Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[RoyalChick]

But you weren't thinking you could halt production in the middle of assembly, were you? Wouldn't it have to be a slowdown in her hormones not a halt?
Well if/when it doesn't work - call it Movie Night!

My logic was to make her think the night was even a bit longer than it actually is in the hope that would trigger a pause in laying.
But as she doesn’t seem to care whether it is day or night from the perspective of wandering around, eating, and going to the nest box, I think my strategy was flawed.

 

[Ponypoor]

Phyllis is very fancy.

View attachment 3707067

I love this photo

 

[Ponypoor]

My logic was to make her think the night was even a bit longer than it actually is in the hope that would trigger a pause in laying.
But as she doesn’t seem to care whether it is day or night from the perspective of wandering around, eating, and going to the nest box, I think my strategy was flawed.

Not really flawed, the amount of daylight has an effect on hormone production and eventually the darker conditions would decrease those hormones, but, it would take weeks for this to work.

With my horses, for me to get my mares ovulating so I could breed them in April to get March foals (11 months to carry a foal), I needed to start around Christmas time and keep lights on in the barn in the evening for an additional 3 hrs - and the light had to be a certain brightness - enough to be able to read the print in a newspaper - so fairly bright.

Same thing if I wanted show horses to shed their hair earlier in the spring.

Now with the chooks I have read that increasing light hours will increase hormone production, and I was wondering if the lighting I now left on each morning as I am up so early for work, had an effect on the pullets starting to finally lay eggs.

I like your idea of reducing light to control ovulation, it just would need to be done for many weeks to see any effects. If it were me I would have a small room for them all to go in so they were together if you are worried about them being apart. Is there anyway this can be built in your hen house?

 

[Ponypoor]

Hi @fuentemoon I see you have caught up

Hope you and your chooks are well.

 

[RoyalChick]

Not really flawed, the amount of daylight has an effect on hormone production and eventually the darker conditions would decrease those hormones, but, it would take weeks for this to work.

With my horses, for me to get my mares ovulating so I could breed them in April to get March foals (11 months to carry a foal), I needed to start around Christmas time and keep lights on in the barn in the evening for an additional 3 hrs - and the light had to be a certain brightness - enough to be able to read the print in a newspaper - so fairly bright.

Same thing if I wanted show horses to shed their hair earlier in the spring.

Now with the chooks I have read that increasing light hours will increase hormone production, and I was wondering if the lighting I now left on each morning as I am up so early for work, had an effect on the pullets starting to finally lay eggs.

I like your idea of reducing light to control ovulation, it just would need to be done for many weeks to see any effects. If it were me I would have a small room for them all to go in so they were together if you are worried about them being apart. Is there anyway this can be built in your hen house?

Well I could still do it for weeks. As the real days lengthen I could try and trick them into believeing the nights are still long.

 

[Ponypoor]

I had to be sure, I know how toxic those family raisin brandy’s can get !

More sugar than anything, very sweet, like syrup.

 

[Ponypoor]

Well I could still do it for weeks. As the real days lengthen I could try and trick them into believeing the nights are still long.

Yes I think that would work in your favour, but it need to be dark. Not sure at what lux reading it would need to be for chooks.

 

[featherhead007]

A night alone in the house. The chooks are all in the coop. It’s so quiet inside, I think I heard a spider fart!

 

[BY Bob]

That needs to go in the caption contest

SHRA tax

 

[BY Bob]

And this one made me smile - and remember my panicked call when I first got the chicks, to my niece saying ‘my chicks are have some sort of fit!!!’ Ya silly Kelly they were dust bathing or that time they threw them selves down on the ground wings outstretched eye closed….. ya sun bathing. Chickens!

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/c2821986-video-of--frozen-chickens--video-goes-viral

Gosh. There is so much to learn about chickens. So many people learn the hard way.