NY chicken lover!!!!

[lcvedder]

Just curious, how are your chickens laying in all this cold? I have 18 hens and haven't had an egg in days! I have two heat lamps in my coup, too.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

My layers stopped with the last deep freeze when it hit around -15 and haven't started back up again. The geese started laying, and quickly decided that it was a terrible idea given the weather. I'm hoping they will get back on track as soon as the cold spell breaks - otherwise I will have to get eggs from the store! Noooooooooo!!! (shudder!!!)

 

[Beer can]

I have no heat lamps, no extra light, just been busting ice, my brownleghorns were doing great, kept giving huge double yolkers, and it was there first eggs, now I think they quit. The EEgrs are still laying a few a week. The welsummer who took the longest to start laying has been laying almost every day. But the big surprise came from the one non-hardy glpolish, she laid her first egg after a night of -18 and has laid five eggs in the last seven days!

 

[Gramma Chick]

Mine havent quit ...they have kept their normal laying routine ..
I have 20 hens - Mixed Flock -ages 8 months - 3 years - they average 7- 15 a day

 

[myfivegirls]

Just curious, how are your chickens laying in all this cold? I have 18 hens and haven't had an egg in days! I have two heat lamps in my coup, too.

I don't have any heat lamps in my coops, just CFL lights on timers. But the pullets are still laying, plus some of the hens.
Overall, during the month of February, they've averaged 20 - 21 eggs per day out of 40 hens ranging in age from 4 months (not laying yet) to 4 years old (still laying occasionally).
Many are pullets are from last year's hatches, so that's probably why about 1/2 of them are laying through the winter.

"Bob's Coop" - has 2 Bielefelder hens (just around 1 yr old), 4 of my "Catskill Homesteader" pullets - has averaged 4-5 eggs /day the past two weeks.
"Dad's Coop" (used to be Dad's shed

) - has 3 hens (18 mo - 2 yr) & 6 pullets and averaged 5 eggs per day the past two weeks.
The "PA Coop" (bought the coop in PA) - has 17 total, but a wide range of ages from 4 months old to 4 yrs old; averaged 7-8 eggs per day.
The "Truck Cap Coop", aka the "SFH Coop" - has 1 SFH pullet, 3 SFH (1 yr), 4 "CH" pullets - they've only averaged 3 eggs per day, mostly the "CH" green egg layers. But, I just discovered last night that the "SFH Coop's" timer had accidentally been switched to "always on" - so that could have messed with their laying.

 

[Nuttyfrom6kids]

I can get pheasant chicks from 4H for us to raise and release. Has anyone done this? Are they hard to raise or the same as chickens? We raise them for about 8wks before release.

I have not but my husband would love to do this can you contact me on getting some

Congrats! Can't wait to meet them at "Breakfast for Lunch" tomorrow.

My chicks came in today! One roman tufted gander, three indian runner ducks, six bantams, and a bunch of packing peanuts that are probably black sex link roosters, so if anyone wants some free rooster chicks to raise up for meat or for flock roosters, let me know and they're yours.

Pyxis I could use some of the packing peanuts explanation below

My bad news my son come in screaming today grab the gun and get to the coop so I go out there to a mess of destruction and 2 dogs a beagle and a husky killing my chickens now this beagle has been here before numerous times as they let it run loose The owner lives about 5 miles away I have Lost so many birds to these beast today it is sad. The owner did pay me for the birds and both dogs were put down by her husband as he said once they kill they will always kill but I am now going to have to replace all these birds. I am down to 3 ducks left out of 25 and I would say they have killed at least 50 chickens I do have 2 roosters that are in sickbay with bald sections on there back and numerous puncture holes in them but don't anticipate them making it. My flock looks so tiny now.

Now my hubby did feel so bad that he did bring me home 20 new babies from tractor supply to cheer me up. Which is nice for egg layers cause we won't be having too many of them now.

Pharm I believe I sent you a message on your RIR if you let me know how much you are going to be asking I would like some more I do have the 3 I got from you last near they actually survived the attack.

Anyone else have eggs or birds I would like to start replacing this flock and would love to hatch out a bunch now so I can get eggs earlier and I am sure that what birds I have left won't be laying for quite a while after that the poor babies.

 

[wny egger]

boy you dont want to miss a day around here ..i felt like i was back in school with all that reading ..lol
i have been getting around 11 to 15 eggs a day ..my 21 girls have been doing good ..i havent been shut out yet ..my roo's frostbites getting better ..

i finaly got my feather fixer feed..i thought theyed go nuts over it . well not so much .

the feed store only got one bag in but said they would start getting it, so i can get it from them every other week ..

theres about 4 foot of snow in my run ..i need to get a bigger area for them .they are coming outside even on some of the coldest days ..


i no its been a few days but good catch on the weasil rancher ...he must have thought the cornel was in town giving away free origanel recipe chicken..lol..i didnt relise they [weasils ] were so small ..i picture something the size of a sm dog or a lg cat ..




grama, hope your one with the injured comb is doing better ..her comb looked pretty good for as cold as we have been ..this summer i am knocking bigger vents and a window in my coop ..

 

[Metella]

Nutty so sorry !

I had just 2 hens killed over a month ago and the person promised to pay or something - nothing and not a word. The only thing is - he HAS kept the dog away ....

It takes so long to bring them up to age! That I don't think people know how devastating this is from a purely farm perspective and then you add on that we all have favorites that are really pets in our hearts.

 

[horsekeeper]

Anyone else have eggs or birds I would like to start replacing this flock and would love to hatch out a bunch now so I can get eggs earlier and I am sure that what birds I have left won't be laying for quite a while after that the poor babies.

Oh dear , so sad to hear you lost so many birds. At least your neighbor did the right thing so it won't happen again. I do have several year old ducks I would sell, and some of the hens have started laying. There is a trio of pekins that are siblings to the two you got at last year's chickenstock, some rouen, swedish, and mixes. Also have extra muscovies, and a small flock of hatchery LF cochins from last year's chicks.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I have not but my husband would love to do this can you contact me on getting some
Pyxis I could use some of the packing peanuts explanation below

My bad news my son come in screaming today grab the gun and get to the coop so I go out there to a mess of destruction and 2 dogs a beagle and a husky killing my chickens now this beagle has been here before numerous times as they let it run loose The owner lives about 5 miles away I have Lost so many birds to these beast today it is sad. The owner did pay me for the birds and both dogs were put down by her husband as he said once they kill they will always kill but I am now going to have to replace all these birds. I am down to 3 ducks left out of 25 and I would say they have killed at least 50 chickens I do have 2 roosters that are in sickbay with bald sections on there back and numerous puncture holes in them but don't anticipate them making it. My flock looks so tiny now.

Now my hubby did feel so bad that he did bring me home 20 new babies from tractor supply to cheer me up. Which is nice for egg layers cause we won't be having too many of them now.

Pharm I believe I sent you a message on your RIR if you let me know how much you are going to be asking I would like some more I do have the 3 I got from you last near they actually survived the attack.

Anyone else have eggs or birds I would like to start replacing this flock and would love to hatch out a bunch now so I can get eggs earlier and I am sure that what birds I have left won't be laying for quite a while after that the poor babies.

So sorry to hear that Nutty! I lost several birds to a couple of dogs from the next road over this winter, and have yet to be compensated. I lost my broodies for my Pekins, and had to replace them with younger hens that probably won't be laying until later this year. I will have Pekins, Muscovies, and Khaki Campbells later in the season (the Khakis just stopped laying because of the cold) but I should have eggs by the time Chickenstock rolls around if you would like me to bring you some to help rebuild!