BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Our Roost]

Simple enough to bed the coop with straw and keep drafts to a minimum.

 

[hellbender]

I know the premier heat plate is $$ but I hear it works great, uses much less electric than a heat lamp. Heat lamp bulbs can blow and lose chicks if it's cold unless you run two, more $$, and you have to replace bulbs occasionally anyway. Then there is the risk of fire with heat bulbs, no risk with the brooder plate I hear. A heatlamp keeps them up all night, plate doesn't.
I think a brooder plate would be a good investment, as long as they last years.

I shouldn't take exception with this post but here I am. We have used heat lamps for many decades and the only problem that has ever occurred is the occasional shot bulb. They do NOT explode or any such thing as that. As a safety precaution, we change out the older bulbs with new if a really cold front is coming through but I can honestly say, we've never had a fire, dead chick or any such thing due to the use of this heat source. Common sense is the key to any heating or cooling system.

 

[gjensen]

The problem with growers through the cold winters of our northern half, is not the brooding. It is that period of time after the brooding is over.

There are a number of ways to brood chicks through the coldest days and nights. Eventually, they outgrow the brooders and need to be "set out on their own two feet". They are still growing though, and growing through the coldest months. That is a problem, and it is on two fronts.

There is a "natural" growing season. We can extend that season. That I will not argue. Do you want to though, and is the extra effort necessary?

"Naturally", the coldest days of winter are also the shortest days. The birds have a shorter day in which to consume their food. And for the first half, shorter and shorter days. The shrinking of daylight hours does have physiological effects on the birds. And if you do not think the length of day matters on a growing bird, run one batch under 16 hours of light, and another under twelve. @ 12 wks. there is a difference.
Then they are using more energy to stay warm. So they are devoting less and less feed to growing, and more and more into autonomic control of their core body temperature. If someone does not think that matters, leave one batch with a heat source after so many weeks, and put another out in the cold. One will pull away from the other in a dramatic fashion.
Never mind the positive effects of the warm clean sunshine, and the negative effects of the short dark days. It effects us to.

The conclusion is that we can, but the question is should we? We certainly can. We can manipulate their growing season, but I can grow enough birds out during the growing season. I do not need to grow any out during the dead of winter.

Without substantial manipulation, these bird rarely reach their potential.

Some of us have longer growing seasons than others. Tuscon, Arizona is different than New York. With minor manipulation, someone in Florida can grow birds and vegetables all year round. It might not be as practical for someone else.

 

[Beer can]

I agree @gjensen I only do chicks in the spring. I almost told SandHill I'd have to pass on my order when May turned to June. I didn't want even young chickens going into our winter. We've had many mild ones but the last couple were months of subzero, -25 with windchill. I was quite surprised my leghorns suffered no frostbite and even had a polish do good. The EEs, leghorns, welsummer and polish laid all winter with no supplemental light. I think it might have helped the fact they had just come into lay as the snow started flying.

 

[gjensen]

I agree @gjensen I only do chicks in the spring. I almost told SandHill I'd have to pass on my order when May turned to June. I didn't want even young chickens going into our winter. We've had many mild ones but the last couple were months of subzero, -25 with windchill. I was quite surprised my leghorns suffered no frostbite and even had a polish do good. The EEs, leghorns, welsummer and polish laid all winter with no supplemental light. I think it might have helped the fact they had just come into lay as the snow started flying.

You did well with them not to have any problems with frostbite. That is good management. I am fortunate not to have change anything concerning management through the seasons. I only put some clear plastic over a window @ their roost. I keep the wind off of them at night, and I might have to give some extra fresh water after a few freezing nights. I would have to figure out a new reality where you live.

Once a bird has feathered out, and is maturing, they can tolerate more extreme cold. Similar to the adults. BUT . . . when they are growing in these conditions . . . it is a different story. It is just not good growing conditions.

Growing birds do best foraging on greens, and on clean ground. A surplus of warm sun, and a steady supply of good feed and clean water. We want solid consistent growth, free of checks in growth. We are looking at and for an ideal of sorts. They just do not grow out as well in a cold, dark, and damp poultry house during the winter.

This is not to say that it cannot be done, and under certain conditions, should not be done. It is to say that we have plenty of time to do all of our hatching and growing that is better suited for growing birds. Some of us have more time than others.
A friend of mine in Florida has great conditions for a late hatch. I can, if I time it just right. The window between the hot summer and the molting hens is small. We are hot late.

 

[draye]

I hatch just about every fall. I've had no problems with the growth if the chicks. I leave them under a heat lamp for 6 weeks just like all baby chicks. As they get older the lamp gets moved a little farther away from them. For the fall chicks I usually leave a light bulb on fir them all through the winter. They usually ( pullets) start laying late March to mid-April.

 

[cyborg]

I shouldn't take exception with this post but here I am. We have used heat lamps for many decades and the only problem that has ever occurred is the occasional shot bulb. They do NOT explode or any such thing as that. As a safety precaution, we change out the older bulbs with new if a really cold front is coming through but I can honestly say, we've never had a fire, dead chick or any such thing due to the use of this heat source. Common sense is the key to any heating or cooling system.

