Fall is here and...

[countrymom22]

Well, fall is here and the girls are molting.  It looks like it rained white feathers when I go out to the coop!  Thankfully, I added a few new pullets that I raised from day old chicks this year, so we will still have eggs all winter.  Has anyone noticed a feed shortage where you are yet?  I haven't noticed a shortage of livestock feed but the pet food, especially cat food, seems to be in short supply.

I decorated for fall with some extra pumpkins that I will feed to the chickens when I'm done with them, so nothing will be wasted!

[Melissa]

I bought 24 new chicks this spring. They are all doing well. I still have about 15 older chickens. We put a light in the coop in the winter so we always have plenty of eggs. We buy our feed at Rural King and the prices have been pretty good. It does up and down by a dollar or so. We throw all of our food scraps over the fence and either the chickens eat them or the cats do! Nothing goes to waste.

[mogal]

We have a mixed flock so feather "rain" is black, white, brownish.

I also started 5 pullet chicks last spring. They were all supposed to be Black Australorps but one turned out to be a Barred Rock. Oh, well. They've begun to lay the cutest little eggs that I'm saving for my neighbor's grandchildren. When I was little, it always tickled me to have a tiny fried or hard-boiled egg on my plate.

[Maura]

Country Mom, I don't think you'll have eggs all winter. I never did. The length of day is too short. You might find that when the young girls should start laying, they don't. That's okay. As soon as there is enough daylight hours they will begin laying.

[mogal]

Maura, when did you start the chicks that didn't lay all winter for you? I have a friend in the next county who has raised chickens/sold eggs as a big part of their income so she's my "go-to" for all things chicken. Anyway, she starts hers in late May or early June so they begin to lay just as the days are getting shorter and they lay into their second fall. Following her lead, I've always planned for purchased chicks or hopefully setting hens in that time frame and have had plenty of eggs for us and nearby neighbors.  I didn't get these pullets that I mentioned previously until late May and they are just beginning to lay.

Her hens don't always go broody when she would prefer and the young birds that begin to lay in early to mid summer do shut down their first fall when the days shorten. I wonder if your being farther north might have something to do with it.

Interesting how our experiences differ.

[Maura]

I go them in June, I think. No eggs from them until the we'd past the winter solstice and had more daylight hours. A few began in February, others in March. I don't mind that they have more time to grow up and mature before they start laying.

I live in the middle of the lower peninsula of Michigan. If you are south of Michigan you are going to have shorter nights midwinter and this could make a difference. Putting a light in the henhouse will also make a difference- I've never done that, figure they need a rest.

[mogal]

What breed are your hens, Maura? I know some can tolerate cold better than others and I've had Buff and Black Orpingtons plus a goodly number of barnyard mix given to me by my friend in the next county. They are off grid so artificial brooding wasn't an option after a fox got their mothers. I still have some of that batch plus their female offspring.

I don't use lights either for the same reason as you and of course, my off-grid friend doesn't either, didn't when they were on the grid. Very interesting that lattitude makes such a difference.

[Maura]

I had Rhode Island Red. They were free range, but behind electric fencing at night.

[countrymom22]

Maura, I started these chicks in late March and they have already been laying steady for 6 weeks. I never use lights in the coop, as there isn't any electric and I don't want the dogs chewing on extension cords, plus the girls need a rest. I have always had eggs all winter from the pullets the first year, even without lights. I try to free range a few days a week depending on predator pressure and weather. I let the hens out as soon as the sun comes up and they always get lots of kitchen scraps in addition to pellets. I'm in central western NJ so right now they are going out about 7 am and are back in the coop by 6:15. But I did build my coop with huge windows that let in lots of light, so maybe that makes a difference. I've had the same results with all the different breeds I get which include Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Golden Comets (which are this year's pullets), Rhode Island Reds, White Leghorns, Americanas and various colors of Wyandottes. I guess I'll stick to whatever I'm doing as it seems to be working! I buy a different breed each year to make it easy to keep track of the older hens. I also continue to get eggs, although fewer and larger from my older hens till about 7 years old as well. Even though I have been told that that doesn't happen.

[Maura]

Having windows probably makes a difference. I have never had chickens of any age lay during the longest nights. I think true free ranging makes a difference in their health. I also had hens laying to age 6. I don't know if they would have gone to age 7 as the neighbors decided dogs should also roam free.

[mogal]

I forgot to mention that my hens live in a hoop house in the cold months--lots of light and with the way the plastic is constructed, it's actually intensified and diffused. I'm sure that helps considerably too.