Minnesota!

[Dandelioness]

It is the wind that makes me procrastinate ... The worst ones for the open top bowls are the Silkies who get their poofy heads in the water, then they get ice balls on their heads that dangle in their eyes, or they just get filthy from water and pecking around.  I would like to get them taped soon ...

I have a mixed flock in an unheated coop as well, and just trimmed the silkies' feathers around their face because of that same issue. They kind of looked around cautiously for a few minutes like, Has all this been here behind my face feathers the whole time? LOL. But it seems like they are staying much dryer now.

My son also made a simple baffle to prevent the chooks from perching then pooping in the open bowl we use in winter. He drilled a hole in the center of a 5-gallon bucket lid, then strung a rope knotted at the bottom end through the hole & hung the whole thing up. The open waterer goes right underneath (he left room for them to drink comfortably) and now my water dish stays clean.

 

[Chickenchick11]

I'm getting 8-10 eggs per day from 10 hens. Mine too are young as I just got them last spring. I added an extra hour or so of light but I think the fact that they're young and I'm feeding fodder each day is helping.

I might have to try the fodder.

Fodder in this sense is sprouted barley, oat or wheat seed that I let go for about 7 days. The seed sprout and grow to 3-4 inches and then I feed it to my chickens. They go nuts for it. Here's a YouTube video that explains how I do it:

Very interesting.

What do you mean by feeding fodder?


I have always thought of fodder as being silage, is it a chopped something?

BTW I feed mine household garbage. They love it!

And I have one I throw a mouse too whenever I can, she loves chasing down, torturing and eating a mouse.

Mine enjoy the occasional mouse as well. LOL.

 

[jailerjoe]

Mine haven't, as far as I know, gotten ahold of any mice. They had great fun, however, with frogs and salamanders this summer. It was pretty comical actually.

Oh and this is what my over achieving girl chickens gave me today:

10 out of 10 again!

 

[cmom]

Quote:

 

[Chickenchick11]

Mine haven't, as far as I know, gotten ahold of any mice. They had great fun, however, with frogs and salamanders this summer. It was pretty comical actually.

Oh and this is what my over achieving girl chickens gave me today:

10 out of 10 again!

0 out of 6 today.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I get 0 out of 30 everyday lately. I may have to buy eggs soon.

 

[cmom]

I get 0 out of 30 everyday lately. I may have to buy eggs soon.

I have around 200 birds right now. A little more than half are males and pullets that are just starting to lay. They all are just ending their yearly molt. I wish they would molt all at once but they don't. Some of the birds started molting in August and some are at the end of their molt now. I was getting around a dozen eggs a day but lately I have been getting 2 to 3 dozen daily. Some days they are back to laying a dozen. I am in Florida but have a friend that recently moved south from MN. I was wondering if the cold affects the birds there like it does here. If it is extremely cold or extremely hot the birds do slack off on laying.

 

[jailerjoe]

I have around 200 birds right now. A little more than half are males and pullets that are just starting to lay. They all are just ending their yearly molt. I wish they would molt all at once but they don't. Some of the birds started molting in August and some are at the end of their molt now. I was getting around a dozen eggs a day but lately I have been getting 2 to 3 dozen daily. Some days they are back to laying a dozen. I am in Florida but have a friend that recently moved south from MN. I was wondering if the cold affects the birds there like it does here. If it is extremely cold or extremely hot the birds do slack off on laying.

There was a period of about a week when the weather went from reasonable fall weather to ridiculous cold minnesota winter and my chickens slacked of to 5-6 eggs per day. After the initial shock and as soon as I started feeding fodder and other treats thier production picked right up.

 

[Chickenchick11]

It was up to 30 degrees here today. e The flock and me loved it.

 

[duluthralphie]

It was nice yesterday but I do not think it got above freezing.

Sublimation was a work, I have lots of dirt open in the chicken yard. I even had a chicken at the kitchen window.

I was thinking about this thread last night when I put my birds to bed. So I tried to count my birds. I think I have 34 chickens 3 of which are roosters. I am getting about 17 eggs a day.

I could be having eggs laid in places I do not know about too. I have a couple hens I do no trust to not be sneaking a nest somewhere else. I let them out of the coop/enclosed pen at around 9:30 to 10 am when most of the eggs have been laid. I only get 3-4 after that.


BTW I can count to 33, the problem is trying to separate the chickens from the turkeys and guinea fowl on the roosts. The roosts are over head so looking up can be dangerous and must be done fast. It is amazing how much a guinea fowl and a barred rock look alike from below. One of the turkeys thinks I am a bombing target whenever I walk under her!