Egg Question and Summer Heat and Winter Cold Question

[304wvcountrygirl]

Hello All,

Im not sure if this is the right area or not but I have 3 questions.

First, I am feeding my chickens ( a little over 1 year) crush feed, should I be feeding pellets? Alos.....for the most part they lay great eggs, but sometimes when I go in the coupe, I see like 1-2 eggs that look like mushy eggs ( kinds like a they are formed kinda clear or see through and collapse when they hit the ground), I dont find these in their normal laying areas, just off to the side.??? Any ideas? I get like 7-9 eggs a day and like I said, I dont get this every day, just once in a while.

Second, I notived on a few of our hotter days the hens will lay in the dirt and digg a little, is this an effort to stay cool? They have a coupe and also a nice outdoors run, but when it gets really hot this summer, will they be ok?

Third, this winter, it may sound dtupid, but do chikens get cold? I live in WV, it gets like 10-15 below sometimes but mostly stays around 0 degrees, its windy in the winter which makes it colder. We do not have power in the coupe, do they need any source of heat or will the hay and warmth of each other be enough?

I am new to the chicken arena, appreciate any feedback and advice

God BLess!

 

[Judy]

Any type of layer, pellet or otherwise is fine. Many find they waste less with pellets.

Those are usually called soft shelled eggs. You may not be getting enough of them to concern yourself with -- though they can cause the hen a problem in trying to pass them. The simple approach is offer oyster shell on the side, if you are not already doing this. It gives them extra calcium -- and there is some indication that some hens need more calcium than others do.

Yes, to get cool, and to dust bathe. Chickens tolerate cold much better than heat. Probably they are also doing some panting and holding their wings a little away from their body on hot days -- mine are, anyway.

Whether to heat a coop is a WELL discussed topic. IMO: no, unless you are in Alaska -- and we have members in Alaska who don't. Chickiens do grow their own down coat. Trick is proper ventilation, because the humid air they and their poop give off cause frostbite much more than temps do. And, heat can actually cause them problems. if they are accustomed to a fairly warm coop and you lose power, or the heater goes out, they are suddenly exposed to something they are not accustomed to. Here is the best writeup on ventilation and cold weather coops I know of: (liinks to her other writeups on same page)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION