I was always taught never to use cedar, just pine or aspen. I've been told that the oils in the cedar that give off its aroma can lead to respiratory illnesses, especially in young birds. I'm like you though, I only use straw, but then again they say not to use straw because it doesn't absorb as...
How many hours of light in a day is what effects laying the most. 14 to 17 hours of light is best. If you have electric in your coop all you need is a 40 watt bulb after the sun sets. Nothing to do with the bedding or the cold. Good luck!
I have 20 chickens. I feed with two hanging feeders that I always keep full, so they eat free choice. I go through roughly 150 pound of feed a month this way. I used to only feed them about 6-8 pounds daily and tried to regulate their intake that way. They obviously weren't getting enough, when...
I found this to be a very interesting read on this link. http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/8-1/what-breed-is-it-understanding-sex-link-chickens/ I believe that I have a New Hampshire Red cockerel and I know I have a Barred Rock pullet. I was thinking of building a small breeding coop and run to...
I recently purchased a book called "The Chicken Whisperers Guide to Keeping Chickens." In this book "The Chicken Whisperer" says about this subject of heating a coop; " living in a relatively temperate region, I have never added a heat source to any of my coops. When people ask me whether to...
If that's the case probably a sex-link golden comet or what some call a red star. Great brown egg layers, just mutt chickens. A New Hampshire Red is a pure breed, and are actually lay less annually than the sex-links.