Do I need a light for my chicken coop?

[LikeTurkeys]

Thank you aart! Despite lots or research on google, I was not able to find this article. I will definitely try the anti fungal medication to cut down on the yeast. The turkey's much bigger than a chicken though. Do you have any idea how much I should give?

 

[aart]

Looking thru your 2 other threads it appears your turkey has a pendulous crop,
once that occurs it's going to stay that way. Whether or not she also has sour crop I don't know. 'Vomiting' them is dangerous as they can easily aspirate that fluid and 'drown'.
I have no clue about treatment of sour crop, this article mentions treatment:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/

You stated that you intend to breed this bird, not a good idea IMO, due to the crop issue. BBW are meat birds (I think) and not meant to live too long(4-6mos?) before slaughtering. Sorry, I don't know much about sour crop or turkeys...might start one more thread on this problem, but do it in the turkey forum.

Good Luck.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

BBW are meat birds, and you are right that they are not meant to live long. They are very expensive though, so I thought that breeding them might be an option. I believe all Broad Breasted turkeys are more susceptible to it, didn't know it was genetic though. I have vomited her multiple times and I am aware of the dangers. I think chickens are more fragile and prone to aspirating the fluid. She hasn't seemed to have any problems and I am careful not to keep her down any more than a few seconds. I am not going to start another thread. Thank you again for providing that article; I am going to try the treatments it suggests tomorrow. If they don't work then there's probably not much I could do anyway. She does have a sour smell, not very strong though. Probably it's mostly just slow. The crop bra should help if it's pendulous.

 

[feathermaid]

...My birds get fed once a day, at about noon. I was actually worried they may be getting underfed (considering that I have two large turkeys who consistently like hogging the food bowl). I am also wondering if my feeding habits have contributed to a case of sour crop in one of my turkeys has (still wondering how to treat that properly). I let my hens out for an hour or so a few days every week; not very much but hopefully enough for exercise.

... I would feed freely but they eat in a way that makes me think they'll never stop...

YOUR BIRDS ARE NOT GETTING ENOUGH FOOD. They need free access to good quality feed all day long... it's not going to make them fat! If you have hens, roosters and turkeys all together, you should be feeding an All Flock feed... but you MUST provide oyster shell for the hens so they will have enough calcium to produce eggs. (The all flock feed alone does not have enough calcium to support a laying hen).

Do oyster shells increase egg laying rate or simply make the shells stronger? I feed them egg shells once in a while (their own and store bought).

Oyster shells do not increase productivity... they improve quality. If hens are not eating free access layer feed, then oyster shell is a necessity. Eggshells are fine to give, but their bodies don't process them the same as oyster shell... not nearly as effective.

Recently I was at a fair and saw chickens that were so fat they couldn't walk.

Those particular chickens were probably meat birds. They are bred to grow extremely fast and large so they can be butchered at a very young age. It's common for some to become so heavy they can't walk, and they have very short lifespans.

Other chickens that become fat (that aren't supposed to be) usually get that way by eating "treats". That includes anything that is not regular feed or what chickens can scratch up themselves... like bugs, grasses etc.
Treats make chickens fat. Scratch grains, bread, pasta, any people leftovers, sunflower seeds, fruits and vegetables... pretty much any of that CAN be overfed. That's why TREATS need to be limited to only 10% of their total diet. Free ranging doesn't count.

Here's a picture of my set-up. I made a 3' PVC feeder that I fill with layer feed (though recently I switched to All Flock because I added some chicks that weren't old enough for layer feed yet --who of course began with chick starter feed). I only fill that feeder every few days. The chickens just eat whenever they feel like it.

There's also two containers with oyster shell and grit always available. When I feed all flock, I refill the oyster shell more often, when I feed layer, not quite as much. Because layer feed has more calcium already in it.

Yours may eat crazy like they're starving because maybe they are. Please leave their food out all day. It's much much healthier. ONLY meat birds (ie. Cornish Cross) should have limited access to food if they're kept beyond their "process" date. You may also notice your birds will no longer have crop issues once they are allowed to eat normally. Their crop should be full at night, and empty by morning. My chickens will occasionally nibble food right up until bedtime.

Someone here (I wish I could remember who!) posted a video of how the digestive tract works. Basically, chickens need a full crop at night because -empty or full- their system is working, especially the gizzard. If there's no food in their system, their gizzard still works to crush food and then other health problems can arise. *edit to add* It can also be painful during the night to not have a full belly, causing them to stay awake, and be cranky the next day, possibly leading to behavior problems and aggression.

