It's Winter....said the Chickens!

Winter finally started knocking on our Ohio town...and we managed to procrastinate on the whole winter chicken PREP. 

Winter care for chickens can be confusing to beginners and established chicken keepers alike. There are many different schools of thought on heat vs. no heat in the coop. We are on the fence but leaning toward the no heat camp, even though temperatures can drop to below zero here (sometimes!).

If you would like to know how we plan on keeping our flock warm, this winter, without heat... well read on my friend! 

Let's talk about chicken coops and heat. 


Do you need to heat your chicken coop? 

Well there is a short answer and a long answer.

• The short answer is NO.   
• The long answer has to do with the fact that chickens can and will live very comfortably in temps that drop below zero- and this includes without supplemental heat sources.

Chickens are not people. I know that you are thinking...DUH Kel, but sometimes this can lead to oversight.  People, you and me, we can NOT survive in a non-heated building outside in subzero weather...but your chickens can. 


Chickens will show no sign of distress in cold weather and will survive just fine in the cold, up to -10 degrees Fahrenheit (and truth be told that some chickens can do just find when temps drop lower than that).

Plus, your chickens have a cozy coop where they can stay when it gets to cold outdoors for them. 

Some interesting information, if you think that using a heat lamp is the answer to your guilt...well first and foremost (and the number 1 reason why NOT to use a Heat Lamp) is that they cause coop fires, many reported cases, in which your entire flock will parish, not to mention the spread to neighboring houses and/or outbuildings. (Yes, I am a firefighters daughter!)


It is difficult to secure a heat lamp in order for it to not fall down. Then factor in a flying chicken knocking down the lamp or debris flying into the lamp, all of which are fire hazards.



Another important note to make is that if you use a Heat Lamp and let's say the bulb goes out or you have a power outage...you will lose your flock due to the sudden temperature change.

Chickens who are used to a warm coop in the winter need time to accommodate a sudden temperature drop.  

The worst part is that you will remain completely unaware of any issue because the onset will not show until it is already to late to save your chicken(s).


If you feel strongly that your coop needs to be heated, please avoid a heat lamp and look at a flat panel heater, installed by a professional to ensure safety for your Chickens. (But heat is not necessary!)





So, HOW do Chickens survive winter?

Valid question. Part of this process is understanding your birds, knowing what works and what doesn't and helping your flock flourish!

I spoke about not having to use a heater or heat source to remain comfortable during the cold winter months, but it is fair to wonder the physics and makeup of a chicken as to why it is not needed.

Chickens Fluff. 

I know you have seen them do this probably a hundred times. We call this being a "Top Dawg Chicken" in our family. (Mind you, we are two adults and two kids under the age of 7!)

When the chickens fluff up their feathers they create an air pocket between their feathers and their skin. This is where warm air radiates from the chicken's body and keeps them comfortable even on the coldest of nights.




Chickens also cluster together, usually on a roost, to cuddle in order to keep one another warm. Sleeping on the roost keeps the chickens off of the cold floor.




If you are still not a believer, a suggestion came to me that if you venture to your coop one cold night and put your hand under the chickens wing, or between their feathers, next to the skin...you will feel your chickens warmth and have that peace of mind (or Ah Ha moment!).

Next, let's talk drafts! 

The subject of drafts is a pretty serious one.

Drafts can cause your toasty, warm chicken to become frigid and cold...very quick!  If air is blowing on your chickens, this disrupts the warm pocket of air that your chickens have created when fluffing their feathers and will cause them to catch a chill.

You want to eliminate drafts within your coop...but you do NOT want to seal off all air completely due to ventilation.

Confusing, right!

Eliminate drafts by closing the chickens entrance to the coop at night and on very cold days.  You will also want to insulate any windows you have in your coop using caulk and/or a barrier block. This material can be cardboard, wood or plastic.


A good way to differentiate between a draft and ventilation is to know that a draft is a wind or breeze that is blowing on your chickens.

A small, light draft is enough to disrupt feathers and cause a chill. When you leave a door open in the coop, it is like you put a fan on your flock for the night.

Ventilation is all about air circulation throughout the coop. 

We want to prevent drafts but we still need to make sure that air is circulating in and out of our coop so that our chickens can remain in good health.


So, HOW do you VENTILATE your COOP? 


We need to make sure our coop is well insulated and closed enough to keep out drafts but allow air to still be able to come in and leave the coop.

This is mandatory in order for dust,  CO2, moisture and ammonia to escape and bring in fresh air for the birds to breath. The best way that we have found to block a draft, but allow for proper ventilation is to cut some small windows where the walls meet the ceiling.

