Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[Wrightsx4]

My 5 week old chick sleeps on the big roost now alongside the grown-ups. Betty still cradles it under her wing if it's chilly, and during the day she still chases off certain hens that get too close to her baby. The little guy thinks he's all grown up though. The older chicks are 10 & 13 weeks old and sleep in their grow out coop but are free to mingle with the older group during the day. They weren't hen raised and still haven't figured out they should go inside at night so I go out and toss them in long after the big coop is sleeping.

 

[vehve]

My 5 week old chick sleeps on the big roost now alongside the grown-ups. Betty still cradles it under her wing if it's chilly, and during the day she still chases off certain hens that get too close to her baby. The little guy thinks he's all grown up though. The older chicks are 10 & 13 weeks old and sleep in their grow out coop but are free to mingle with the older group during the day. They weren't hen raised and still haven't figured out they should go inside at night so I go out and toss them in long after the big coop is sleeping.

We have the opposite problem, the youngsters go in fine, but the older guys stay on the roost in the run.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Our young ones also hang out in the open. I put a little $2 solar light in the roosting area of the mobile coop for a few nights, that seems to attract them then they figure it out.

Sorry, no pics today, if I can walk after tomorrows session I will get some then

 

[vehve]

Our young ones also hang out in the open. I put a little $2 solar light in the roosting area of the mobile coop for a few nights, that seems to attract them then they figure it out.

Sorry, no pics today, if I can walk after tomorrows session I will get some then

How much food are you consuming now Ben, with your ultramarathonlike training sessions?

The light in the coop does no good for us. I would need shades around the run instead. I'm hoping they'll start going in once the days get a bit shorter. I think we're down to about 17½h now.

 

[vehve]

After getting over Veera's broody scare, I got worried today again when Viiru was spending an awfully long time in the nest. I had placed one golfball back in there, because the younger girls have been checking out the eggs, and I noticed Viiru sitting on top of her egg and the golf ball. I decided to let her be for a while and see if she'll come out on her own, but after half an hour I went back and shoo'd her off the nest and removed the egg and the golf ball. She then went back to the nest. I thought I'd give her a moment still since she was acting so grumpy. Now, an hour later, I just looked into the nest even though we already got our 2 eggs for the day, and to my surprise, I found another egg! No wonder Viiru was being grumpy, she wasn't finished laying. Virpi must have been in there before her, and laid her first egg. And what a start, as big as the record eggs from the other two, 36 grams!

 

[ozexpat]

How much food are you consuming now Ben, with your ultramarathonlike training sessions?

The light in the coop does no good for us. I would need shades around the run instead. I'm hoping they'll start going in once the days get a bit shorter. I think we're down to about 17½h now.

Being at less than 10 degrees above the equator our days only vary 30 mins of daylight between June and December.

I am considering adding lights for the hours a day to boost productivity.

 

[vehve]

Quote: I always found it really disturbing how quickly day turns to night in some countries closer to the equator. Even in winter, it takes almost an hour to go from full light to full dark here. In summer, several hours.

Oz, you could probably give them an hour or two at both ends, I'm guessing you're not planning on keeping a elderly poultry care facility, so worrying about long term effects isn't that big of a deal for you. Now I'm just pointing out things you know already.

 

[ozexpat]

At 6pm the sun hits the water and at 630 its pitch black.


When I was in Europe I was really surprised it was still dusk at 930pm

 

[vehve]

At 6pm the sun hits the water and at 630 its pitch black.


When I was in Europe I was really surprised it was still dusk at 930pm

Still dusk here at 2230. But it will be "dark" soon.

 

[Bens-Hens]

How much food are you consuming now Ben, with your ultramarathonlike training sessions?

The light in the coop does no good for us. I would need shades around the run instead. I'm hoping they'll start going in once the days get a bit shorter. I think we're down to about 17½h now.

The short answer is LOTS. I'm only 65kg at the moment, but I out eat most people I know. I often get comments like "are you eating again?" "how can you fit that in after what you already ate?" hahaha. I just try keep up with what I burnt 3422 cals while moving, and that was all done by 8:35 am covering 43km. Tomorrow will be similar but slower and in the trails, maybe 20-30km's tomorrow. Then Monday I can eat and recover.

At 6pm the sun hits the water and at 630 its pitch black.


When I was in Europe I was really surprised it was still dusk at 930pm

I found that too, was in the UK, went out of the hotel at 2130 and it was still quite light, kind of like dusk that went on for hours.