New coop build for new chicks

[NatJ]

As far as lighting up the coop for extra time i have no plans on doing so as i do not want them to start laying until maybe the end of Feb. They hatched August 1st. So we will just play that by ear.

Chickens are sensitive to how many hours of daylight, but they are even more sensitive to whether the days are getting longer or shorter.

So if you set the lights on a timer to provide 10 hours or 12 hours of daytime (as @Alaskan suggested), and keep the amount constant, they should not begin laying until the days get longer than that in the spring. But if you let the days get really short and then increase the day length, it might trigger laying. So the trick is to add the extra light before the days get that short.

If your short winter days are naturally longer than 10 hours, it may not be worth trying to length the days. They will probably have enough hours to eat in that case. The further north you go, the more extreme the day length gets (short in winter and long in summer), and I'm not sure what it is where you live.

People who want winter laying will often provide 14 to 16 hours of light each day, which is not what we're suggesting here.

 

[aart]

So if you set the lights on a timer to provide 10 hours or 12 hours of daytime (as @Alaskan suggested), and keep the amount constant, they should not begin laying until the days get longer than that in the spring. But if you let the days get really short and then increase the day length, it might trigger laying. So the trick is to add the extra light before the days get that short.

Very good point.

 

[Nodakj]

I was just looking. It appears our shortest day is December 21. As near as i can find we get about 8:45 hours of daylight that day. I really don't want to mess with lights and a timer. This is my first year with chickens. I will play it by ear as far as when they start laying, i have plenty of nest boxes and as soon as we get through most of the winter and they appear close to laying i will take off the partition so they can utilize the boxes. I will up their protein content very soon. And some of the crumbles they have now are kind of turning to powder. I have to find some kind of strainer to get that out and use it for a mash so it does not go to waste. Work on the run will continue this weekend.

 

[NatJ]

And some of the crumbles they have now are kind of turning to powder. I have to find some kind of strainer to get that out and use it for a mash so it does not go to waste.

Why strain it?

You can make mash with powder or crumbles or a mixture of both.

 

[Nodakj]

Yes you are right about being able to use both. But the powdered crumble they absolutely will not eat. So that is not being utilized. The rest of the crumbles they do eat. So the idea is to use up the portion not being consumed.

 

[3KillerBs]

Yes you are right about being able to use both. But the powdered crumble they absolutely will not eat. So that is not being utilized. The rest of the crumbles they do eat. So the idea is to use up the portion not being consumed.

I put whatever feed I have into my feeder and then, about once a month or more often if I've got some particularly dusty batches, I dump the fine stuff that's accumulated at the bottom of the feeder's pan into a container to make mash.

 

[Nodakj]

I need a more elegant solution for my chicks to access the run ( and for me to access this side of the coop) Been raining a bit so everything has been on hold.

 

[Nodakj]

Still allot of work to be done.

 

[Nodakj]

That little red light on the back of my coop has a motion detector in it with an alarm and red flashing light. Startled me this morning when i walked by it lol. Hope it keeps the bears away.

 

[Nodakj]

Work still in progress