Sumatra Thread!

Extremes in ambient temperature can sometimes effect egg production. When I lived in Arizona my birds often quit laying in the middle of the summer because it was just to dang hot for them. However, duration of light is the driving force in sexual maturation. Extending the day length with artificial lights can help keep birds in production through the winter months. Perceived 'day lengths' in excess of 14 hours will 'trick' the birds into thinking its spring time and their reproductive systems will stay active even in cold weather. Egg production might still be reduced due to cooler temperatures, but most birds will stay reproductively active. The 'day length' has to be consistent each day though or the birds will think short days and Fall are around the corner and they will begin to shut down. You can use a small and cheap light timer on a single bulb to get enough lights for eggs production. All my birds lay all winter, not at the same rate of production, but pretty close.
I'm trying to figure out how to do this off-grid. Any ideas? I don't think any type of 12-volt light would do any good?
 
I went outside yesterday because my chickens were going crazy. I turned around and looked up in one of the trees over my house and there sat a huge red tail hawk drooling over my chickens. I herd them again today went outside and looked up and there was 4 hawks now circling my house. I just got back in from catching my bantam Sumatras and I am going to keep them penned up until there are leaves back on the trees next spring. I lost 2 to hawks this year. One even tried to get to the ones that were in a pen threw the wire.
Caj1985, my bantam sumatras hatched out on March 4th this year and have not laid a single egg yet. All my other chickens I hatched this year have been laying for some time.
Mark
 
I gust came back from the show there was 1100 birds enterd. and there was about 40 sumatras enterd in my class I won in the open show reserve class champion with my blue sumatra cockerel then I won champion large fowl in the junior show with my blue sumatra pullet. and my other ones did really they won six 1st, three 2ds, and two 3ds. my splash hen won 1st place BB BV I will have pics
big_smile.png
soon!
 
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I gust came back from the show there was 1100 birds enterd. and there was about 40 sumatras enterd in my class I won in the open show reserve class champion with my blue sumatra cockerel then I won champion large fowl in the junior show with my blue sumatra pullet. and my other ones did really they won six 1st, three 2ds, and two 3ds. my splash hen won 1st place BB BV I will have pics
big_smile.png
soon!
Fantastic!!
 

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