The windows only need to be about 1-2 inches tall but however wide that you want.  They can be cut between the studs and secured  with hardware cloth.  This is important because small animals can squeeze through small spaces and the chicken wire and/or screening will not be able to keep these predators out.

The overhang from the roof outside the windows will prevent winds from blowing in, but the open windows will allow polluted air to get out and fresh air to get in.

Frostbite and chickens, what you need to know. 

We hear about frostbite and immediately panic. Natural human reaction, and one that I won't discourage you from having.

Frostbite is caused when cold combines with moisture.

If your coop is just cold then frostbite will not form.  But, moisture builds within the coop from chickens breathing, pooping or just water spills, if you allow water in your coop.  Moisture is inevitable.  But, if your coop is airtight, this moisture has no place to escape to and combine this moisture with a sudden onset of cold...here you have a perfect environment for FROSTBITE.

Chickens who have large combs are most likely to get frostbite than all others. 

To prevent frostbite in large comb birds, you can apply a thick layer of petroleum jelly on the comb to protect this from the cold. 

And because you all know that I am an avid reader and book promoter, I wanted to share some great reading that has helped me in my chicken research and is sure to help you on your own journey!

(click on the book to be directed to the link!)

HAPPY CHICKEN-ING YA'LL!

Don't miss out on my eBook : Social Media Marketing Kit by Kel

 

Buy my product

BUSINESS POST : Start Up: Simplify your Products

Why you need to simplify your Products! 
by: Kel Amstutz

We are all about simplicity in this world and truth be told, it really does work, especially when it comes to products and programs. 

When you overwhelm your audience with many options, potential customers and clients might have trouble differentiating between one program and another. 

In your first year of business, you, like most people, will make mistakes. You will learn through trial and error. 

This is good, but I want to help you not make the mistake of producing similar products and losing sales because of the confusion effect.

When you are creating products and/or programs make sure that your target audience can understand how one product is different from another. 


People want to know what your solution is to what they need, exactly. They need to know that they made the right choice. 


If you overwhelm people...they don't know which option to choose and more times than none...will choose to walk away instead of buy one of your great products! 

• Focus on one struggle. 
• Have one road to get through the struggle. 

I have my Social Media Manager Kit, for instance, which is something that I believe in, something that I am passionate about, and something that I put my blood, sweat and tears into creating.  

[I want to say...but would never!] 

This is the best option and the ONLY option that you have to get! This kit will transform your life! 

Let's talk about further training material



When you have overlapping material that goes with one product/program AND goes with another  product/program is probably a SIGN that you need to refocus!
People will find this confusing, trying to figure out what they should be buying or how is one program separate from another. 

Cut out some of your products or programs that overlap and simplify the product lines, it is that simple!

Why?

You want to take out the doubt that buyers might have. 

You need to give potential buyers a clear path to buy. 

• No fluff. 
• No distractions. 
• No questions!

Digital products and selling information that you are an expert in is IMPORTANT!

If you have different products and/or programs, it is important to create funnels for marketing based on circumstances of potential clients. 

It really is having a exhibit A should purchase this product and exhibit B should purchase this product. 


An example is: 






Right: Client is looking for a way to stay home with family. Then buy the Social Media Marketing Kit in order to get started on having a full time income on a part time schedule.





Wrong: Client wants freedom based business. They can either buy my eBook, my eCourse, or join my monthly coaching. (Client clicks away- to many choices!) 



For every circumstance that my potential clients are seeking help with, there should be a clear product that fulfills that need. 

Start small and build off of what the potential clients are wanting and needing to get their feet off the ground.  

You need to solve a potential clients problem. 

That is your goal. 

You do not an abundance of products and programs. 

You NEED to sell more of the ones that you have! 

Interested in earning a Full Time Income working Part Time as a Social Media Manager?  

Pick up my Social Media Manager kit here!

New Year, New YOU!

Happy New Year all you beautiful people!  

I am hopeful that everyone's holidays were spent full of love, cheer and surrounded by family and friends.  

It is a great time to reset, regroup and renew yourself. 

• Why not start reading? 
• Or maybe you already are a reader, why not restock your library with some new finds for the NEW YEAR? 

I have a few PERSONALLY picked a few books that are on my 2016 Reading List! 

They are books for inspiration, with those pesky New Years Resolutions, no doubt! 

Click on the Book, Title or Amazon button to instantly download! 

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Amazon   

Rising Strong

by Brené Brown

Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.
 
It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.
 
