Should I put the brooder plate/heater back in the coop at night?

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

My 4 chickens are 23 weeks old and have not started laying. (Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Easter Egger, and Golden Sex Link (who may actually be another RIR, I can hardly tell them apart). After a wicked hot summer, we are now experiencing wicked cold fall nights. If there was precipitation I'm sure it would be snow. This is a CA desert adjacent county (Inland Empire), so that is not very normal for us. It's been between 30 and 40 degrees F every night since it turned cold. The days are usually sunny and 70-something. Coop is clean and dry. They spend their days either in their 87 sq.ft run, or in the 48 sq. ft. chicken tractor pasturing on the grass. Nest boxes available in coup, on top of coop, and in chicken tractor. But the days are short so I doubt if they get 12 hours of sunlight daily.

What I am wondering is if I need to put the brooder plate (which converts to an upright heater) back in the coop at night? I have a timer that goes 7:00pm-7:00am. It is full dark by 5pm. Could it just be too cold for them to start laying? I expected eggs at 20 wks. (which I now know may be too soon). The feed store told me to put them on layer food. Since no eggs yet, I give them 1/2 and 1/2. If they are not going to lay until spring because of the cold, I am worried they will get too much calcium and get sick. If I feed calcium containing foods on the side so only the ones who need it will take it, they all eat it. They get a little bit of veg. in the afternoons, but the veg. garden is pretty much dead now.

Should I put them back on starter feed? I'm so conflicted. I was worried that they would have soft shell eggs if I didn't start them on some calcium at 20 wks.

Also, they will not come back to the coop/run at night voluntarily, and the chicken tractor doesn't have enough shelter for them to stay there all night. There is a shade cover, but no real walls. I have to go in there and catch them every night and carry them back to the coop. They make a big fuss and try to escape, especially the Rhode Island Red. We call her Rhody the Runaway. I've even seen her fly up to the top of the 6 ft. fence and consider going into the neighbor's 4 dog yard! Once in a while I can coax a few of them into a dog crate for the transfer, but never all of them. Could all this chasing and grabbing be preventing egg laying? I can't let them find their own way to/from "the pasture" (chicken tractor). We have owls and hawks here in suburbia, which I see routinely, and coyotes and bobcats, which I never see, but they are seen regularly in the wine country, which is 8 miles away.

 

[GodLovesU]

I would keep them on half and half.They might not lay until spring.I would give them the heat lamp and if they don’t use it,take it away.You could get a door for the chickens and shut them in the coop at night and let them out in the morning.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Could it just be too cold for them to start laying? I expected eggs at 20 wks. (which I now know may be too soon). The feed store told me to put them on layer food. Since no eggs yet, I give them 1/2 and 1/2. If they are not going to lay until spring because of the cold, I am worried they will get too much calcium and get sick.

For starters 30-40F is NOT cold. I would not put in any sort of heat unless there's a bird that's ill and in need of it, or you get sustained periods of -10F or greater. It's an unnecessary fire risk and makes it harder for them to adjust to temperature fluctuations should the power go out.

No it is not too cold for them to start laying. However your expectations are a bit optimistic given that daylight hours are decreasing, thereby delaying onset of laying. Since no one is yet laying and potentially they may delay laying until after solstice (where daylight starts increasing) I would not use any layer feed until at least some of the birds are laying.

I was worried that they would have soft shell eggs if I didn't start them on some calcium at 20 wks.

Much easier solution no matter what you feed is to offer oyster shell on the side, so birds can take what they need.

Also, they will not come back to the coop/run at night voluntarily, and the chicken tractor doesn't have enough shelter for them to stay there all night. There is a shade cover, but no real walls. I have to go in there and catch them every night and carry them back to the coop. Could all this chasing and grabbing be preventing egg laying?

No.

But while it's up to you, I would find it unsustainable to have a set up that required me to chase down birds every night. You mention having a coop and run, so why not leave them in the run and skip the mobile run? How big is the actual run?

Either that or take some time to train them to follow you. I've done mobile runs in the past and I currently do supervised free ranging in afternoons and the birds are trained to come when called (or can be herded back) when it's time to return home.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For starters 30-40F is NOT cold. I would not put in any sort of heat unless there's a bird that's ill and in need of it, or you get sustained periods of -10F or greater. It's an unnecessary fire risk and makes it harder for them to adjust to temperature fluctuations should the power go out.

No it is not too cold for them to start laying. However your expectations are a bit optimistic given that daylight hours are decreasing, thereby delaying onset of laying. Since no one is yet laying and potentially they may delay laying until after solstice (where daylight starts increasing) I would not use any layer feed until at least some of the birds are laying.

Much easier solution no matter what you feed is to offer oyster shell on the side, so birds can take what they need.

No.

But while it's up to you, I would find it unsustainable to have a set up that required me to chase down birds every night. You mention having a coop and run, so why not leave them in the run and skip the mobile run? How big is the actual run?

Either that or take some time to train them to follow you. I've done mobile runs in the past and I currently do supervised free ranging in afternoons and the birds are trained to come when called (or can be herded back) when it's time to return home.

You said all that better than I could have.

@SoCal Chicken Mama your shortest day of the year will have just under 10 hours of daylight and will occur in December. When I was in Arkansas I had similar length of days with colder temperatures. A couple of times I've had pullets start laying in that time period with no artificial lights. I've also had pullets wait until the longer and warmer days of spring to start laying. I have no idea when yours will actually start laying, it could be really soon or it may be a while. They lay when they lay.

Good luck!

 

[SamLockwood]

If they're fully feathered and otherwise in good health they don't need heat at 30 to 40 degree temperatures. As long as they're dry and out of the wind they can take way colder temperatures than that and be fine.

My chickens have weathered much colder temperatures, including one night during the "arctic blast" last year where it dropped to 9F. The only issue was some very minor frostbite on the combs of two of my roosters. During the days when it was in the teens they were running around all day outside while I couldn't stand to be out there more than 20 minutes at stretch with multiple layers on and a hat and scarf.

You can use a heat plate if you think you must, but absolutely don't use a heat lamp in a chicken coop: you run the risk of the bulb breaking and setting the bedding and / or coop dust on fire. People have lost their chickens and even their homes that way.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I think it's important to remember that chickens are BIRDS. If birds in nature can survive what nature dishes out, chickens can. And keep in mind that our chickens are very much privileged and advantaged over wild birds: they are enclosed and protected from the ravages of winter in a way that wild birds are not. Sure, a cardinal or sparrow can hunker down in a nest and cover itself with its feathers, but our chickens have walls and a roof. They're FINE without sweaters, blankets, booties or heaters. (My mom wanted to knit sweaters for mine!)

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Ok, so the consensus is they don't need the brooder plate heater. (I don't have a heat lamp, never used them). Got it.

Either that or take some time to train them to follow you. I've done mobile runs in the past and I currently do supervised free ranging in afternoons and the birds are trained to come when called (or can be herded back) when it's time to return home.

I'd sure love to know how to do that! I try luring then along with food, meal worms, their regular food, scratch grains. Today it was pomegranate and the first guava of the season. They are interested, but will only follow a few steps until they get distracted my all the other things in the yard they don't normally have access to. I call them by name. If I say "Buffy don't go there" (into the dog poop yard), they turn around, but they stay as far as they can away from me. I feel that it's important at this time of year to give them access to "the pasture" at this time of year because where the run is, there is only sun in the early part of the day, and I want them to have as much access to sun and grass as they need. The run is covered with hemp bedding, but there's not really anything to forage in there. We trimmed our big trees (in the front yard) and disturbed an owl nest, but my husband said he heard it again last night.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

30-40F is still sweatshirt and jean weather for me. A chicken has a down puffer jacket that they wear 24/7 they will be more than warm enough without any heat.

 

[RojoMarz]

Ok, so the consensus is they don't need the brooder plate heater. (I don't have a heat lamp, never used them). Got it.

I'd sure love to know how to do that! I try luring then along with food, meal worms, their regular food, scratch grains. Today it was pomegranate and the first guava of the season. They are interested, but will only follow a few steps until they get distracted my all the other things in the yard they don't normally have access to. I call them by name. If I say "Buffy don't go there" (into the dog poop yard), they turn around, but they stay as far as they can away from me. I feel that it's important at this time of year to give them access to "the pasture" at this time of year because where the run is, there is only sun in the early part of the day, and I want them to have as much access to sun and grass as they need. The run is covered with hemp bedding, but there's not really anything to forage in there. We trimmed our big trees (in the front yard) and disturbed an owl nest, but my husband said he heard it again last night.

To train mine, I got a plastic jar and made a "rattle" out of it. I shake it and knock on a metal coop/run pole at the same time I say "Here chickie chickie chickie" over and over. When they get in the run, I give them some scratch as a treat. I found that if I could get one or two to respond and run towards me, the others would too.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Mine have always gone to the coop when they think it is dark enough. Younger birds tend to stay up a little later than their older, fuddy-duddy counterparts, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. We just keep an eye on them and close them up when everybody's inside.