Montana

[DuginMT]

Thanks for the good news Rookiefarmer! Maybe King is not headed to the fry pan just yet!

 

[DuginMT]

Thanks for the good news Rookiefarmer! Maybe King is not headed to the fry pan just yet!

 

[montanachicks]

Doug~ in answer to your question about the lighting -- YES!! -- makes a huge difference. Some people give their birds a break in the winter and go without eggs, or very few eggs. They need 15 hours of light to keep the laying going. I believe how I had my timer set up (in the dead of winter) was on at 430 am -- off at 8 on at 500 pm -- off at around 9. Some people put all the extra hours needed either at night, or in the wee morning hours; I just split mine. I use the red heat lamp as that's what I've always heard was recommended, and no, this does not give them that "extra light" that they need. And you are correct about jacking up the light bill ---- majorly -- if you have all that extra heating stuff. I have a outdoor thermometer on the inside wall of the coop to keep up with; they really do tolerate the cold more than you would think. With the red heat lamp on, I never, ever had a frozen egg. There were several months last winter that the electric bill went over $200.00 (OUCH), when any other time during the winter, it would have only been about $75 or $80.00. That's just with the basics plugged in out there. You don't want to make it too warm in the coop. The supplemental lighting, I just have a light socket installed on the wall and use a 40 watt or so bulb. There is a type of bulb called a "rough service" bulb that I got at Big R that I guess do better in cold temps, etc., than a regular bulb.

I know how you feel about the BO 's. I read all this good stuff about them, bought the birds, then found out first hand afterwards.... then started reading up and discovered a lot of people have the same issues with them. They are a beautiful bird, tho.

 

[montanachicks]

also, about the extra lighting -- you will need to change your timer from time to time as the days get shorter or longer --- 15 hours is what I have read over and over so that's what I do, and it has worked for me. I had eggs from most of my hens all winter.

Rookiefarmer -- I am happy that your BO's are still laying well. I wish mine would have, but I guess it is different for everybody.

 

[rookiefarmers]

I guess every I know with them loves them. But we all bought them knowing they were not a red sex link, so we were not expecting an egg a day.
We are getting 8-11 eggs a day, with our oldest gals all but two laying. I can not wait for the day we get a dozen. Eek! The younger group is 18 weeks so I am hoping it will start another round of new egg layers again soon. Yahoo!

 

[DuginMT]

Thanks for the lighting input. I think I will try to go just with a heated waterer base and a 40 Watt bulb on a timer for supplemental lighting. My red lamps are 250W so would rather not use one in the coop.

Getting four to six eggs per day now and one BO and one EE are laying every day now!

 

[DuginMT]

Thanks for the lighting input. I think I will try to go just with a heated waterer base and a 40 Watt bulb on a timer for supplemental lighting. My red lamps are 250W so would rather not use one in the coop.

Getting four to six eggs per day now and one BO and one EE are laying every day now!

 

[montanachicks]

Came home from work a while ago and one of my White Rocks has passed away. She hasn't been acting right--or looking right-- since late last week. I got a lot of good advice from people on the Montana/Wyoming FB chicken page, but despite doing everything people suggested, it was not enough to keep her here.

So now I know some things I did not know before: if your hens' comb all of a sudden starts drooping and turning colors -- as in going from red to a dark purplish color -- almost burgundy -- something is seriously wrong. I've learned that these are signs of several conditions: dehydration/heart problems/circulation. Could've been other things too. I'm not sure exactly if any of those was the problem, but she went from being perfectly healthy & happy to taking a nose dive very quickly. I am surprised she lasted as long as she did. She was 2-1/2 years old.

Even with thinking that this was a health condition and not contagious, I believe I should sanitize my coop. I had someone tell me that they did this on a regular basis anyway -- about every 2-3 weeks, mixing a water/chlorox solution in a spray bottle and spraying down the walls & sides of the nests. But I can't remember where or who I heard it from, or what the mixture was--how much water/how much chlorox. Does anyone else do this as a precaution? and if so, please enlighten me, and the rest of us on here. Am I over-reacting?

I sooooo dislike this part of raising chickens, pets, anything.

 

[karlamaria]

MontanaChicks and Karla, sounds like you have good winter setups.  As far as winterizing my coop, which is not insulated, I am thinking about installing those soil mat heaters below the nesting boxes hopefully to keep eggs from freezing.  They will also add a little heat to the coop.  I'm also considering a small 110V electric baseboard heater below the nesting boxes, on a thermostat set to come on at 40.  I'm afraid it might use too much juice though.  I plan to make or buy a heated base and a galvanized 5-gallon waterer to set on it and keep it inside the coop.  Do you think supplemental lighting makes much difference in regards to egg production?  I was thinking of installing a red heat lamp on the ceiling and putting it on a timer, to run from say 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and then from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM in the winter.  Do chickens consider a red heat lamp as "light" for the purpose of egg production, or would I need to install a different type of light?  Thanks.

Oh, I ate the known BO egg this morning, which was the largest egg we got so far.  It was a double-yolker, but shaped perfectly normally! 

I use a heat lamp over my water and it stays unthawed. But my coop is pretty darn insulated and so is my pen come winter time.If you cover your pen good it will help your coop stay warmer also. In winter I get about 3 -5 eggs a day, and with new hens ( first year) I notice there good winter layers . My older girls still lays a few a week and that's enough for us during the winter. I love introducing new stock each year that are good winter layers. I also love having a fall broodie as she takes good care of the chicks and they grow during the winter months into spring layers. My buff os were not so much as good layers, but great broodies. They went broody so often I barely got eggs lol. I have three girls I'm waiting on to lay, I'm believing there going to be great winter layers. I have 6 new girls so looking for some nice winter eggs, and my RIR lay awesomely so I expect after there molt they will be ready to lay again. And I have a girl setting on 8 eggs, can not wait ! They will be my spring egg layers , im crossing fingers I get some hens !

 

[karlamaria]

Came home from work a while ago and one of my White Rocks has passed away. She hasn't been acting right--or looking right-- since late last week. I got a lot of good advice from people on the Montana/Wyoming FB chicken page, but despite doing everything people suggested, it was not enough to keep her here. So now I know some things I did not know before: if your hens' comb all of a sudden starts drooping and turning colors -- as in going from red to a dark purplish color -- almost burgundy -- something is seriously wrong. I've learned that these are signs of several conditions: dehydration/heart problems/circulation. Could've been other things too. I'm not sure exactly if any of those was the problem, but she went from being perfectly healthy & happy to taking a nose dive very quickly. I am surprised she lasted as long as she did. She was 2-1/2 years old. Even with thinking that this was a health condition and not contagious, I believe I should sanitize my coop. I had someone tell me that they did this on a regular basis anyway -- about every 2-3 weeks, mixing a water/chlorox solution in a spray bottle and spraying down the walls & sides of the nests. But I can't remember where or who I heard it from, or what the mixture was--how much water/how much chlorox. Does anyone else do this as a precaution? and if so, please enlighten me, and the rest of us on here. Am I over-reacting? I sooooo dislike this part of raising chickens, pets, anything.

I'm so sorry, it's always tough to loose a good hen, a good pet