Recent content by Erikdaviking

  1. Erikdaviking

    Chickens not eating much.

    Ok! Sounds like way too much grain. I’ll adjust. And I hadn’t thought about the rooster eating the later feed... Thanks for all the answers.
  2. Erikdaviking

    Chickens not eating much.

    It’s my first winter with the chickens, I have 9 pullets and a rooster...they are still laying pretty well, I’m getting 3-5 eggs a day without artificial light. It’s been a mild winter here in Montana, minimal snow and warmer than usual. It’s still been cold, so I’ve been giving them about two...
  3. Erikdaviking

    Genetic Diversity

    I am hoping to hatch a brood of chicks in the spring every year to maintain a flock of laying hens. I was thinking about it this morning though. I have 9 chickens and one rooster...if I keep on breeding within that pool am I running the risk of genetic defects and inbreeding? Seems like after a...
  4. Erikdaviking

    Winter Lighting

    Yeah, thats about right, maybe a little longer. Where I live it doesn't get that cold, average winter day is 15-25 deg, occasionally gets down below 10, rarely to never gets below zero.
  5. Erikdaviking

    Reviews of this Protection Device are all over the map. Does “ Night Guard” really work?

    I've used the Nite Gaurd since I built my coop...I have not had any problems at all with predators. That said, its hard to prove a negative! Things might have been just fine without them too, I don't know. But they were relatively inexpensive, I figured why not? I also have heard a theory that...
  6. Erikdaviking

    When to open nest boxes?

    I never closed off my nesting boxes at all, the chickens would sometimes go in there but they sleep on the roost. At least, that's always where they are when I look at them at night! They have just started laying in the last few weeks, I have one that insists on laying on the coop floor, but the...
  7. Erikdaviking

    Mixing Chicken Breeds?

    Thanks for the info, sounds like I'm good to go...
  8. Erikdaviking

    Winter Lighting

    Acre4Me, I am planning to maintain a laying flock of about 10 birds at any time, I'll do that by adding 4-5 birds every spring, and eating the old ones at about 2-3 years...I know thats not ideal for meat, but they'll make good stew and chili which is mostly how we eat chicken anyway! I didn't...
  9. Erikdaviking

    Winter Lighting

    Thanks for all the input, I think I will try not adding lighting and see. We actually get more eggs than we eat ourselves right now, if they even just cut back a bit over the winter we'll be fine. Also gonna give waterglassing the extra eggs a try, to make up for the loss of production in the...
  10. Erikdaviking

    Winter Lighting

    Mostly Barred Rock, with a couple Conchins and Sex Links...
  11. Erikdaviking

    Winter Lighting

    This is my first year raising chickens, and we're heading into winter soon with shorter days. I would like to keep getting eggs through the winter, and I've learned that the birds will stop laying as the days get shorter. I'm planning on putting in a light to extend the day so they keep...
  12. Erikdaviking

    Mixing Chicken Breeds?

    Hi there. I have a mixed flock of Plymouth Barred Rock, Black Sex Link, and White Conchins, with a Barred Rock rooster...I'm thinking about letting one of the hens hatch chicks next year instead of buying them at the farm supply place, mostly because I think it would be interesting but also as...
  13. Erikdaviking

    Keeping Chickens Cool In a Heat Wave

    In hot weather I’ll empty a can of corn in a Tupperware and freeze it, they live it. It’s like a corn popsicle.
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