Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Hey Rich, good to hear from you.

Yeah, it got down to 15 inside the coop last night. So far, the girls are doing alright.

I added eight 2" vents at either end a few weeks back to keep the moisture vented. I've been leaving all the windows open too. Still makes me feel like they need heat, but I don't think they are complaining.

 

[chickendude]

Hey Al, I'm glad to hear you aren't using any heat source. We all know ventilation and no drafts is the key to them staying healthy. They truly do just fine in the cold temps.
Now if I could just get them to squeeze out more than 1 egg a day from 9 chickens and I'll be much happier. Because of them just finishing up their molt and less daylight they are on sort of a hiatus. I tell them every day I won't be putting up with this freeloading much longer. I just might put a light in the coop for extended lighting hours to increase their egg production. My neighbor (your doctor) has been getting close to a dozen every day so they send some across the street to us.

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Rich, I'm still getting six eggs out of six chickens a day. I don't use any light in the coop. The coop window does have a southern exposure, so the sun gets in there as soon as it is up. That might have something to do with it.

Glad to hear Allan finally got eggs. He was anxious about it.

 

[smkchick]

Gladys is laying an egg a day, promptly at 10 o'clock in the morning. Bobby goes out at 10:30 to collect the egg and release the girls for the day. I'm thinking of keeping them in the coop until noon, just to give Aggie nest time if she feels so inclined (hint, hint).

 

[chickendude]

When the girls were younger they gave us 1 egg a day through the winter. I was thinking of putting LED Christmas lights in the coop on a timer. Anyone ever use them? What a good girl Gladys is!

 

[smkchick]

Rich, I think the ones that are sort of a tube would be a good idea (no wires to peck). All around the inside of the roof of the coop. Would look very "daylighty".

Unless, of course, this is more what you had in mind:

 

[smkchick]

Just found this post - it's a recipe for Yorkshire puddings. Yummy. Oh Roberta!! Sort of like English popovers...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=608075

 

[chickendude]

Suzanne, Tube lights sound like it may be better than plain old wired lights. Thanks for the tip. Not sure if I'm going to do it or not. I thought I was against extra lighting but now that I'm the one not getting eggs....... well it seems its time to reconsider.

 

[stoopid]

Don't think you are alone.
Out of 50+ birds, tonite, there were TWO eggs.
FREELOADERS!!!!!

 

[gfletch]

Regarding lighting, earlier in the fall, when egg production dropped off, I experimented with a light in the coop to see if it would help. Instead, it just seemed to confuse them, and made them less likely to go into the coop at dark (the light spilled into their run, so they figured it was still daylight and time to stay outside). I didn't notice much difference in egg production before giving up on the experiment. So, count me among those sticking with "natural light." (And, actually, egg production has started to swing back up the past couple of weeks, so I think they were just going through a seasonal "phase" for lack of a better term ... one hen seemed to be bordering on going broody, the other was molting, so I ended up chalking up the egg drop-off to those factors.)

Does anyone else use any supplements in the water? I don't do it with every fill up, but at least half the time, I mix in some Vitamin & Electrolyte powder from Durvet. Not sure if it really makes any health difference, but it has a list of vitamins and minerals and seems harmless. What do other board members think about supplements?

Roberta ... now that a couple weeks have passed, how is George making out? All settled in with the rest of the gang? Has he toned down his noisiness? His brother, Conway, really hasn't been crowing all that much. Every few days I'll hear him once or twice, but he's pretty quiet and laid back (thought I think he's reaching, um, maturity, as he seems to be "bothering" the hens quite a bit recently ....).

Adding the two new Plymouth Rocks to the original flock of Japanese Bantams went pretty smoothly. With a couple weeks gone by, the one JB hen, Loretta, is still pretty aggressive, but she's not actually hurting the others, so I'm letting them be. There's still a good bit of chasing, nipping and squawking, but no blood or feather loss. The PR's do not fight back, they just run and hide. I have two feed & water stations, so the two groups can keep their distance if need be. Hopefully they'll end up being one big happy family, but for now, I'll accept them at least tolerating each other!