 

[feathermaid]

Here's a thread that talks a little about feed to egg conversion if you're looking for productive egg laying. (special attention to post #9)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...to-egg-output-ratio-best-breeds.821032/page-2

 

[LikeTurkeys]

They do have a full crop at night, I check them. I have heard that overfeeding is a cause of pendulous crop, and I do believe that my habit of feeding them a bunch only at one time may cause them to over stuff themselves. I will try for a few days to feed them freely. I used to feed them freely until they really got huge and started eating it by the bucket full (this is referring to the turkeys). My turkeys become 6 months later this September. The tom is going to be Thanksgiving dinner in November, the hen sooner or later also. I will try to get some Oyster Shell the next time I get feed. At some point though, I really need to look for a cost effective way to feed them. Perhaps growing some of my own? If it were just chickens I would have less issues, but considering I have two large turkeys who are intended for meat, I am wondering how to balance it out so that they're getting just enough feed for proper growth but not wasting it. I will maybe try your method. Thank you for sharing it, currently mine eat out of a large pot that can sometimes get exceedingly messy.

 

[feathermaid]

Once again, thank you for all the information. My neighbor keeps chickens and has a light on all night. I was wondering if that was all that is needed (seems to work for him anyway) but it looks like it's more complicated than that. Is there some danger to keeping the light on all night? Will it exhaust the chickens or something? My turkeys are broad breasted whites, so yes they're meat birds. The chickens are the Rhode Island Red and 4 Buff Orpingtons (not meat birds I believe).

I'm sorry to keep going on... but in this case, it sounds like your neighbor doesn't really know (or care) what they're doing. 24 hour light will do nothing but add confusion. @oldhenlikesdogs has already giving you the best advice. And so has @aart... please do read the article he left a link for about supplemental lighting... it may help clarify. Their diet has more to do with laying eggs than lighting does.

Your chickens, RIR and BO, are dual purpose. That means they were bred to be used for both eggs and meat, but not the absolute best at either. So you can never expect them to lay eggs like a leghorn. Also, if this is your chickens' first year, they should be laying productively all through winter and maybe even through next year too. It isn't until the 3rd or 4th winter when laying ceases and supplemental lighting is even beneficial.
Personally, I also don't believe additional light is necessary, but ultimately, that decision is yours.

Oh, I just remembered another article I read about flock rotation!
You should check that out, it may solve all your egg production worries

 

[feathermaid]

They do have a full crop at night, I check them. I have heard that overfeeding is a cause of pendulous crop, and I do believe that my habit of feeding them a bunch only at one time may cause them to over stuff themselves. I will try for a few days to feed them freely. I used to feed them freely until they really got huge and started eating it by the bucket full (this is referring to the turkeys). My turkeys become 6 months later this September. The tom is going to be Thanksgiving dinner in November, the hen sooner or later also. I will try to get some Oyster Shell the next time I get feed. At some point though, I really need to look for a cost effective way to feed them. Perhaps growing some of my own? If it were just chickens I would have less issues, but considering I have two large turkeys who are intended for meat, I am wondering how to balance it out so that they're getting just enough feed for proper growth but not wasting it. I will maybe try your method. Thank you for sharing it, currently mine eat out of a large pot that can sometimes get exceedingly messy.

Hmm. ok I think turkeys may be different... I don't know much about them. Maybe they-being meat birds- will just eat until they pop! But the chickens definitely need food available all the time, if you want them to lay regularly. Did you see the picture of my feeder? They're very popular and easy/inexpensive to make... and I have not had any food scatter out of it (none!), as long as that extra length is added to the wye to make them reach inside deeper. I can find a link to directions or tell you later if you want.

Also free ranging really helps with feed conservation.
And deep litter method somehow also does too... it brings up the bugs and worms if it's laid on bare dirt in the run.
Also growing fodder is an excellent cost ratio savings. 10 pounds of seeds can yield 50 pounds of greens.

I'll try to see if I can find those links for you later...

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Thank you for the information. I cannot free range without me watching, so it's pretty much limited to an hour before dark a few days a week. I did read the articles aart and you provided, they were extremely helpful. I will probably skip this year and maybe a few more in terms of light, it appears that they will not need it and will simply add more complications. I plan on getting more chickens a year from now, and maybe follow the plan that your article laid out. I will try making your feeder, it seems like an ingenious idea! Thanks again to all of you.

 

[True Patriot]

Toche

Was not directly intended at you. I see so many posts where people are against electric in the coop. Like anything else in life, increased understanding of something will take away a lot of the fear.