Washingtonians

[Dwkuska]

um 2 1 gal's a day actually. like today I came home to 1 completely dry and the other only had some in the "rim" although with it @ 100ish today I suspect alot went to evaporation.

 

[FirewifeJess]

um 2 1 gal's a day actually. like today I came home to 1 completely dry and the other only had some in the "rim" although with it @ 100ish today I suspect alot went to evaporation.

Are they in the sun? Just wondering because they discrepancy is SO huge between our birds! I just don't understand my flock and why they don't drink water much! Doesn't matter what I do either; plain water, ACV in the water, vitamin water, etc. Nothing changes how much they drink. Weirdos.

 

[Dwkuska]

Well the coop is about 20ft in from the treeline in the East. so it really doesnt get a whole lot of sun till around 14:00+. I dont know that they are drinking all of it as like I said I suspect I am losing some to evaporation. THough when I do refill the buckets the birds run over and drink for a solid 1-3minutes.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Well the coop is about 20ft in from the treeline in the East. so it really doesnt get a whole lot of sun till around 14:00+. I dont know that they are drinking all of it as like I said I suspect I am losing some to evaporation. THough when I do refill the buckets the birds run over and drink for a solid 1-3minutes.

I sure with I could figure it out! I have a 3 gallon waterer and they've NEVER emptied it. They're almost full grown pullets who are just starting to lay and they still only go through less than a gallon a day. Anyone else have this issue, if it is indeed and issue?

 

[Rainwolf]

Those of you waiting till spring to get yours here is something to think about................
If you can get ready in the next four months then by the time it's warming up for prime egg laying time I believe in the long run you'll get more eggs.
Get them April May by the time they start laying you going into winter and some times they will not get that great egg laying start.
I've got mine in spring and fall and probably stick with fall.

I start hatching eggs in sept/oct and finish hatching in march (Easter)
I do this specifically to have laying birds at the start of spring the rest hatched after Jan are for the people who buy chicks in the spring.....

Those of you waiting till spring to get yours here is something to think about................
If you can get ready in the next four months then by the time it's warming up for prime egg laying time I believe in the long run you'll get more eggs.
Get them April May by the time they start laying you going into winter and some times they will not get that great egg laying start.
I've got mine in spring and fall and probably stick with fall.

What month would you recommend getting chicks? And would you put them in the coop in the winter without heat?

Jennifer

Depending on the breed, sept-nov hatch dates start laying at start of spring.
If they are kept in a wind proof coop with a warm/heated spot they can go out as soon as 3/4 weeks. The have to be feathered under the wing to go out without heat. If fully feathered but not feathered under the wings I turn on a light at night that they can get warm by.

Who here on the wet side uses supplemental lighting in the fall/winter? I'm STILL on the fence about what I want to do and need to make a decision in the next couple weeks before we lose enough daylight that my POL birds skip laying until spring! ugh...decisions decisions.

I do not have a insulated coop nor do I use lights. I do have enough eggs laid in the winter for my family but not enough to sell. Plus I tend to hatch almost all my good eggs in the fall winter spring so I have chicks to sell.

 

[JennS]

I've done it both spring and fall. If I can I like to get them in October/November. By April you should start to get eggs depending on the breed.
I keep mine in an out building my old office with a light till they are feathered enough to go into a coup. Sometimes I have to put a heat light in the coop if I need the office area before they are ready to go to coop with no heat. Chicks will tell you where they are at heat wise by where they are under the light or away from it. If spring is eaiser for you wait till spring. I just wanted you to know that spring time is nothing more than a marketing ploy by the feed stores then anything else. I have a link some where about a feed store down south that advertises chicks year around. If you ask on here good chance you can buy from a person here.

Hmm. It's very tempting to get them this fall. Has its good points and bad points. I guess I will just have to see if the coop is done on schedule, and whether I can wait. I would prefer to get chicks from here, if possible! I'm hoping to get a mix of 5 hens. I've got a short wish list of breeds.

Jennifer

 

[Greg Richardson]

Quote: I never have kept track. And only a few of mine have.

 

[RainyDayChicken]

Well the coop is about 20ft in from the treeline in the East. so it really doesnt get a whole lot of sun till around 14:00+. I dont know that they are drinking all of it as like I said I suspect I am losing some to evaporation. THough when I do refill the buckets the birds run over and drink for a solid 1-3minutes.

hi
i have about 50 birds and 5 ducks they only drink about 2 gals a day. The ducks drink 2 and the girls drink 2, so maybe my birds are weirdos too.

 

[Hinotori]

Mine will stand in their water dishes but it seems that the 5 gallon waterer is the favorite place to play in the water. It's always wet right around that thing. Everyone goes over there to splash that water out. Doesn't help that I have a hen that dunks her head and neck in like a duck. I think I only go through a couple gallons of water for 30 birds even with that.


I don't supplement light, but I did try. Running an extension cord wasn't any fun. I tried stick up LED lights (the ones I got sucked). My birds went to bed anyway. If I can find a bright enough light that doesn't require me running power that I can put on a timer I'd love it.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Hmm, now I don't know what I want to do. I certainly love my girls and don't want to feed them indefinitely if they aren't laying a good amount of eggs, so perhaps I'll skip the supplemental lighting this winter and see how they do. I don't want to force them to lay all the eggs they'll lay and then have to make a tough decision of getting rid of them when they're still fairly young.

Glad to hear my birds are seemingly healthy even if they don't drink a lot of water.