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MuscovyMadness said:
I have several breeds but my most prolific egg layers are my Comets.......these little girls are egg laying machines and give us XL, Jumbo brown eggs. I do feed them fermented feed and greens/scraps which I'm certain helps. BUT.....when it's super hot and humid.....production does slow down significantly.
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Awesome! I kinda would like to add a few comets to my flock, but have not yet. Have you ever gotten more eggs in one day than the chickens you have?
 
Woodsdweller said:
Anything is possible, but my cluckers lay less when it's real hot or real cold. Out of 12 with any ambition to lay I'm only getting 4-5 a day and it's been in the high 80s to mid 90s for a week or two. And that's with a greenhouse fan airing the coop.
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Wow. I guess production really goes down in the summer, mine are pretty good about laying in the summer though. We have had mostly 80s for the last bit. I just give them really cold water and frozen watermelon and plenty of shade. I also give them mint, because it lowers the body temperature.
 
CuzChickens said:
Awesome!  I kinda would like to add a few comets to my flock, but have not yet.  Have you ever gotten more eggs in one day than the chickens you have?
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We have.....from the comets but it doesn't happen often. Believe it ir not....we have a few "leftover" white broad breasted turkeys who didn't sell during Thanksgiving & we just haven't had time ti process them....the hens are like pets free ranging but have their favorite spits to lay. One in particular has laid an egg early am......then mid afternoon another. We know its her because she was separated from the others for being a bully.
 
MuscovyMadness said:
We have.....from the comets but it doesn't happen often. Believe it ir not....we have a few "leftover" white broad breasted turkeys who didn't sell during Thanksgiving & we just haven't had time ti process them....the hens are like pets free ranging but have their favorite spits to lay. One in particular has laid an egg early am......then mid afternoon another. We know its her because she was separated from the others for being a bully.
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Interesting. I can see how that would not happen often. I have not had it happen with mine yet. Talk about good egg production!
 
MuscovyMadness said:
LoL. Yup.... it does not happen on a weekly basis but when it does my husband and I are always astonished. He swears it's the fermented feed but I just think we have a couple of freak chickens. LoL
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haha! I guess it could be a combination of both. I do not feed mine fermented, just soy free, non GMO.
 
Hey! I'm looking for recommendations on places to buy chicken coops in the local area. We live in Fredericksburg and are moving to a new house nearby in a month where we can finally have chickens! From what I have seen there are many small coops, but I am looking for something large, that could fit at least 15 to 20 chickens, as I expect to build up of the first year. Specific places to buy or maybe if you used a local person to build yours would be amazing. Thanks so much
 
Family of 6 said:
Hey! I'm looking for recommendations on places to buy chicken coops in the local area. We live in Fredericksburg and are moving to a new house nearby in a month where we can finally have chickens! From what I have seen there are many small coops, but I am looking for something large, that could fit at least 15 to 20 chickens, as I expect to build up of the first year. Specific places to buy or maybe if you used a local person to build yours would be amazing. Thanks so much
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Welcome neighbor! Honestly your best bet is to build something yourself. Coops purchased online and at feed stores are made of cheap materials and will not last long outdoors.....plus, they're pretty expensive for as small and cheaply made as they are. I think we have all made that mistake when starting out with chickens. There are a million wonderful plans, pictures, and ideas online and here at BYC. You can always browse Craigslist to find fencing or convert dog kennels as well. I am attaching pictures of one of our 10 x 12 grow out pens. Something as simple as this ; you can easily add nest boxes on one side and roosting bars on the other. The tarp will be replaced by awning material shortly but these heavy duty tarps from Costco are amazing and will hold up in bad weather. This pen is 6 foot high with an 8-foot pitch to drain water run off. You will want something that you can easily walk into and not have to bend over to clean feed/water and collect eggs. My husband tends to build our pens with heavier wood then I see necessary BUT they last .....are sturdy....and predator-proof. He put roosting bars on one side and a small box with sand in it for them to take dust baths....... but they have never once used it for that although some do sleep inside the box. LoL. He put a cross brace in one corner to hand a water bucket. You can spend a lot of money at Tractor Supply for one or build it yourself and save some pennies. Walmart has food grade buckets in their hardware department for $5....can gets lids too. You can get a pack of chicken nipples on eBay for a few dollars. We bought a 4 pk of bicycle hooks from Walmart ( or was it Home Depot?....One of those stores). The bicycle hooks keep the handle and bucket from moving. Once you show one chicken where the water comes from they will all run over to investigate. :)

We will probably use this during the winter to house birds and will just attach clear plastic on 3 sides to keep snow and wind from blowing in too much.

Anyway.... just an idea but like I said you just have to look online and be creative.
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