I have to agree. I have only ever used lights, I have had them burn out on me, but that is the extent of any damage. BUT, I usually also brood them inside in a spare bedroom or bathroom, in a very large cardboard box.

EDIT: another thing I've noticed. I raise the chicks in batches, usually limited to about 20 or so, due to the size of the brooder. I move them outside at 4 to 5 weeks, depending on weather. We kind of have an endless summer here, anyway. The chicks tend to stay with their own brooder group, and form gangs that terrorize all the other gangs. I even have different gangs of the same breed. I usually have a West Side Story going on in the Chicken Palace. Is this because I am not using hens to brood, or just that they feel more comfortable with their own brood group?

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

The problem with growers through the cold winters of our northern half, is not the brooding. It is that period of time after the brooding is over.

There are a number of ways to brood chicks through the coldest days and nights. Eventually, they outgrow the brooders and need to be "set out on their own two feet". They are still growing though, and growing through the coldest months. That is a problem, and it is on two fronts.

There is a "natural" growing season. We can extend that season. That I will not argue. Do you want to though, and is the extra effort necessary?

"Naturally", the coldest days of winter are also the shortest days. The birds have a shorter day in which to consume their food. And for the first half, shorter and shorter days. The shrinking of daylight hours does have physiological effects on the birds. And if you do not think the length of day matters on a growing bird, run one batch under 16 hours of light, and another under twelve. @ 12 wks. there is a difference.
Then they are using more energy to stay warm. So they are devoting less and less feed to growing, and more and more into autonomic control of their core body temperature. If someone does not think that matters, leave one batch with a heat source after so many weeks, and put another out in the cold. One will pull away from the other in a dramatic fashion.
Never mind the positive effects of the warm clean sunshine, and the negative effects of the short dark days. It effects us to.

The conclusion is that we can, but the question is should we? We certainly can. We can manipulate their growing season, but I can grow enough birds out during the growing season. I do not need to grow any out during the dead of winter.

Without substantial manipulation, these bird rarely reach their potential.

Some of us have longer growing seasons than others. Tuscon, Arizona is different than New York. With minor manipulation, someone in Florida can grow birds and vegetables all year round. It might not be as practical for someone else.

Very excellent points. Especially your last one, related to the differences in different areas. (I had to learn this regarding gardening when I moved here from Atlanta - which is technically in the deep south, but chilly enough in the winter that the seasons are still the same.) Here in South Central Texas (San Antonio area), the seasons are "flipped", and the fall/winter is the very best time for gardening, green forage for animals, and reasonable temperatures (not needing to add ice to the waterers twice a day and give them wading pools) - it doesn't get chilly until after Thanksgiving, and it's still often/occasionally highs in the 60s-70s until January. Indeed, fall is the best time to plant anything perennial here, as it will have the longest non-stressed period to grow/establish roots before things get ugly the following summer. So, for both plants and animals (and humans), fall and winter is a less stressful time, better for growth and development. (Even more of a striking issue with rabbits, as I understand - whenever I get those started up, they'll be indoors.) While I don't have enough experience yet to know first hand how this intersects with the inherent seasonality for chickens (breeding, molt, start of lay, etc.), I do know that from what I can tell, no one here seriously considers raising meat chicks until October (feed store only just now started having new chicks at all after early spring), and a local Marans breeder I've been in touch with won't have any chicks until it cools off in October. I started my chicks in September with the knowledge that the 100+ temps start to wane after labor day, and the temps have only just now dropped below high 90s, lows in 70s, good timing for three weeks old and feathering out. Of course, spring is the "typical" time for chicks, but as the spring weather can be really unpredictable here (late freezes can occur in April, yet it's not uncommon to get triple digits in very early May some years), interestingly, fall is much more stable. If you start in spring, if it's too late (hard to predict), right when they're starting to grow is when people are spending the most effort just keeping their chickens alive through the heat.

I guess that's just a long winded way of saying (agreeing) that, while one should always read all one can to learn, it all must be adapted to one's specific circumstances. (My non-Texas/non-hot climate gardening books that I used a lot in "deep south" Atlanta are near worthless to me now...).

- Ant Farm

 

[JRNash]

Where. I'm. At snow is local holiday. It just doesn't get as cold here during the winter months. I won't be messing with ther circadian rhythm but i wilmake sur they have a warm up spot out of the wind.

 

[hellbender]

I hatch just about every fall. I've had no problems with the growth if the chicks. I leave them under a heat lamp for 6 weeks just like all baby chicks. As they get older the lamp gets moved a little farther away from them. For the fall chicks I usually leave a light bulb on fir them all through the winter. They usually ( pullets) start laying late March to mid-April.

We are situated to do Fall chicks but happily do not do it. We are more than glad to take some time off. That could change if the Capon Business takes wing but I doubt it.

EDIT: I got my new batteries for my cam..in fact I bought several so the ones in the cam might be left alone. When we get a pause in this rain, I'll try to get the pics I promised a few days ago.