. Then they get flamed by this woman.
I'd like to get my facts right before I go off the deep end
For all I know it might be -40 in Colorado, and an insulated hut would be
essential. On the other hand the temperature mightn't get too low. I
haven't a clue about winter weather temperatures in Colorado.
Can any of you help?
TIA

Tweed

I have no idea what sort of temperatures chickens need to survive.

A typical Colorado winter day might see a low in the teens (fahrenheit) and a
high in the 40s. However, the Colorado state motto is, "If you don't like the
weather, wait 5 minutes!" I've experienced 80 degree drops in a single day.

During the day, it is very sunny, so it would not be unreasonable to walk
around in a sweatshirt and no coat many winter days. Once it gets dark,
though, it's quite a bit colder.

Also, in a given winter, you would typically expect to see at least a few days
in which the high is in the single-digits. Not very long ago, we had a few
days in which the high was something like 15 degrees. In fact, a homeless man
in Boulder was run over because it was so cold that he risked falling asleep
on a vent in the middle of the road, just to keep warm. We also recently had
winds with gusts up to (if I remember correctly) 80 miles per hour.

All of that being said, while I wouldn't leave a pet out on most winter
nights, I don't know what the typical farmer would do with their livestock.

On 2005-01-12, Christina Websell penned:

Could anyone living in Colarado tell me how cold your weather has been
(minimum temp) up to now this winter. The reason I ask is that there is a
the start of a flame war on my chicken group. Person from Colorado posts to
say she has lost chickens. Person from Michigan posts saying what do you
expect if you keep them outside in your sort of weather. Person from
England (someone a bit like Megan, means well, but attacks too quickly)
posts to say "I find it deeply saddening that someone got chickens knowing
full well she didn't have proper housing for them and seems totally
unconcerned that they are freezing to death :0( "

There's no question that these chickens had some sort of hut or shed for
shelter. How realistic is it for it not to be insulated in a Colorado
winter, and if it wasn't, would you expect chickens to freeze to death
inside there?

This UK poster can be a PITA about this sort of thing, without knowing the
facts will accuse people of cruelty, mostly unfounded and very insulting to
those concerned. So, my friends on rpca, if you can arm me with the true
information, I would take a great delight in shooting her down in flames.
To tell the truth I'm fed up with her assumptions and the upset she keeps
causing. Often genuine newbies search for a newsgroup to air their problem.
To me that shows someone that cares. Then they get flamed by this woman.
I'd like to get my facts right before I go off the deep end For all I
know it might be -40 in Colorado, and an insulated hut would be essential.
On the other hand the temperature mightn't get too low. I haven't a clue
about winter weather temperatures in Colorado. Can any of you help? TIA

Tweed








--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

Could anyone living in Colarado tell me how cold your weather has been
(minimum temp) up to now this winter.
The reason I ask is that there is a the start of a flame war on my chicken
group. Person from Colorado posts to say she has lost chickens. Person
from Michigan posts saying what do you expect if you keep them outside in
your sort of weather.
Person from England (someone a bit like Megan, means well, but attacks too
quickly) posts to say
"I find it deeply saddening that someone got chickens knowing full well
she
didn't have proper housing for them and seems totally unconcerned that
they
are freezing to death :0( "

There's no question that these chickens had some sort of hut or shed for
shelter. How realistic is it for it not to be insulated in a Colorado
winter, and if it wasn't, would you expect chickens to freeze to death
inside there?

This UK poster can be a PITA about this sort of thing, without knowing the
facts will accuse people of cruelty, mostly unfounded and very insulting
to
those concerned.
So, my friends on rpca, if you can arm me with the true information, I
would
take a great delight in shooting her down in flames. To tell the truth
I'm
fed up with her assumptions and the upset she keeps causing. Often genuine
newbies search for a newsgroup to air their problem. To me that shows
someone that cares. Then they get flamed by this woman.
I'd like to get my facts right before I go off the deep end
For all I know it might be -40 in Colorado, and an insulated hut would be
essential. On the other hand the temperature mightn't get too low. I
haven't a clue about winter weather temperatures in Colorado.
Can any of you help?

Here's a climate summary for many places in Colorado
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmco.html

I've never kept chickens. But lets just transfer this over to cats, because
the analogy is the same. I go out and leave Shmogg inside the house. During
summer, it can get very hot in my house, but Shmogg has so far beem just
fine - and has been just fine for all his 15 years. But there is a
possibility that it could be *very* hot this summer and when I get home
after a week of temperatures higher than ever before, that Shmogg has been
overcome by the heat and has gone to Rainbow Bridge. That does not mean for
the last 14 years I have been an irresponsible cat owner, nor that I should
have installed air-con to keep Shmogg cool during the hot summers, because
of the remote possibility of a heat wave that he wouldn't survive. I can't
predict what will happen in the future, all I can do is judge on previous
experience and take *reasonable steps* to ensure the safety and well being
of my animals. At this point, I don't consider it reasonable to install air
conditioning on the off chance that there will be a heat wave of such
magnitude that it will kill my cat, but of course, if I knew that such a
heatwave was about to occur, I *would* make sure that Shmogg was safe.

Ditto with the chicken owner. Assuming that he or she has been keeping
chickens in Colorado for a number of years and has never previously had a
problem, it is reasonable to assume that he or she took appropriate steps to
protect said chickens from the cold, and those steps have worked in the
past. I am also sure that, had they known that said chickens were in danger,
that they would have taken additional precautions, but us humans aren't
known for our prescience.

It could also be a possibility that losing a few chickens each year is just
one of those unfortunate facts of chicken farming. There's always a cost
(not necessarily dollars) / benefit (also not necesarily dollars) ratio that
we have to consider each time we take a risk - no matter how small. Thats
why we humans live on fault lines, in hurricane and tornado areas, and
tragically for many - near the sea.

