Michigan

[M.sue]

This little chick is so dang adorable looking..... I can see why she's your favorite!
The others are adorable too but this one takes the cake.

 

[chicken grandma]

Nova, I know, I know. They suggested keeping old chickens and new chickens in two totally separate flocks.

They suggested that we give our chickens 16 hours of light a day when we want them to lay. And they suggest cutting that light back to 8 hours per day when we want them to moult. Or we can just follow the natural seasons of a natural moulting in the Autumn.

And they suggested that we keep our coops about 52 degrees ideally in the Winter and at least above freezing at all times. YEAH YEAH!!! I WAS SO HAPPY! SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME ABOUT HEATING THE COOP!

I just knew my chickens liked a bit of heat!
Takes the edge off surviving and they lay better.

Commerical operations (which we are not) keep chickens at the IDEAL temperature of 72 degrees year round. That is the ideal temperature for chickens according to M.S.U. That is where their bodies don't have to make any effort to heat or cool themselves so all their energy can go into making eggs!

6 months old to 2 years is the peak egg laying time - anything after that is a bonus.

 

[Chickmate]

Chicken Grandma (the tall one) and Snowflake running off with all the handouts we could carry to bring you at Chickenstock!!! (Dr. Karcher said it was fine to bring those for you!)

What???!!! Chicken Grandma??? That is not at all how I pictured you!! Isn't it funny the images we have of people we have never seen? OMG! You look like a corporate executive from GM, not a chicken grandma! I imagined a bun at the back of your head and granny glasses.

And snowflake, you sure look familiar to me. You must look like someone I know.

 

[NovaAman]

I can see where that would be nice, but look at all those people up north who lost their power for several days... Just imagine if they had heated coops.. Oh the stress and death it would have cost them.

I know what you mean though. I felt bad about those nights when it got real cold and the water was solid froze! But those days too, they would all hightail it and hang out in the garage all day long! And them stupid girls went broody on eggs too! LOL.

 

[NovaAman]

Snowflake looks like Pat Wynegarten, a lady I know that lives here in Holland. Also a bit like the Krontz side of my familia...

 

[RBahmer]

I agree with theron

 

[chicken grandma]

Welcome LST! Were you are Michigan State Universities Poultry Workshop today?

(I invited a lot of people to look us up here on BYC)

Chickmate - I am sorry! My children named me 'CHICKEN GRANDMA' a long time ago. Because they are the parents of our chickens so I was the grandma........ Years later I realized that everyone on BYC was very kind and patient with me - more than usual......

 

[RaZ]

Nova, I know, I know. They suggested keeping old chickens and new chickens in two totally separate flocks.

They suggested that we give our chickens 16 hours of light a day when we want them to lay. And they suggest cutting that light back to 8 hours per day when we want them to moult. Or we can just follow the natural seasons of a natural moulting in the Autumn.

And they suggested that we keep our coops about 52 degrees ideally in the Winter and at least above freezing at all times. YEAH YEAH!!! I WAS SO HAPPY! SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME ABOUT HEATING THE COOP!

I just knew my chickens liked a bit of heat!
Takes the edge off surviving and they lay better.

Commerical operations (which we are not) keep chickens at the IDEAL temperature of 72 degrees year round. That is the ideal temperature for chickens according to M.S.U. That is where their bodies don't have to make any effort to heat or cool themselves so all their energy can go into making eggs!

6 months old to 2 years is the peak egg laying time - anything after that is a bonus.

Among all that paperwork you brought home with you, are there research papers cited as to the validity of their statements?

I appreciate that you went to the seminar and are reporting back to us. I'm a natural skeptic and I question some of the statements they made.

 

[RBahmer]

Theron - If you are right then the tail development would be useful for sexing. The two you picked as girls are what I also thought at first because they got tail feathers first.

I was always told by my Grandmother that pullets get tails before roosters. Also a pullets wing feathers are longer than a roosters.
This always proved 100% for me.

 

[chicken grandma]

I can see where that would be nice, but look at all those people up north who lost their power for several days... Just imagine if they had heated coops.. Oh the stress and death it would have cost them.

I know what you mean though. I felt bad about those nights when it got real cold and the water was solid froze! But those days too, they would all hightail it and hang out in the garage all day long! And them stupid girls went broody on eggs too! LOL.

I know, I know..... but I can't help putting one of those red lights in every Winter and my zoo vet recommended it to me this Fall and Dr. Karcher recommended it today. At least on a thermocube to keep it from freezing. This Winter wasn't bad but when you get a week or two straight of below freezing weather it is really hard on the chickens and therefore egg production.