New to the forum and to chickens

[Isabella7Storm5]

Really? I'd come to terms with the possibility we may not get any until the weather warms in Spring.

Our chickens lay very well all through the winter. We put a light in the coop and have it set to turn on around 6am and off and 7:30am and then it turns on again at 5pm and off at 9pm. That seemed to do the trick and last year they layed better in winter than in summer.

 

[DaveMK]

They do tend to let more in the warmer seasons, so yeah. The eggs are really small at first too, but they’ll get bigger.

Thank you.

 

[DaveMK]

Our chickens lay very well all through the winter. We put a light in the coop and have it set to turn on around 6am and off and 7:30am and then it turns on again at 5pm and off at 9pm. That seemed to do the trick and last year they layed better in winter than in summer.

Thanks for that. How many watts or Lumens would you say is sufficient for 2 hens?
I read that the lights need to diim down at the end, so the birds can find their perch before it's dark.

 

[Isabella7Storm5]

Thanks for that. How many watts or Lumens would you say is sufficient for 2 hens?
I read that the lights need to diim down at the end, so the birds can find their perch before it's dark.

i dont really know tbh. our bulb is one of those long incandescent tube ones (about 25-30 watts) for about 100 birds and it sits right up in the top of the ceiling. Ours just goes right out and we have no problem with the chickens roosting because they usually will perch as soon as it gets dark out while the light stays on. This is a pretty bad pic but its the only one i had on this device

 

[DaveMK]

i dont really know tbh. our bulb is one of those long incandescent tube ones (about 25-30 watts) for about 100 birds and it sits right up in the top of the ceiling. Ours just goes right out and we have no problem with the chickens roosting because they usually will perch as soon as it gets dark out while the light stays on. This is a pretty bad pic but its the only one i had on this deviceView attachment 3343263

Sorry for the slow reply, and thanks for sharing that. I'll give the supplementary lightning idea some thought.

 

[Boppo]

Hi, Dave, glad to meet you. Welcome to BYC. There are a lot of folks here interested in permaculture. If you enter that into the SEARCH button, you will find a number of conversations about it, or if you troll around in the Gardening forum.

My chickens are great around the yard, but I think I will be fencing off my garden in the spring! I have never seen anything that could dismantle a dock plant or kill a full grown mugwort plant before! My 4 ladies have done all that and more. Chickens are very hard on plants, though they repay the survivors or replacements with the poop (after it's been aged or composted!) I had trouble believing my sister that her chickens had devastated her tomato garden, but I certainly believe it now!

Happy chickening, happy gardening. And don't believe for a minute that your chilies will be immune from chicken attentions!

 

[Boppo]

PS Dave, not everybody supplements their chickens' lighting. Some chickens do lay through the winter, and most hens lay through the winter in their first year of laying (I hear). Some breeds are better about winter laying than others. My Gold Comets are laying, for instance, though my AustraWhite and Buckeye have not started, and may not til spring. They are living beings, not machines, so everything is variable!

The only reason to add the light is to induce them to lay (unless you need to see things yourself in the dark coop at night). Some folks feel it's better to let them have a rest, allowing the sun to govern their laying patterns. There is some suspicion that forcing laying year round may shorten their lifespan or cause illness (but no clear proof). It's a periodic discussion here, with some folks having very strong opinions. It's a matter of split opinion in our community.

 

[janiedoe]

PS Dave, not everybody supplements their chickens' lighting. Some chickens do lay through the winter, and most hens lay through the winter in their first year of laying (I hear). Some breeds are better about winter laying than others. My Gold Comets are laying, for instance, though my AustraWhite and Buckeye have not started, and may not til spring. They are living beings, not machines, so everything is variable!

The only reason to add the light is to induce them to lay (unless you need to see things yourself in the dark coop at night). Some folks feel it's better to let them have a rest, allowing the sun to govern their laying patterns. There is some suspicion that forcing laying year round may shorten their lifespan or cause illness (but no clear proof). It's a periodic discussion here, with some folks having very strong opinions. It's a matter of split opinion in our community.

Agree!

 

[DaveMK]

Hi, Dave, glad to meet you. Welcome to BYC. There are a lot of folks here interested in permaculture. If you enter that into the SEARCH button, you will find a number of conversations about it, or if you troll around in the Gardening forum.

My chickens are great around the yard, but I think I will be fencing off my garden in the spring! I have never seen anything that could dismantle a dock plant or kill a full grown mugwort plant before! My 4 ladies have done all that and more. Chickens are very hard on plants, though they repay the survivors or replacements with the poop (after it's been aged or composted!) I had trouble believing my sister that her chickens had devastated her tomato garden, but I certainly believe it now!

Happy chickening, happy gardening. And don't believe for a minute that your chilies will be immune from chicken attentions!

Thank you.
Yes, I have to keep them in their coop/run. No space in my garden unfortunately.
So the chillies will only grace my own plate

 

[Boppo]

I have been amazed at what birds (not just chickens) will eat. They seem not to be bothered at all by spicy hot things. They would gobble up red hot chili peppers, I am pretty sure. They love the color red, it seems. Though they also seem to like sparkles. Huh. Maybe they need those witch's red shoes from The Wizard of Oz to fulfill all their desires: