- Nov 28, 2010
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I think it depends on what you want and/or expect from your birds. When I've had fall and mid winter Broodies, I always just let 'em do their thing as long as there's an extra dog crate or something to put her in to keep the other birds from laying in her nest. I've not lost any Broody raised clutches to the cold; occasionally a chick gets picked off by something, but even in freezing weather, you'll see that Mama with her barely feathered chicks running all around at her feet. When they get cold, they snuggle. Give her a place out of the wind to bed 'em down at night, and she'll manage.
Over time, you're selecting for early maturity, fast feathering, fast moult, and cold weather, short daylight laying; basically, natural laying ability. I don't heat or light my coop, and I won't have one of those annoying yard lights, so once we turn off the porch light, it's pretty much pitch dark out there. Unless I've been keeping records and know who started laying early, I consider eggs after the second week of May hardly worth setting if I'm trying to improve production(*). It's been my experience that it's those very early and very late hatches that will give you the most eggs over the lifetime of the hen.
(*) If I'm trying to increase numbers, I'll set almost everything, but the birds that will be staying at my house are preferably hatched between October and March.
Over time, you're selecting for early maturity, fast feathering, fast moult, and cold weather, short daylight laying; basically, natural laying ability. I don't heat or light my coop, and I won't have one of those annoying yard lights, so once we turn off the porch light, it's pretty much pitch dark out there. Unless I've been keeping records and know who started laying early, I consider eggs after the second week of May hardly worth setting if I'm trying to improve production(*). It's been my experience that it's those very early and very late hatches that will give you the most eggs over the lifetime of the hen.
(*) If I'm trying to increase numbers, I'll set almost everything, but the birds that will be staying at my house are preferably hatched between October and March.