Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[3riverschick]

I am in the process of getting my pens set up with lights. It is a process with so many pens. Can someone tell me what is the minimum # of lumens (or watts) needed for this? I am planning on using compact fluorescents since the LEDs are still too expensive and was thinking 100 watt equivalent, but perhaps I don't need that much? I ordered the reflective shields so I can direct the light better and will put them over the roost in each pen. Thanks for your help.

Hi,
Either at the Ithaca or Vermont.edu websites, there is a scholarly article which addresses lighting in poultry housing. Their conclusion was that a 20 watt bulb is enough light for a 10x10 coop.
======================
LIGHT AND LIGHTING FOR POULTRY
http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html
The lighting industry uses four methods to describe light color but only one really applies to selecting lighting for poultry, chromaticity. Chromaticity is the measure of a light source's warmth (warm light) or coolness (cool light) expressed in degrees Kelvin. The scale runs from 2000 to 7000K. Chromaticity values of 4000K and higher are considered cool (mostly blue light), those around 3500K or 3600K are called "balanced" or "neutral" and those of about 3000K or lower are considered warm (more red light). A color temperature designation is truly accurate only for an incandescent lamp because it produces a continuous spectrum. Fluorescent and HID (high-intensity discharge; HP Sodium and Metal Halide lamps) lamps are said to have a "correlated" (apparent) color temperature and are thus always described using the term correlated color temperature (CCT) (Knisley, 1990).

and much more in this article....

Best,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

Yes. The joys of raising chickens.....They've had them for a while now and yet I still get broken eggs. In the past nine days I got nine eggs from the one pen and two from the one that has been laying the eggs with problems. I found an egg this morning that felt like the shell just wasn't hard enough. Soft but there. Doubt a hen purposefully broke it because the yolk was still there and fully intact.https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ke-for-oyster-shell-to-make-my-shells-thicker I can't find the exact thread but in this one Chris09 mentions a phosphorus or vitamin D3 deficiency causing problems. Something about them not being able to absorb the calcium properly.

Make sure to check for parasites too. Weak shells is a symptom of worms, mites and lice.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yes. The joys of raising chickens.....They've had them for a while now and yet I still get broken eggs. In the past nine days I got nine eggs from the one pen and two from the one that has been laying the eggs with problems. I found an egg this morning that felt like the shell just wasn't hard enough. Soft but there. Doubt a hen purposefully broke it because the yolk was still there and fully intact.https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ke-for-oyster-shell-to-make-my-shells-thicker I can't find the exact thread but in this one Chris09 mentions a phosphorus or vitamin D3 deficiency causing problems. Something about them not being able to absorb the calcium properly.

Are your birds spending time outside in the sun? This is where they will get their Vit D.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Good grief! Double post.

 

[brahmabreeder]

Are your birds spending time outside in the sun? This is where they will get their Vit D.

Nope. I opened the door and they looked at me like really, you expect me to touch that stuff. Guess they aren't huge fans of the snow.

Make sure to check for parasites too. Weak shells is a symptom of worms, mites and lice.

Well the one rooster does have mites but I checked everyone else and could barely find the slightest hint of a bug. I did buy ivermectin pour on so everyone can be treated for the mites. Plus I've been spraying the rooster whom I first discovered had mites really bad with permethrin and the coop has been sprayed down multiple times also.

 

[Pozees]

Are your birds spending time outside in the sun? This is where they will get their Vit D.

Nope. I opened the door and they looked at me like really, you expect me to touch that stuff. Guess they aren't huge fans of the snow.

If you can, shovel down to bare dirt in at least a small area and scatter some scratch or give them dark green leafy veggies. They will benefit from some sun assisting their bodies in making D3 which helps calcium absorption.

 

[ronott1]

Nope. I opened the door and they looked at me like really, you expect me to touch that stuff. Guess they aren't huge fans of the snow.
Well the one rooster does have mites but I checked everyone else and could barely find the slightest hint of a bug. I did buy ivermectin pour on so everyone can be treated for the mites. Plus I've been spraying the rooster whom I first discovered had mites really bad with permethrin and the coop has been sprayed down multiple times also.

That is most of your answer there. An easily absorbed calcium source is Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth(Not to kill parasites)

I bet the eggs will get harder soon.

 

[gjensen]

Nope. I opened the door and they looked at me like really, you expect me to touch that stuff. Guess they aren't huge fans of the snow.
Well the one rooster does have mites but I checked everyone else and could barely find the slightest hint of a bug. I did buy ivermectin pour on so everyone can be treated for the mites. Plus I've been spraying the rooster whom I first discovered had mites really bad with permethrin and the coop has been sprayed down multiple times also.

Keep the battle up on the mites. Dust them birds.

Cod liver oil is an aid in the winter. Get rid of the mites, and supplement with some cod liver oil and I bet your problem goes away. Keep the oyster shells available.

Some poultry keepers used to keep oyster shell and hardwood charcoal available.

D3 can be a problem for keepers in the North where their birds are not getting enough son in the winter. Fresh greens and some cod liver oil can help.

 

[3riverschick]

Some poultry keepers used to keep oyster shell and hardwood charcoal available.

What's the deal with the charcoal? Is it a tonic for the G.I. tract? Or?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

Keep the battle up on the mites. Dust them birds.

Cod liver oil is an aid in the winter. Get rid of the mites, and supplement with some cod liver oil and I bet your problem goes away. Keep the oyster shells available.

Some poultry keepers used to keep oyster shell and hardwood charcoal available.

D3 can be a problem for keepers in the North where their birds are not getting enough son in the winter. Fresh greens and some cod liver oil can help.

spray the coop with liquid seven too. The coop needs to be treated. This should be a safe time of year--Bees are in decline because of not being careful with Permethren like poisons.