Nevadans?

[SunnyDawn]

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OK. I'm confused...


OK. I get it. Like when my son says "you're such a guy Mom". I'm never sure how to take this.

I have a dominant hen that is no match for either of my roosters. She calls all the shots! No ands, ifs or buts about it!!!

 

[Eglyntine]

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My BR's are like this, that little banty rooster I had used to get his butt kicked all of the time by them and then of course he would try to take it out on everyone else.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

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Did the barred rock come from Mt. Rose? I still haven't gotten any eggs, and am not sure when I can expect them. Our barred rock is huge, but no eggs yet.

yeah but i also got my orp from her and shes probobly going to be may last layer.

 

[saym]

It's getting cold here in Elko...Had our first good snow/wind storm (*they don't last long) But I went ahead and put a light out in the house as I don't have a water heater yet..I went out tonight to snoop and they are still milling around like maybe I am keeping them up with the light..Geez,,,I am so new at this! The house is insulated for the most part they have good ventilation, there are 10 of them in a 8x4 house...should I turn out the light? It's a 60 watt...I am more worrried about the water...but can go break it in the morning..
What did i worry about before these dang chickens?????

 

[Jeeper1540]

Its supposed to get down to 15 tonght so i decided to put in the 250 watt, but our coop is a lot bigger than yours. a 100 watt will probably be good for yours. We leave the light on all night and our hens sleep on the ground!

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[saym]

Thanks Jeeps..I checked to see if your light was on out there last night...I saw that it was so, went ahead and turned it back on.
I guess the ducks will be skating on their little pond?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

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I have a rooster named Marilyn.

 

[SunnyDawn]

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I leave mine off until 4am. I have it set on a timer. I goes off again at 8am. Lights do have their own problems. BYC did a whole story on this issue in one of the old newsletters from last winter but I still use them for a few hours a night. I've read that it is better to let them get in and roosted for a few hours before any lights come on. They do get confused when they come in to roost and the coop is brighter than it is outside.

Many folks feel like you shouldn't supplement light at all and they have some valid points as well. Do a search on the topic and you'll get every opinion under the sun and be more confused than ever. There is also a ton of info out there about warmth in a coop (or too much warmth in a coop depending on what you are reading). I use a 60 watt bulb for 4 hours in the early morning and this is enough to keep the water from freezing and it also does stimulate laying during winter (OK folks don't yell at me. I have to get a few eggs during winter, I can't stomach the store bought ones!). My coop is 8'x11'.

The really important issues are to provide a wide enough roost for them to be able to completely cover their feet when sleeping (to prevent frostbite), still give them ventilation (they will have too many health problems without it) but provide a draft free area for them to sleep in. Unless you have a huge coop, without enough birds in there to provide their own warmth, they should be fine down to 0 degrees. I admit that this makes me nervous though so this is one of the reasons that I supplement (though the light hangs over the waterer not over the birds). There are some breeds that do not do well in cold climate and these include lightly feathered breeds as well as large combed breeds (the comb is more likely to get frostbite). Although I've seen many a live bird with damage from frostbite to their combs and feet and they seem to get around just fine (though I didn't ask the owners how many didn't make it).

In the end you have to decide what works for you. Keeping in mind all the pluses and minuses. My main concern was what if the gals got used to a really warm coop then I had a power failure! The cold would be a lot worse for them if they were used to a really warm coop! Well this happened last winter on a very cold night and I guess my coop wasn't too bad for them cause they seemed to do just fine.

If you do use a light be sure to secure it well. I have heard horror stories of lights falling and setting fire to the litter!

 

[SunnyDawn]

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I have a rooster named Marilyn.

Hi Genny! I was wondering where you were!

 

[Echetino]

SunnyDawn - Thanks for the great information on coop heating.