- Dec 18, 2014
- 16
- 0
- 24
Hi!
My name is TJ. Im new to chickens and I got my first chicks from my family on Mothers Day this year. I thought I had 8 hens but ended up with 3 roosters...lol (after worrying if I was going to have 1 rooster) and 5 hens. Not sure what breeds they are. They are all healthy chickens but one day I went to check on them in the morning and one of my hens were dead. Not sure why. Haven't lost any more since then. Im concerned about the black spots on the roosters combs and want to know if I should separate the roosters from the hens because the roosters are pulling all the feathers from an area on their backs when breeding. The roosters seem to be fighting a lot with each other also. I was getting 8-10 eggs a day until the one hen died and now the others don't seem to want to lay.. I get maybe 1-2 eggs a day now. Does anyone have any help for me. Would be very much appreciated.
Also I live in Michigan. Can I let them outside everyday even though its cold or should I only let them out when it like above 35...Should I enclose my run with heavy plastic on the outside of the wire? My coop is insulated so its warm in there and can anyone tell me how much lighting I should have inside?
My name is TJ. Im new to chickens and I got my first chicks from my family on Mothers Day this year. I thought I had 8 hens but ended up with 3 roosters...lol (after worrying if I was going to have 1 rooster) and 5 hens. Not sure what breeds they are. They are all healthy chickens but one day I went to check on them in the morning and one of my hens were dead. Not sure why. Haven't lost any more since then. Im concerned about the black spots on the roosters combs and want to know if I should separate the roosters from the hens because the roosters are pulling all the feathers from an area on their backs when breeding. The roosters seem to be fighting a lot with each other also. I was getting 8-10 eggs a day until the one hen died and now the others don't seem to want to lay.. I get maybe 1-2 eggs a day now. Does anyone have any help for me. Would be very much appreciated.
Also I live in Michigan. Can I let them outside everyday even though its cold or should I only let them out when it like above 35...Should I enclose my run with heavy plastic on the outside of the wire? My coop is insulated so its warm in there and can anyone tell me how much lighting I should have inside?