Yowie

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

..... There's no question that these chickens had some sort of hut or shed
for
shelter. How realistic is it for it not to be insulated in a Colorado
winter, and if it wasn't, would you expect chickens to freeze to death
inside there?
.... Tweed
To put the question on-topic, we had three hens for a number of years when
we lived in Eastern Washington State. They were a FFA project for one of our
daughters. I don't know about Colorado, but I imagine it is much colder
there because of the higher elevation.
Anyway, one winter it was colder than usual in Washington, and the
temperature hovered just at and just below freezing for several days. I had
to haul water for the horses because their trough froze.
Our hens had a little shelter with nesting boxes with hay for bedding. The
shelter had a flap I could raise to get to the hens.
Each day I took out feed and water for them so they wouldn't have to get
their little chicken feet cold and gave them breakfast in bed.
Usually, we brought the cats inside at night, but one night Mac made himself
scarce. He had access to a barn and lots of tunnels between bales of hay, so
I wasn't too worried about him.
The next morning I went out and lifted the flap to the chicken shelter, and
there, nestled between two hens, was Mac.
That is one picture I'll always wish I could have taken.

As for the Colorado chickens, I think they would need some kind of shelter
and it probably would need to be insulated. (Unless they had a willing cat.)
Annie

When I lived in Colorado(near Wolf Creek Pass)..low those many years
ago....we had a large wooden shed with hay on the ground and nesting boxes
on shelves...in the winter the chickens were shushed inside at dusk ...the
doors and windows were closed and lighting was turned on.....No problems
with the cold nor did we have any chickens die(that I recall)...The key
was..get them out of the wind and snow at nite..also key to keep the
predators from getting at them in the night) :-) Liz (PS..it averaged 0*-5*
at night... most winter nites)

"Annie Wxill" wrote in message
...

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

.... There's no question that these chickens had some sort of hut or shed
for
shelter. How realistic is it for it not to be insulated in a Colorado
winter, and if it wasn't, would you expect chickens to freeze to death
inside there?
... Tweed
To put the question on-topic, we had three hens for a number of years
when
we lived in Eastern Washington State. They were a FFA project for one of
our
daughters. I don't know about Colorado, but I imagine it is much colder
there because of the higher elevation.
Anyway, one winter it was colder than usual in Washington, and the
temperature hovered just at and just below freezing for several days. I
had
to haul water for the horses because their trough froze.
Our hens had a little shelter with nesting boxes with hay for bedding. The
shelter had a flap I could raise to get to the hens.
Each day I took out feed and water for them so they wouldn't have to get
their little chicken feet cold and gave them breakfast in bed.
Usually, we brought the cats inside at night, but one night Mac made
himself
scarce. He had access to a barn and lots of tunnels between bales of hay,
so
I wasn't too worried about him.
The next morning I went out and lifted the flap to the chicken shelter,
and
there, nestled between two hens, was Mac.
That is one picture I'll always wish I could have taken.

As for the Colorado chickens, I think they would need some kind of shelter
and it probably would need to be insulated. (Unless they had a willing
cat.)
Annie

On 2005-01-13, :-)Liz penned:
When I lived in Colorado(near Wolf Creek Pass)..low those many years
ago....we had a large wooden shed with hay on the ground and nesting boxes
on shelves...in the winter the chickens were shushed inside at dusk ...the
doors and windows were closed and lighting was turned on.....No problems
with the cold nor did we have any chickens die(that I recall)...The key
was..get them out of the wind and snow at nite..also key to keep the
predators from getting at them in the night) :-) Liz (PS..it averaged 0*-5*
at night... most winter nites)

Wow, you lived near wolf creek? I hope you skied!

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:19:34 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

Could anyone living in Colarado tell me how cold your weather has been
(minimum temp) up to now this winter.

Try http://www.noaa.gov.

Colorado is larger than the UK and temperatures vary. They are
expecting 17 F (-9 C) in Denver tonight.

"Annie Wxill" had some very interesting
things to say about OT. Colorado people could help he

Usually, we brought the cats inside at night, but one night Mac made himself
scarce. He had access to a barn and lots of tunnels between bales of hay, so
I wasn't too worried about him.
The next morning I went out and lifted the flap to the chicken shelter, and
there, nestled between two hens, was Mac.
That is one picture I'll always wish I could have taken.

I wish you had, too. I'd have loved to see it. :-)

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

Sure did! Especially loved cross country skiing...nothing more beautiful and
glorious than that! Of course, you always had to be aware of avalanche
conditions!...I also, loved fly fishing and backpacking....wish my knees
were still good...I really miss the 3 day pack-ins...:-) Liz

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-13, :-)Liz penned:
When I lived in Colorado(near Wolf Creek Pass)..low those many years
ago....we had a large wooden shed with hay on the ground and nesting
boxes
on shelves...in the winter the chickens were shushed inside at dusk
....the
doors and windows were closed and lighting was turned on.....No problems
with the cold nor did we have any chickens die(that I recall)...The key
was..get them out of the wind and snow at nite..also key to keep the
predators from getting at them in the night) :-) Liz (PS..it averaged
0*-5*
at night... most winter nites)

Wow, you lived near wolf creek? I hope you skied!

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On 2005-01-13, :-)Liz penned:
Sure did! Especially loved cross country skiing...nothing more beautiful and
glorious than that! Of course, you always had to be aware of avalanche
conditions!...I also, loved fly fishing and backpacking....wish my knees
were still good...I really miss the 3 day pack-ins...:-) Liz

I've never been to wolf creek, but I have a friend who swears by it.

Sorry about the knees =/ Mine suck too. I'm trying a glucosamine supplement.
A friend said her knees got a lot better when she started taking the stuff.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*