Walking into our stories of hurt can feel dangerous. But the process of regaining our footing in the midst of struggle is where our courage is tested and our values are forged. Our stories of struggle can be big ones, like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship, or smaller ones, like a conflict with a friend or colleague. Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We reckon with our emotions and get curious about what we’re feeling; werumble with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day, until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a revolution in our lives. Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness. It’s the process, Brown writes, that teaches us the most about who we are.

Amazon   

The Right Kind of Crazy: A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership, and High-Stakes Innovation

by Adam Steltzner (Author), William Patrick (Author)

Available January 12, 2016

Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner.
 
As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering’s wackiest kluges— the sky crane— that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed.
 
Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band. After an interest in the movement of the stars led him to enroll part time at community college, Steltzner discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. Within years he got his PhD and ensconced himself within the offbeat Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA’s decidedly unbureaucratic cousin, where success in a mission is the only metric that matters.
 
The Right Kind of Crazy is the story of the teamwork, drama, and extraordinary feats of innovation at the Jet Propulsion Lab, that culminated in landing the rover Curiosity on Mars in 2012. It also weaves Steltzner’s professional life—centering on the ten years he and his team spent planning and then executing the landing of the rover—with his unlikely journey from academic underachiever to rocket scientist.
 
Along the way, readers will learn about what makes effective teams, how to stay on task for the long haul, and strategies for solving incredibly complex problems. The Right Kind of Crazy is a book for anyone striving for excellence.

Amazon   

15 Minutes to Fit: The Simple 30-Day Guide to Total Fitness, 15 Minutes At A Time 

by Zuzka Light (Author), Jeff O'Connell (Author)

Filming first from a tiny basement in Prague, and eventually settling in Los Angeles, Zuzka Light has single-handedly ushered in the YouTube fitness revolution. Viewers love Light for her short, ferociously effective workouts and her in-the-trenches, never-give-up positive attitude—and she’s racked up more than half a billion views to prove it.

Now, finally, comes 15 Minutes to Fit, Light’s hotly anticipated debut, with a 30-day fitness plan guaranteed to burn fat and build ripped muscles. Based on innovative high-intensity interval training, the workouts in 15 Minutes to Fit are designed to be done anywhere, anytime (no fancy gym equipment necessary), in just 15 minutes a day. This book takes the guesswork out of the workout, providing:


   •  A 30-day workout plan to whip your body into shape—in 15 minutes a day or less
   •  A companion meal plan, with delicious and healthful recipes for each day
   •  Step-by-step photographs throughout to illustrate proper form for the workouts
   •  Quick facts on health and nutrition to help readers separate fact from fiction
   •  Support and motivation from Light, who overcame many obstacles to become the female face of fitness

Amazon   

The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage 

by Daymond John (Author), Daniel Paisner (Author)

Daymond John has been practicing the power of broke ever since he started selling his home-sewn t-shirts on the streets of Queens. With no funding and a $40 budget, Daymond had to come up with out-of-the box ways to promote his products. Luckily, desperation breeds innovation, and so he hatched an idea for a creative campaign that eventually launched the FUBU brand into a $6 billion dollar global phenomenon.  But it might not have happened if he hadn’t started out broke - with nothing but a heart full of hope and a ferocious drive to succeed by any means possible.

Here, the FUBU founder and star of ABC’s Shark Tank shows that, far from being a liability, broke can actually be your greatest competitive advantage as an entrepreneur. Why?  Because starting a business from broke forces you to think more creatively.  It forces you to use your resources more efficiently. It forces you to connect with your customers more authentically, and market your ideas more imaginatively. It forces you to be true to yourself, stay laser focused on your goals, and come up with those innovative solutions required to make a meaningful mark.  

Drawing his own experiences as an entrepreneur and branding consultant, peeks behind-the scenes from the set of Shark Tank, and stories of dozens of other entrepreneurs who have hustled their way to wealth, John shows how we can all leverage the power of broke to phenomenal success. You’ll meet: 

·         Steve Aoki, the electronic dance music (EDM) deejay who managed to parlay a series of $100 gigs into becoming a global superstar who has redefined the music industry 
·         Gigi Butler, a cleaning lady from Nashville who built cupcake empire on the back of a family  recipe, her maxed out credit cards, and a heaping dose of faith 
·         11-year old Shark Tank guest Mo Bridges who stitched together a winning clothing line with just his grandma’s sewing machine, a stash of loose fabric, and his unique sartorial flair

When your back is up against the wall, your bank account is empty, and creativity and passion are the only resources you can afford, success is your only option. Here you’ll learn how to tap into that Power of Broke to scrape, hustle, and dream your way to the top.

Amazon   

@KelleyAmstutz

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