Chickens Anyone???

That's another reason why we got rid of the roosters

rockwood wrote:One thing to keep in mind...If you keep chickens in a heated environment and then expose them to freezing winter weather without time to become climatized they'll be in big trouble.

It is 40 to 50 degrees in the basement. Might get a little colder tonight. I had the discussion with my wife about the chickens need to acclimate themselves to the existing climatic conditions but she insists on bring them in. If I don't I'll have no peace. They will get let out again when it is about 30.

Oh ya...they'll be just fine.

Most chicken breeds can take the cold pretty well. Ours are in an 8x8 unheated house that's tight enough to keep the wind out and they've been through some below zero temps without a problem.

david78 wrote:Most chicken breeds can take the cold pretty well. Ours are in an 8x8 unheated house that's tight enough to keep the wind out and they've been through some below zero temps without a problem.

I'm convinced. I've been to backyard chickens web site and read all about it. Tried to get my wife to read it too but she just thinks they are heartless leaving those poor things out there. She keeps threating to put my bass out there for the night! It is what it is. These chickens started out as my birds. Now I'm not so sure. She does most of the daily clean up so I guess she can do whatever makes her happy. She's walkin the talk or talkin the walk or....whatever. I don't doubt her good intentions.

david78 how well do those barred rocks lay in the winter ? I have 4 production reds and 3 easter eggers . the reds lay maybe 1 every other day and the other ones have completely shutoff . I was thinking of getting some barred rocks because I hear they lay pretty good even in the winter .

We had alot of chickens untill health issues for my son and my wife slowly dried up their numbers. What we figured out was that they don't lay real well when there is not enough light in the day. I installed a light on a timer to turn on and off a couple times a day, morning and night, to give them more light hours. It worked like a charm. The production was almost as good as the rest of the year. Having more chickens in the coop works well for keeping them warm. Safety in numbers

i started turning on a light from 4-9pm . the reds have seemed to lay a little better but not the easter eggers .

mason coal burner wrote:david78 how well do those barred rocks lay in the winter ? I have 4 production reds and 3 easter eggers . the reds lay maybe 1 every other day and the other ones have completely shutoff . I was thinking of getting some barred rocks because I hear they lay pretty good even in the winter .

When they molted a month or so ago they pretty much quit laying; 1 egg a day for the 15 hens. Now we're getting about 5 eggs a day. So they do slow down in the winter. The light thing probably does work. I believe the big production chicken farms leave the lights on 24/7.

Our light is on from about 6:30-3:00PM. Yesterday we saw 10 eggs from 11 birds. Not too bad.

Yep. They need I think like 12-14 hrs/day for good laying.

Our timer goes on from 0300 - 0700. By then natural light takes over. What a difference in production since the light.

Rick

We got a dozen birds and 6 laying ducks.

I actually like the ducks a lot better then the chickens. The eggs are bigger, taste the same and the ducks (in summer) lay pretty consistently. I think they are easier to take care of despite their watering needs, but we had 75,000 birds (chickens) growing up and I am not really into them that much so I am VERY biased. Thank goodness they are my wife's birds.

Me, I prefer having sheep. Far easier to take care of, better return on investment, and give a cute lamb, or two, or three come Spring. (Insert shameless plug for tasty, tender, delicious lamb here).

david78 wrote:Most chicken breeds can take the cold pretty well. Ours are in an 8x8 unheated house that's tight enough to keep the wind out and they've been through some below zero temps without a problem.

As long as they can stay dry and out of the wind, chickens can handle temps down into the -20 range or colder. Granted, they also need access to fresh water and lots of food when its that cold (preferably of the fatty variety and preferably a good bit of scratch right before bed) but chickens are incredibly hardy animals.

I have 7 birds myself for fresh eggs...and to keep the bugs down in the yard.

Scottscoaled wrote:We had alot of chickens untill health issues for my son and my wife slowly dried up their numbers. What we figured out was that they don't lay real well when there is not enough light in the day. I installed a light on a timer to turn on and off a couple times a day, morning and night, to give them more light hours. It worked like a charm. The production was almost as good as the rest of the year. Having more chickens in the coop works well for keeping them warm. Safety in numbers

Chickens have photon sensors in their brains. To get the most eggs, you need 14 hours of daylight...it mimics Spring Time when they lay the most. You can run the lights 24 hours per day, but then they just think it is summer, and they cut back on the number of eggs.

As for chickens getting cold, their combs tend to get frost bit. Roosters are the worst because they have the larger combs over the hens. To combat this, when it is real cold and you fear frost bite, just take some bag balm on your fingers and run over their combs. It prevents frost bite, though they are no worse for wear if they get a little nip in their combs. We always have a tub of Bag Balm around anyway, it keeps all kinds of problems at bay. Like pecking issues, they don't like the taste of it, so they won't peck one another after they get a taste of it. And for ducks that are fighting, slather their necks with it and the aggressive duck cannot get a purchase on the other one, and after a bit they will stop fighting.

24 hr lighting can lead to pecking and mutilation issues...and its pretty much a waste of money. 14 is plenty as its their ideal egg laying level anyway.