The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[JanetMarie]

My calico cockerel named Cali, saved a younger cockerel (chick) from a hawk last week. Cali is in a separate area with four chicks, because he chases the pullets too much right now, but I can let certain pullets in his area, and he behaves.

 

[armorfirelady]

2 free hay bales, an empty feed bag along with the normal roof and pan equals winter dust bathing area

Normally it's in the coop but quickly fills up with littler.

 

[h2oratt]

A better pic. Its a juvenile Coopers Hawk. Beautiful bird but it needs to long gone from my area !!!

These hoop coops are beautiful.

 

[armorfirelady]

Thanks

 

[JanetMarie]

Since it's been awhile since anyone has posted, here's a question:

How many eggs is everyone getting out of number of birds, with number of hours of daylight? Any supplemental lighting or heat?

My birds get 10 hours of daylight per day, which includes about 1/2 hour supplemental. No heat, except when they get to go into the greenhouse. There are two groups that lay.

Yesterday, on a cold day, two eggs out of four young Dominiques. That is one group.

The other group has older birds that don't lay, and molting birds so out of five that could lay there were two eggs yesterday.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Since it's been awhile since anyone has posted, here's a question:

How many eggs is everyone getting out of number of birds, with number of hours of daylight?  Any supplemental lighting or heat?

My birds get 10 hours of daylight per day, which includes about 1/2 hour supplemental.  No heat, except when they get to go into the greenhouse.  There are two groups that lay.

Yesterday, on a cold day, two eggs out of four young Dominiques.  That is one group.

The other group has older birds that don't lay, and molting birds so out of five that could lay there were two eggs yesterday.

After a summer of very poor production (2-6 eggs/day from 17 hens) (we had some weird weather spells, others in my province experienced drops in production as well) i decided to add light once they all finished their fall moult. I'm now up to about a dozen a day.

 

[mizjones]

This looks awesome. Brilliant design yet so simple!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

None of my older hens are laying yet, but some are getting close by the vocalizations I'm hearing out of them.

Out of my batch from May, 19 pullets, all but 2 have started to lay within the last 2 months, 2 EE, a barred rock, 2 andalusian, an Australorp, buff Orpington, and a barnevelder are consistently laying ever day to every few days. The rest are sporadic.

My flock of bantams, 14 are hens, I get 2-4 eggs every few days.

I use no supplemental anything, and it's currently brutally cold. Production was picking up last week when it was in the 20-30 degree range.

 

[Elemes]

I have 4 pullets able to lay and about 7 hours of light, though it seems quite cloudy. I'm getting 3 and the occasional 4 (3-4x week).
I do not provide supplemental light. I free range them (literally) and provide layer in the morning and some scratch in the evening.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I have 10 ladies.
5 are older (5 yos and 3 yos). 1 of the 5yos started laying an egg every other day during the week before Christmas and continues.

5 Pullets; 2 hatched last spring in March These 2 are molting!!!!! One of these girls layed for about a month and quit somewhere around October.
3 hatched in June. None of these have laid ever.

Pretty poor numbers, eh?

Light goes on at 7:00 am so that I can see to feed them. Otherwise, no supplemental light.