Washingtonians

[VelvettFog]

Thank you everyone who responded about lighting! WOW, I will most definitely be using lighting. I have electrical run to the coop, I have a light in there, I have a timer on the outlet, so this is a no brainer. Do most of you provide it in the morning or at night? Because my worry is that I would have to have the light come on at 2:30am in December just to get the bare minimum of 14 hours of daylight!

Also, would it be good to run some lights in the chicken run too, since that's where they spend most of their time? I was thinking LED outdoor christmas strands all the way around the top of the inside of the roofed run. WDYT?

Add the light in the morning, not the evening. You don't want the light to go out at night without your birds being on the roosts. When it's dark ,they can't see at all.

 

[itsren]

OK, with all the vegetarian talk, I just had to post this after I did a Google search for "hedgehog".

Now that'll make your stomach churn! That's BAD!

 

[itsren]

That is a Hedgehog and I've always wanted one too

Oh my gosh - check this out. There's a hedgehog breeder in Port Orchard. http://www.bloominhedgehogs.com/
I have never heard of anyone owning a hedgehog for a pet. My husband would probably be concerned for my mental stability if I came home with one of those.

He still hasn't gotten over my coming home with 3 baby chicks.

 

[itsren]

Can you eat duck eggs or is it all eggs. I know someone that cannot eat chickens eggs but can eat duck eggs.

Jessica gave me some. I didn't eat them. I just didn't want to take a chance. My doc told me to stay away from eggs for at least 6 months - then I can test them again. I didn't want to have to start over on that 6-month wait. After six months, if I react, I'm not supposed to ever eat them again. If I don't react, I'll be able to eat them in small quantity, but will have to be careful with how many I eat.

With the pollen and mold spores so high, I haven't been able to get over the swollen throat feeling. I don't get sneezy, or anything like that. When my body is reacting to an allergen, my esophogus swells closed and I can't swallow food. For years they thought it was Lupus, but I didn't have any typical signature signs for Lupus. When they did the allergy testing, they discovered the swelling was allergy based. Since I changed my diet, the swelling has significantly backed off, but I'm still dealing with it. On my worst days, I wear a respirator when I'm outside, which helps a lot. I've tested garlic - that food, for sure, causes my throat to swell. And, the pine chips in my coop - they will cause my throat to close quickly. When I'm finished with this bag of pine chips, I'm trying to figure out what to switch over to.

 

[itsren]

I've been watching my coop this morning... at 6:15 the door wasn't open. Now, at 6:40, it is open. They go into the coop around 8:30. So we're pretty much at 14 hours right now. Yikes!

I wonder if the fair will have any vendors that sells coop lighting. I think I'll look for that today.

 

[itsren]

If I put lighting in my coop, does that mean I'm also going to have to put food and water in the coop? My pop-door isn't going to open until it is beginning to get light out, unless I switch it over to the timer version. If they can't see in the dark, they're not going to go down into the run to eat unless I add lighting to the run, too.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

What is this? It looks like a porcupine crossed with a puppy. It's cute as could be! I want one. LOL!

http://pinterest.com/pin/1493225438...&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210152067524110276%22%3A386045734795553%2C%2210152067522825276%22%3A349583185126573}&action_type_map={%2210152067524110276%22%3A%22pinterestapp%3Apin%22%2C%2210152067522825276%22%3A%22pinterestapp%3Apin%22}&action_ref_map=[]

Looks like a hedge hog to me. But I am not sure as I am not an animal expert.

 

[RaZ]

My personal experience is the exact opposite. Last fall I had egg production drop from ~14 a day to under 8. I added lighting and within a week I was back to about 14 eggs a day. Also, without tracking moulting, I'm not sure your experiment can be considered accurate. (and what other factors would come into play - like you mentioned windows)

VF

That was the idea behind the experiment. Conflicting reports from us backyard chicken keepers. There is a lot of research on commercial operations and battery facilities, but nothing documented for us small scale keepers.
In hindsight, my experiment could have been a lot better, but I only had one semester to run it and the professor liked the idea of exploring new ground. Since it was a bio-stats class, the outcome wasn't as important as was setting up the initial DOE, acquiring good data and analyzing it as accurately as possible, using the most powerful analysis tool available.

For my own purposes, this winter I'll remain light and heat free, but will try different "treats" through out the winter.

I wonder if the fair will have any vendors that sells coop lighting. I think I'll look for that today.

I would suggest a full spectrum light if you are going to use artificial light.

 

[itsren]

I would suggest a full spectrum light if you are going to use artificial light.

Are LEDs full spectrum? Most of the solar lighting systems seem to be LED. Poorly rated ones are fluorescent.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: Many people who are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck or quail eggs.
Also for "hay fever" type allergies. Many people get relief by eating honey produced by bees that are feeding on the plants they are allergic to. Honey has MANY medicinal uses including wound dressing especially with Manuka honey. Honey IS the perfect food!!!! It needs no refrigeration, never spoils, nothing grows in honey and nothing lives in honey!

Light yes I use extra light in my coops. From the info I have the birds need 14 hours per day to get the best egg production. Also YES FULL SPECTRUM lighting is best because we are trying to assist nature and the best way is with lights that are as close to natural sunlight as possible.