Colorado

[Pozees]

Got 2 EE eggs today! AND 8 Dom eggs!

Woo hoo!

 

[Mtn Margie]

Nigel, the Coop in Brighton will have the best prices, more than likely.

http://www.agfinityinc.com/

 

[WendyGeisler]

all tucked into the coop, heat lamp on, extra water, extra bedding.... they should be perfectly fine..
but why do I have the strong desire to bring them into the house? They are outside pets right?

 

[TracieJS]

Hi All
I have 3 black australrops and 1 ancona that are about 22/23 weeks old and 4 EE that are 19 weeks. Any ideas about when they might start laying? Do I need to add some extra light in their outside run so they get enough light... they come out of the coop about 7 and put themselves to bed earlier and earlier ... I want to think around 530 / 6 lately. So I was thinking of adding a light in the upper outside run from about 5pm to 7pm. Good idea or bad idea? The upper outside run is wrapped in a tarp on the west and north sides.

Thanks again Tracie

 

[dennarahl]

Hello all, new around here. I'm inheriting a pair of chickens on Saturday along with a coop and some basic things like feed. I had been planning on starting my own flock in the spring but a friend who can't keep their offered to give them to me so who am I to pass that offer up? They are laying hens, one is a Plymouth Rock and the other is and I'm not sure. I live in northeast Denver (think near the zoo, go a bit north) and am looking for suggestions on where to get feed and supplies nearby. Looking on line I see a couple of feed stores near Brighton and one in the Golden Triangle area but would really prefer a good suggestion from someone who has been doing this awhile.

I can only help a little. there's a place downtown-ish called earthdog denver http://www.denverurbanhomesteading.com/new_page_1.htm that does organic feed. Expensive but the closest place I know of for you. For normal big name feeds there is also wardle feed over in wheatridge. there is o'malleys in watkins (my prefered place but it's closer to me out in the country). There is also a couple of murdochs around town.

 

[dennarahl]

all tucked into the coop, heat lamp on, extra water, extra bedding.... they should be perfectly fine..
but why do I have the strong desire to bring them into the house? They are outside pets right?

 

Don't feel bad, I'm the same way. Especially now that the snow collapsed the bird netting run cover. If the chickens thought about jumping the fence they totally could now that the bird netting is down. my husband almost talked me into moving them all to the 2nd garage.

We went out tonight to tuck everyone in and were surprised to find a bunch of birds not on the roost. The pop door fell at some point late this afternoon. After counting the birds we had 4 missing and I almost went hysterical because there was no guarantee where they were due to the netting collapsing. Luckily, 2 were under the coop and 2 went to bed in the goose hut.

 

[Pozees]

Don't feel bad, I'm the same way. Especially now that the snow collapsed the bird netting run cover. If the chickens thought about jumping the fence they totally could now that the bird netting is down. my husband almost talked me into moving them all to the 2nd garage.
We went out tonight to tuck everyone in and were surprised to find a bunch of birds not on the roost. The pop door fell at some point late this afternoon. After counting the birds we had 4 missing and I almost went hysterical because there was no guarantee where they were due to the netting collapsing. Luckily, 2 were under the coop and 2 went to bed in the goose hut.

Eek, scary! So, the good news is the weekend should be somewhat warmer, the bad news is it sounds like you need to come up with a new run cover. At least you found your girls safe and sound, and they showed you they know what to do when things go a bit awry, so that's comforting.

We only got a tiny bit of snow overnight, and I haven't seen the run yet, but I know I have to reinforce my shade cloth cover with something that can bear weight. I stopped at Taylor Fence a few weeks ago and they wanted $250 to build me two 5'x10' panels, DH says ridiculous, all I need is the cloth and two cross-posts to support it. I love how sturdy chain link is, just hate how expensive the components can be. Might be time to scan Craigslist again

 

[Pozees]

Hi All
I have 3 black australrops and 1 ancona that are about 22/23 weeks old and 4 EE that are 19 weeks. Any ideas about when they might start laying? Do I need to add some extra light in their outside run so they get enough light... they come out of the coop about 7 and put themselves to bed earlier and earlier ... I want to think around 530 / 6 lately. So I was thinking of adding a light in the upper outside run from about 5pm to 7pm. Good idea or bad idea? The upper outside run is wrapped in a tarp on the west and north sides.

Thanks again Tracie

As a general rule, your 4 older girls could start anytime now and the EEs will probably be another month or so - but I have never had any of those breeds, so perhaps one or more is known to be a late starter. I have decided not to add light this year, would rather let them follow the natural light cycle and try to extend the part of their lives they spend laying. If you do add light, what most do is put light in the coop for an hour or two before sunrise. My girls were in bed at 6:20 last night, earliest ever, but it's okay - I was just as glad to get the doors closed and get back inside to a warm house! I do close my pop doors every night, close the run gate, and plug in the electric fence around them, and then in the morning open up doors before I leave for work and give them their morning dishes of FF, and when I get home late afternoon I let them out of the run to range for as long as the light allows. Even if it's only an hour, they so appreciate it.

DH looks forward to giving them his apple core every afternoon to compete for, and has named one of the Sussex Sisters "Runt" - so he's gone from saying I'm crazy for wanting chickens and thinking I can tell them apart, to naming one he can clearly recognize and visiting with them every day. Life is good

 

[WendyGeisler]

Try Hail netting! It's super inexpensive and can really hold the weight of snow!

 

[wsmith]

Hi All
I have 3 black australrops and 1 ancona that are about 22/23 weeks old and 4 EE that are 19 weeks. Any ideas about when they might start laying? Do I need to add some extra light in their outside run so they get enough light... they come out of the coop about 7 and put themselves to bed earlier and earlier ... I want to think around 530 / 6 lately. So I was thinking of adding a light in the upper outside run from about 5pm to 7pm. Good idea or bad idea? The upper outside run is wrapped in a tarp on the west and north sides.

Thanks again Tracie

Hey Tracie,

Most of my Dominiques started between 18-22 weeks, I still have one or two that haven't started yet. My EEs started at 23 weeks, there are still two who haven't started laying. I'm not familiar with when BOs start, but I most pullets start bvy the time they are 26 weeks. Have you noticed them "playing house" in the next boxes? Taking time checking them out, going in and out of them? Have their combs and wattles gotten bigger and redder, or are they still light pink? As pullets get ready to lay, their combs and wattles generally get bigger and more red. They also tend to get wider in the rear...

No need to add extra light outside unless you want it there. Alot depends on your arrangments. Some breeds get laying benefits from additional lighting during the winter, some don't need it. Each hen has a pre-determined number of eggs she will lay in her lifetime. We just don't know what that is. Added lighting during the shorter daylight hours of winter fool the chicken into laying more frequently, rather than nearly stopping during the winter. That being said, there is a reason they slow down in their rate of lay during the winter. During the winter, chickens naturally divert more body resources to staying warm, etc than laying eggs. The more eggs they lay now, dictates how long they lay over their lifespan. A hen that has extra light and heat during the winter may lay for, say, 3 years, while the one who doesn't (same breed, same hatch) have extra light and heat may lay for 4, but they will both probably lay the same total amount of eggs.

I personally prefer to allow them to slow down in the winter and not give them extra light and heat. That's just me and my opinion. You do what you feel is best for your flock.