I haven't given any information on my chickens lately, for one reason they haven't really been doing much. It's been cold and they pretty much just stay in the hen house and try to stay warm. Bless their hearts, they're doing a very good job of it with no help for me. I do not have a light out there in the chicken house. It's not well insulated is just plywood walls. There is straw on the ground to help with some insulation. But as you can tell from what I'm saying the poor girls are on the own. Boy are they from Hardy chickens.
I have not lost one this winter. I have 13 girls, and they're all older girls, 3years and older. I really thought I would lose some of them with this cold spell we've been having. But just proves to show you what good health and mother nature has created can do. Okay I have to give myself a little credit I have been feeding them exceptionally well. I've been trying to keep their health the best so they can fight off anything this winter.
Now as far as eggs go From about Thanksgiving on, all I was getting was about an egg a day. Starting about February though this month, production is way up. I'm averaging about five eggs a day.
All I know is that if there's not a bounty on that groundhog, there should be,
because the girls have cabin fever bad and as you can tell they really do not like to go out in the snow.
Now nothing against these girls, but I do plan on getting some new chicks in the spring, just because the girls are getting old and I'm afraid I might lose some this summer. That's just what I do, I always get a few chicks every every spring. Except for last spring I didn't. Well over due for a few new ones. So there you go just a short update on the girls. Nothing much happening with them other than hibernating in the hen house and waiting for nice days.
Sweet chickens you have! A light in the coop providing 14 hours of light per day will keep their egg production up. A fluorescent or LED bulb is very cheap to maintain and doesn't produce heat with risk of fire if that is a concern. We get 3-4 eggs per day out of 6 chickens because of the light.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be staying in the hen house too. Sometime last fall the neighborhood acquired a rooster. Not sure where he came from, but he spends the night across the steet, then the afternoon in our rose bushes. He seems to be coping OK with the cold, don't know how he is going to handle the really severe cold we are supposed to get this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI've been shocked we get 1 egg every day, all winter (no extra lighting) long. Best I've ever seen!!! Go girls...
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