Chickens and Snow | The Kuntry Klucker

Homemade Flock Block

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Noelle K. Moser

As a dangerous winter storm will soon impact the Northern Hemisphere, people are preparing for impacts of snow, ice, and severe cold temperatures. Store shelves are picked clean, and pet and livestock owners are stocking essentials for their animals till the storm relinquishes its grip.

During this time, many backyard chicken keepers will need to confine the flock to the pen and coop. While the flock is cooped up, providing stimulating activities will assist the flock in weathering the worst of Old Man Winter.

***The Kuntry Klucker and Henwarts covered in a blanket of freshly fallen snow.***

When winter storms impact our region, I like to prepare my flock a homemade flockblock for my hens and gents. All ingredients are available in most home pantries or easy to obtain in stores. Over the past decade, I have had much success with this recipe, and the girls greatly enjoy the break from the winter blues with this boredom buster.

Ingredients:

2 cups of scratch grains (cracked corn is also good)

1 cup layer feed (pellets or crumbles)

1 Cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup flax seed (ground or whole)

1/4 cup flour (whole wheat is best)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 eggs (shells included)

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

1/2 coconut oil

1 cup raisins (dried cranberries, blueberries, or bananas will also work)

Begin by placing the scratch and layer feed in a large bowl.

Add the oats.

Next, add the spices. The cinnamon aids in respiratory health in the cold weather and the cayenne pepper helps circulation.

Next, add the raisins. The raisins will promote pecking as they look like tasty bugs, plump after baking.

Mix all the dry ingredients together well. After mixing, add the flour and the eggs. Crush up the eggshells into smaller pieces when mixing. The eggshells will dehydrate while baking adding calcium to the final product.

After mixing the eggs in well, add the blackstrap molasses and coconut oil.

Continue to mix. As the molasses and coconut oil combines, the mixture should be sticky and hold a ball shape when compressed in the hand.

Select an oven baking pan and line with foil. Spray the foil with a cooking spray for easy release after baking.

For a large flock block, select a square baking dish. If you prefer to hang the flock block in the pen, bread pans work best because it is roughly the size of a standard suit feeder. For free-hang, a round pie dish works best. Poke a hole in the area where rope or twine be will inserted. You can also double the recipe to create a large flock block to fill a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Press the mixture into the chosen baking dish. Press hard to compact the mixture as much as possible. This will result in a dense flock block that will not fall apart when removing from the pan.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the baking dish or dishes into the oven and bake for 35 minutes.

After baking, cut the flock block into the desired size. If you plan to hang the flock block in a suit feeder, a bread pan flock block can be cut in half, into two equal sizes that will fit nicely. If you prefer a larger flock block to free-hang in the pen, cut a hole for the rope of twine.

Do not try to remove the flock block from the baking pan till cool. Removing the flock block while warm will increase the chance that it will fall apart. As it cools, the flock block will harden making removal simple.

Once the flock block has cooled, remove by lifting the foil out of the pan and turn over. This recipe will freeze for several months when wrapped in plastic wrap and foil.

Wishing everyone the best. Stay safe during this historic winter storm and cold weather and remember to give your flock boredom busters to help them bide the time while cooped up.

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Till next time, keep on crowing!

~ The Kuntry Klucker Crew ~

Winterizing Your Chicken Coop and Pen: 5 Tips for Free-Ranging in Winter

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Noelle K. Moser

Snow covers the ground as flurries silently whisp through the air. The flock anxiously waits for me to open the coop door to the outdoors as the sun illuminates the land. Nature has intelligently equipped chickens to live outdoors and embrace the winter season. Winterizing a flock includes preparing the pen and coop for winter while allowing the flock access to fresh air and a few rays from the winter sun. Here are my five tips to free-range a flock in winter.

A Winterized Coop and Pen.

***The Kuntry Klucker wrapped in plastic to keep the coop and pen clean and dry.***

To successfully free-range a flock in winter, a winterized coop and pen are necessary. In addition to growing in new feathers, chickens will grow in winter down for the coming winter during the annual molt; the coats we put on when the temperature dips are the same coats the flock is wearing factory-installed. A backyard flock does not need artificial heat to survive the winter elements, just a draft-free, dry, and clean. A draft-free winterized coop allows the flock to gauge their comfort level, venturing outside and returning as necessary.

Access to a dust bath.

***Buff Orpington Hens taking advantage of a prepared dust bath in The Kuntry Klucker pen***.

Dust bathing is a natural instinctive behavior in chickens. Dust baths help to keep feathers clean and in good condition. During the winter, the ground covered with snow or wet limits access to natural dust bathing sites outside the coop. Providing a dust bath in a winterized pen allows the flock to continue their natural behaviors in the bleak winter. A mixture of peat moss, play sand, and wood ash is the perfect medium for a dust bath.

Boredom Busters.

During the winter, when snow covers the ground, the flock will appreciate boredom busters that will keep them entertained and engaged. Throwing some chicken scratch or corn on the ground will keep the flock entertained as they forage for the morsels. A flock block in the free-ranging area will help engage pecking instincts while snow covers the ground. Scratch placed in a plastic jar with holes will engage the flock with game play on cold winter days. Boredom busters keep the flock mentally engaged, promoting position behaviors that ease the winter blues.

Provide paths in deep snow for the flock to follow.

**The flock following paths in the deep snow left by a winter** ***storm.***

Clearing paths in snow will allow the flock access to the outdoors. Chickens do not like snow and resist going outside if the snow is deep. Paths will encourage the flock to venture outside and natural behaviors. Scattering scratch or cracked corn on the paths will engage the flock in foraging behaviors that will keep the flock happy on the worst snow days.

Install Lighting in the Pen.

**The Coop De Ville residents silho*uetted by the glow of a red light in the coop.***

During the short days of winter, the flock appreciates an illuminated pen. Placing a light in the pen will guide the free-ranging flock toward the coop as the sun sets. An illuminated pen will allow the flock to consume sufficient nutrients before roosting for a cold winter’s night. Laying hens will also produce eggs during winter in a well-light pen. Once the flock is locked up and secured, turn off the light to allow the flock adequate sleep.

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Till next time, keep on crowing!