BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[stryker]

If you have access to a metal dog cage...the type with the metal pull-out tray for easy cleaning...I've found that they prove exceptionally helpful in breaking a broody hen safely. The metal bottom stays cool to help lower their abdominal temperature. And since it's winter, I've employed the technique of keeping them in the kennel with food and water in the daytime, and then moving them to their usual roosts at night so the cold air can circulate around their abdomens. The last two that I broke only took 2-3 days of doing this before rejoining their flock.

That is a good idea. Might have to do that.

 

[hellbender]

I pick up all the eggs everyday...my thought is no eggs...no broody hens in my coop.

In fact a third of my hens wait until I gather to lay their eggs. I pick up all the eggs and by the time I'm done I go around again and get 3 more.

Excellent idea. We clear all eggs several times per day when the weather gets cold...like today. We open our coops and houses every day unless the temperature gets something like negative 15 or 20 degrees with hellacious winds...we then keep the birds in for their own good.

EDIT: Even with the above conditions and the buildings are closed, we still opt for more ventilation rather than less as our understanding has always been that more birds succumb to ammonia fouled air than cold temps.

 

[Beer can]

Proper ventilation is the key to keeping frostbite/burn away. The people who have their birds suffer from frostbite always seam to be the ones who think the coop needs some heat, or to be airtight to keep the cold out. My coops are open at the roof rafters, and I rarely shut their pop door to the run, only in windy 'blizzards' plenty of ventilation without giving any wind or breeze down where the birds are. We had zero temps on avg the last couple yrs with down to -25 windchill most nights. Leghorns hens with their big floppy combs no frostbite, only one that got a touch of it was the welsummer rooster and only on the tips of his comb. I personally don't think it is absolutely necessary to have only rose or pea combs in cold weather regions, might be better but not absolutely necessary. Icelandic chickens have combs and a small body size, they thrive in cold weather.
We've had pretty much warm weather this winter. El Niño winters are kind to us in the north east. We had some days in Dec that were warmer than last June 50s- low 60s! We finally got some snow, going to be a high of 17 mon, low 4. Back to the 40s by weekend. I almost set up heated waterers this yr, glad I didn't bother haven't had to knock ice out of their rubber water pans yet, probably have to mon. Last two winters they had solid water for months.

 

[Beekissed]

Same here...always had single comb breeds with large, fleshy combs and no frostbite with good ventilation, no matter how cold it gets. Just because a bird has a pea comb doesn't make it a winter hardy breed.

 

[DesertChic]

Excellent idea. We clear all eggs several times per day when the weather gets cold...like today. We open our coops and houses every day unless the temperature gets something like negative 15 or 20 degrees with hellacious winds...we then keep the birds in for their own good.

EDIT: Even with the above conditions and the buildings are closed, we still opt for more ventilation rather than less as our understanding has always been that more birds succumb to ammonia fouled air than cold temps.

I've always collected eggs multiple times per day...especially in the summer when I'm afraid the darn things will start cooking in our AZ heat.

We get a lot of really high winds here so I sometimes close the windows in the pens themselves to prevent drafts at night when we're supposed to get a hard freeze...mainly when I have chicks, but open them again first thing in the morning unless it's raining. During warmer weather (40º and above) I keep them all open all the time. The front of the chicken cabin has two windows on the porch and a screen door that I always keep open, and the "attic" has two roof vents that we'll be improving upon by adding solar powered exhaust fans for better air flow. I do close the pop door to the pens every night to keep predators out. On those rare occasions when I've closed the pen windows I can definitely notice the difference in odor. I prefer to keep everything as airy as possible. Two of my other coops are completely open on the fronts and sides, and the NN pen has vents for air flow when they're locked up at night.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

An aspirin will help them stop setting. Just dissolve it in the drinking water.

Haven't heard that one before, interesting! Any idea what the physiology of that is?

 

[draye]

Haven't heard that one before, interesting! Any idea what the physiology of that is?

When a hen becomes broody she is actually running a fever. The aspirin breaks the fever so she no lingers had the desire to brood.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

That

When a hen becomes broody she is actually running a fever. The aspirin breaks the fever so she no lingers had the desire to brood.

I didn''t know that broody hens ran at a higher temperature. I learn something new every day! That makes perfect sense then. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

Broody hens pluck feathers from their chest, using them to cover the eggs. As a consequence of this, they develop one or several patches of bare skin on the ventral surface. These reddish, well-vascularized areas of skin are usually called brood patches.[8] which improve heat transfer to the eggs.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Hmmm thanks Bee........... I wonder how the aspirin breaks broodiness then if lowering the body temperature isn't it? Or perhaps dropping the temperature by even a tiny amount could do it?