Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[misslaing]

Will do--thanks for the tip!

 

[Amberjem]

What ??? Egg laying may slow down or even stop due to daylight... (been there, seen it) The tide may rise higher on a full or new moon.... (been there, seen it) but blanks because of colder weather ????? I'm leery when it comes to believing that story.... Maybe if the testes were on the outside of the body cavity but not where they are located.... Up against the backbone on the inside of the cavity... Dave needs more info.... Now granted, I don't know much... not even that much but..... I have been reading tons of stuff, about chickens, the last several moons and that has not exposed itself....

Can you point me to some research.... I don't believe ANTHING I read on the internet on the "first" reading....
Facts Ma'am, just the facts...

Dave

 

[Amberjem]

After reading about 24 papers about "Viability of roosters in freezing weather".... this is as close as I could come.... I'm not saying it ain't true... I can't find it.... Dave


When a rooster suffers frostbite on his comb or wattles, it causes a fluctuation in his body temperature and results in a lack of fertility lasting about 30 days.

My birds have 16 hours of light...

I always mention nature as I write about birds; so let’s think for a moment about the natural breeding cycle. As sunlight increases in the spring it acts upon the males and causes their bodies to produce higher levels of hormones. This causes them to become more active and more interested in mating. Sunlight also causes higher levels of hormone production in the hens, resulting in more eggs and the desire to nest. At the same time grasses spring forth and the diet of the birds will include bits of this fresh grass and the higher levels of vitamins, such as A and D, that it contains. Insect activity also manifests, and the birds’ diet will include more protein.

I was reading acticle the other day about how they took blind chickens and increased there light in the henhouse and it induced them to lay according tot he info some sort of gland or another in their head absorbs more light and triggers the chickens body to continue to produce eggs they used genetically blinded chickens to see if light visually or body absorbing the light caused egg production the blind chickens after absorbing the light thru their skin started back up laying with the increase in light... I havent run across anything with roosters but I hadnt thought to look up roo related topics with eggs

 

[Chickielady]

What ??? Egg laying may slow down or even stop due to daylight... (been there, seen it) The tide may rise higher on a full or new moon.... (been there, seen it) but blanks because of colder weather ????? I'm leery when it comes to believing that story.... Maybe if the testes were on the outside of the body cavity but not where they are located.... Up against the backbone on the inside of the cavity... Dave needs more info.... Now granted, I don't know much... not even that much but..... I have been reading tons of stuff, about chickens, the last several moons and that has not exposed itself....

Can you point me to some research.... I don't believe ANTHING I read on the internet on the "first" reading....
Facts Ma'am, just the facts...

Dave

There are many articles written by various Universities, however difficult to post on BYC.
I suggest you surf yourself.
You can also contact the WSU Puyallup Avian health Lab (like I do) and 'talk' to Dr Crispo.
I have little time to research for you, sorry.
The fertility is not effected due to cold on the testes, the fertility is effected by the comb (and wattles) getting cold, and that sends a message to the brain (right up there in the cold weather!) and the brain sends the message to the testes to stop sperm production.
Here is 1 article to read, there are thousands:
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/hatch_those_eggs/
Let's see, you can also bug the daylights out of more "old poultry people" like Charles Everett, and Monte Bowen.
There is quite a few, even here on BYC

This is the reason the egg sales/chick hatching business (especially at commercial hatcheries) explodes just about the beginning of March, with some commercial hatcheries further north waiting until April to hatch eggs & ship chicks.
Do contact Dr Crispo though, she is fantatstic & will answer e-mails !
Go to the avian health lab & send her a message !

 

[Chickielady]

hmmmmmmmmm thank you haha I hadnt thought of the cocks reproduction just the hens silly oversight in my thinking there thank you I wanted to try to do some new year chicks..maybe I should knitt up some cockunblock hats and sell them lol

 

[Chickielady]

Today I got this great spotted egg. I have no idea who laid it since my Marans are broody and no one else lays an egg this dark. My pullets are only 17 weeks, plus this is too big to be a pullet egg. I guess it will remain a mystery for now...

I have had many pullets lay a gargantuan egg, their first time !
Horrible blurry photo but you get the idea, a Jersey Giant fart egg.
I get ALOT of double yolker huge eggs from my Silver Cuckoo marans pullets too, and in the past, the Leghorns I have had.

 

[Chickielady]

After reading about 24 papers about "Viability of roosters in freezing weather".... this is as close as I could come.... I'm not saying it ain't true... I can't find it.... Dave


When a rooster suffers frostbite on his comb or wattles, it causes a fluctuation in his body temperature and results in a lack of fertility lasting about 30 days.

My birds have 16 hours of light...

I always mention nature as I write about birds; so let’s think for a moment about the natural breeding cycle. As sunlight increases in the spring it acts upon the males and causes their bodies to produce higher levels of hormones. This causes them to become more active and more interested in mating. Sunlight also causes higher levels of hormone production in the hens, resulting in more eggs and the desire to nest. At the same time grasses spring forth and the diet of the birds will include bits of this fresh grass and the higher levels of vitamins, such as A and D, that it contains. Insect activity also manifests, and the birds’ diet will include more protein.

Actually they do not need to "suffer frostbite" to have reduced sperm production.
Keep digging !

 

[Chickielady]

Oh Omak Dave, there is another issue to consider also:

hens can store viable sperm for up to 2 weeks.
It is thought that this ensures she be able to lay a clutch of eggs (and hatch them) if the cock bird was killed, as they often are, by predators.
A flock left without a male, would still lay fertile eggs for up to 2 weeks, ensuring the hens hatch more males (and females) to carry on.

So even if it got really cold, (freezing or below) the cock would go sterile, yet the hens still lay fertile eggs for up to 2 weeks.
Cool, huh ?
Mother Nature is amazing !

 

[Chickielady]

I was reading acticle the other day about how they took blind chickens and increased there light in the henhouse and it induced them to lay according tot he info some sort of gland or another in their head absorbs more light and triggers the chickens body to continue to produce eggs they used genetically blinded chickens to see if light visually or body absorbing the light caused egg production the blind chickens after absorbing the light thru their skin started back up laying with the increase in light... I havent run across anything with roosters but I hadnt thought to look up roo related topics with eggs

Interesting, huh ?

It is all in their heads, and what with such a tiny brain !

Most hens keep right on laying all winter with 14 or more hours of light a day.
So I've installed timed lights in all my coops.
They come on at 5:30 AM, and shut off at dusk.
Still, there are some breeds (usually a traite of heritage Breeds) that will not lay a darned egg from October to at least June !
No matter what you do !
Then after beginning lay about 1 week, they all go broody !

This is how heritage breeds can roll..............this is how they procreate....if they are not brooding, they simply do not lay.
Hard to breed them, even harder to have breakfast.
A few old timers told me (more than once) that some of these old heritage breeds were kicked to the curb for a reason.......duh !

 

[Chickielady]

I'll e-ail Dr Crispo & see if I can copy/paste her reply...

* I have e-mailed Dr Crispo & if she is in her lab, I am sure she'll get back to me as soon as she can.
I asked her if there was any University study papers on cock fertility in extreme cold, and not involving frostbite, but just cold weather (freezing & below)
We have had many many below freezing days here (and everywhere I've lived) that did not cause frostbite.
So, I'll be back with whatever I can copy/paste from her report.
may take a few days, as it is a Holiday weekend~