Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[Katyed]

Hi

 

We are thinking about getting chickens in the next couple of months and obviously have quite a few questions!

 

We would have to get chickens at a private breeder. We've noticed that they are cheaper if they are at 8 weeks and get steadily more expensive with age. I know they will not lay until they are a older but other than the wait for eggs is there any other reason why you buy a chicken at 18 weeks as opposed to 8?

 

Does anyone recommend any breeds of chickens other than those sold by omlet as the breeds mentioned here aren't at our local breeder?

 

I read somewhere that chickens don't lay over the winter. Is this correct? If we are buying chickens around say October does this mean that we couldn't expect any eggs until the spring?

 

I have also read that you can keep them laying by keeping them warmer eg heat lamp. Is this normal practice or is this a bit of harsh treatment for the hens?!

 

Thanks in anticipation

[Egluntyne]

We would have to get chickens at a private breeder. We've noticed that they are cheaper if they are at 8 weeks and get steadily more expensive with age. I know they will not lay until they are a older but other than the wait for eggs is there any other reason why you buy a chicken at 18 weeks as opposed to 8?

People generally buy at Point of Lay (18 weeks +) so that they don't have as long to wait for eggs, and to save on the cost of feeding the grower for 10 weeks.

 

Does anyone recommend any breeds of chickens other than those sold by omlet as the breeds mentioned here aren't at our local breeder?

Warrens, Black Rock, Speckledys, Bluebelles, Amber links, all nice reliable hybrids.

 

I read somewhere that chickens don't lay over the winter. Is this correct?

Hybrids will lay throughout their first winter and will tail off during their second and subsequent ones. Pure Breeds don't lay during winter. Any hybrids you buy should lay over winter. If you don't buy them till October, and they are still young, they might not do as well over winter in terms of laying.

 

I have also read that you can keep them laying by keeping them warmer eg heat lamp. Is this normal practice or is this a bit of harsh treatment for the hens?!

Not heard this one before for the back yard henkeeper. Sounds a bit too like a battery set up.

[iar fach goch]

this is a question I wanted to ask as well. I have been told that as the days shorten I need to leave a light on for the chickens so that they have enough "daylight" hours in which to feed. They are currently let out around 7.30 am and put themselves to bed around 9 o'clock. The advice I've been given is to leave them out later in the morning but to leave a light on in their run until about 10.30ish. Is this common practice?

[Christian]

Some people do add artificial light as chickens need a certain amount of daylight to produce eggs (more to do with feeding time I think).

 

You can't just turn the light off at 10.30pm, this will stress the chickens. You need to add a dimer that gradually reduces the light over 30-40 minutes.

 

This is generally done in large egg farms/battery farms to increase the amount of eggs over winter.

 

if you have hybrids, it shouldn't be a problem. They lay well without artificial light.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Welcome to the forum Katy . All your questions have been answered I think!

 

I didn't get a drop in egg production over the darker months from my three hybrids .

[alih]

I got my hybrids in November at point of lay and had to wait until Jan for my first egg as they didn't mature as fast over the dark months but once they started they didn't stop! I have never left artificial light for them - they follow nature's cycle and it seems to work well!

[Katyed]

Thanks for all the replies. Hopefully we will be up and running with chickens in a couple of months.

[Olly]

My Gingernuts laid all through the winter, bar about one week. I believe (someone will correct me if I'm wrong!) that the Gingernuts that Omlet supply are a variation of Meadowsweet rangers?

 

I wouldn't want to put artificial light in .... this is what commercial egg-farmers do, to lengthen the day but I'd rather give them a bit of a rest over the winter. And as mentioned, it didn't seem to stop mine laying anyway.

[chelsea]

my maran has laid ever since we got her (since last August), very reliable layer.

 

Dont get cochins - must unreliable chickens ever!!

[Milly]

Our 2 hybrids and 2 pure breeds kept on laying over the winter too, without any additional lights or anything. In fact, one of the pure breeds didn't start laying until the end of November, just when we had given up hope and thought she wouldn't start until spring. So you can always hope

 

Milly

[jomaxsmith]

I bought my girls POL in October and had to wait longer for them to come into lay than if I'd got them in the Spring. Once they started, they laid maybe 4-5 eggs a week until the days lengthened and now they lay almost every day.

 

Jo