Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[hippiechickX4]

I'm wanting to know what kind of lighting ya'll use in the coop. With the daylight being shorter as it is my girls aren't getting enough light since the cold has really set in. They tend to stay inside a lot. They have 2 windows, but that's not enough light. I do have a new layer though. A Easter egger has laid 2 eggs. Right now though I'm lucky if I'm getting an egg a day out of 27 layers!!!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Wow, it's really beautiful out tonight with all the snow! I'm not usualy a fan of snow and cold but it's laying on everything tonight in big clumps We actualy had to drive home from my daughter's dance class tonight in it, up the mountain, but the scenery was great. Anyone who actualy needs to get out and drive in it, drive slow and be careful. We saw one lady who plowed in to a snow bank and some impatient guy, passing those of us going slow down a hill, almost lose control.

 

[kie4]

I'm wanting to know what kind of lighting ya'll use in the coop. With the daylight being shorter as it is my girls aren't getting enough light since the cold has really set in. They tend to stay inside a lot. They have 2 windows, but that's not enough light. I do have a new layer though. A Easter egger has laid 2 eggs. Right now though I'm lucky if I'm getting an egg a day out of 27 layers!!!

We're using a small lamp with 40W lumen equivalent in the coop, and a 60W under the coop shining into the run. The lights come on before dawn until it gets light, then come on again at dusk until a little before 9pm.

We can never hear the chickens from the house but last night my son woke me up because he could hear them. We ran out at 3:30 and something went over our 6ft fence. Chickens quietened down after we scared whatever it was away.

 

[dheltzel]

I'm wanting to know what kind of lighting ya'll use in the coop. With the daylight being shorter as it is my girls aren't getting enough light since the cold has really set in. They tend to stay inside a lot. They have 2 windows, but that's not enough light. I do have a new layer though. A Easter egger has laid 2 eggs. Right now though I'm lucky if I'm getting an egg a day out of 27 layers!!!

I use something like this: http://a.co/eili66y
Be sure you get 110v, not 12v (unless you want to run it off a car battery). Also, some have cords and some need to be hard-wired.

Then, I get this for the timer: http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-timer-95205.html

Currently, the timer is on from 6:00 to 7:30 AM, but I am moving that back about an hour a week until it comes on at 1 or 2.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

1 hour 49 mins. She is free to a good home , not to be eaten!

I would have to see and you don't have to worry about her being eaten here cause all of our animals get a name and get to retire and die of old age.

 

[stake]

We're using a small lamp with 40W lumen equivalent in the coop, and a 60W under the coop shining into the run. The lights come on before dawn until it gets light, then come on again at dusk until a little before 9pm.

We can never hear the chickens from the house but last night my son woke me up because he could hear them. We ran out at 3:30 and something went over our 6ft fence. Chickens quietened down after we scared whatever it was away.

Kie4:

I'd hazard a guess that was a fox....not many critters can jump a 6' fence....

 

[dheltzel]

Awesome. How long did you last with the bators off? Haha. Why only 1 Biele? Are they just not producing many eggs right now? I love my Biele, Helga. She has the funniest chicken run I think I've ever seen! She is a gentle soul, too.
Congratulations!

They are gorgeous. I think I still want a few of those banty Cochins first though. And some others of course...

The last chicks of 2016 hatched 10/1, this next batch are due 1/1/2017, so exactly 3 months between hatches. The incubators were turned off for 2 months and 11 days. The 3 months sounds better, so I'm going with the stat that I only hatched 9 months of the year.

The Biels only laid a single egg this week (from 8 pullets/hens). They are not reliable winter layers without added lighting, but then none of the other breeds are laying much now.

 

[dheltzel]

Trying to see the bright side - the earliest sunsets of the year were last week (4:36 here), so the amount of daylight I have after work is actually increasing now (by 1 minute, but still, it's moving in the right direction).

 

[BullChick]

You could always drink your breakfast and supper. It's like the Slim Fast diet, only it is a Happy Fast!!
Then the sunrise and sunset will not matter so much! You will be too happy (or passed out. But that is another story) to care!

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Quote:
Glad you were able to scare whatever it was away! Now you will have to be extra vigilant...

Quote: You always know where to get the good stuff Dennis!

Quote:
Okay, we'll give you three months. Haha! The girls that have started laying for me are cranking those eggs out amazingly well. Looks like its 2 BSL and 1 Cali Gray so far. I have been keeping the lights on for them until 7 at night, but more so that they can find their way in and get situated. It seems the one turkey will try to roost outside if I don't have the light on.

It is of course making them lay through the winter, but I'm okay with that right now since it is their first "season".

Trying to see the bright side - the earliest sunsets of the year were last week (4:36 here), so the amount of daylight I have after work is actually increasing now (by 1 minute, but still, it's moving in the right direction).

Looks like the shortest day of the year is the 21st, so we should be seeing more sunshine soon! Yay! I wish I could predict the sun's patterns for my property, so I can plan my garden bed placement better. Any idea how to tell where the strongest light will be in the summer months? Anybody? I think I know where the best placement will be, but I want to make sure before I build raised beds and start moving all that soil! Speaking of which, will have to find some cheap soil too... So much to do! It's wonderful!