Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[MIchickenlady]

Just the one they sell at FF&H - remember I am in Zeeland...

I have this watere and I LOVE it...has worked well 2 winters...I dont recommend filling completely, maybe 2/3...and dont carry upside dn by the base-itll slip off and leave your feet wet but keeps water unfrozen all winter here in wintry Michigan!

 

[MIchickenlady]

Hello fellow Michigander chicken lovers,
I posed this question yesterday in a general forum, but didn't get much clarity.
Maybe you can help me...
I have 4 Buff Orpington girls I got from Tractor Supply in July-they're 14 wks old now.
Will they start laying eggs in Dec-Jan?? Even with the short days, cold temps?
They're in a 4x6 coop, covered run, and let out to a 12x12 fenced area daily- heated water but no light or heat in the coop...at least I wasn't planning on it. They're more pets than anything and I don't want to force them to lay by adding light on a timer, unless that's better for them?
I'm wondering what to expect, and if I should go ahead and switch to layer feed in a month & uncover the nesting box-even if they're not laying for a while?
I've read they need so many hours of light to lay eggs, so would they then just not lay until Spring? (that seems too long for them to wait).
Three yr ago I got chicks in March and by Fall they were laying through the winter...but these girls were hatched in July...so I'm confused what they'll do??
Thank so much for any thoughts or advice...have a great day

 

[bigmrg74]

It was (almost!) new car fever! Something to do on a rainy day, right? Mary

Its new enough, and its got a ton of bells and whistles on it. Long gone are the days when you could just get a simple vehicle anymore without all of that additional stuff on it that could go wrong with it and prevent you from doing the vehicle's primary function, moving you from point A to point B.

 

[Folly's place]

x2! Electronics are wonderful, when working. When not working, a royal pain, and only fixable at the dealer's, usually. Ask me how I know this... Mary

 

[Folly's place]

rbnk1, I use a light on a timer in my coop all winter; four to eight am every day. Without it, many hens stop production, and the pullets in my mixed flock seem okay with it too. Your buff pullets are too young and will start laying later, regardless.
I feed Flock Raiser to everyone, with separate oyster shell, so no non-laying bird gets layer.
If you aren't adding a light for your hens, don't add it for these pullets. Mary

 

[chickflick]

A free coop sure would help RaZ out! Maybe message him and let him know...

 

[1muttsfan]

I wait until February to put a light on in the coop, gives the girls a few months to molt, store up some pigments for yolks and shells, and put on a little body fat for the cold of winter.
Good quality big fowl like orps don't mature until they are quite a bit older, maybe 21 weeks or more, although hatchery birds are a crapshoot and could start younger.

 

[chickflick]

I just let my chickens go natural. Think they deserve a break from laying.

 

[SillyChicken]

Hey gang............. It's been a while! How is everyone? I have been AOL for quite a while. So much has changed here.

I thought I was going to give up chickens a while back, but ended up getting just a mixed batch of hens. I really miss my Faverolles though so I'll be going back to them soon.

I am selling off all my other livestock (Jacobs Sheep) and we're getting ready to clean up everything to head south. We figure in about 5 years we'll make the move. Not much else is going on with me, work all day, come home and work some more!

 

[aart]

Hi Silly!