Chickens for bug control and food recycling.

[Beekissed]

Sounds like you have all bases covered, RR! I would have some level of difficulty raising chicks in the winter with my setup, as we don't have a generator here and in Jan/Feb is when we get our teens below zero weather. If I hatched in Feb I'd be butchering in July/Aug, when it's stinking hot and I'm right in the middle of canning up the garden, so the timing would be off too.

I can let broodies hatch out chicks at the beginning of May and butcher in Oct/Nov. here and still have plenty of meat on their bones. And most of that meat has cost me very little money to produce as they can glean most of their food out on forage, so that appeals to my frugal, no fuss side. They also do their final fattening on fall forage, which really lays the fat on them and bulks them up prior to butchering.

 

[ducks4you]

Cleaned the coop last weekend--still have 2 son-of -a-...gun" nasty roosters, who had to be caged up to keep them off my back or face--and discovered that my "coop in a kit" has 5 slim gaps above the each nest box and directly underneath the two adjustable windows. Went to the hardware store yesterday and bought an 8 ft. long piece of 1/4" thick wood to cut and nail in this weekend. Coop is 1yo and can't believe I didn't see this before! This creates an unneccessary draft, so I need to address it. Btw, 3yo hens finished their molt 2 weeks ago and are on winter strike! Already have a heated dog water bowl for them and I don't want to give them a light, in case it might start a fire, so I'll have to pay to feed non layers. Makes it easier to replace them next year, even though they are enjoying a halloween pumpkin-icicle and will enjoy a slightly fermented banana today.

 

[Beekissed]

Those nasty boys would make some great soup!

 

[catjac1975]

many colors of mine picked up 16 View attachment 17765 today
joined a hatch thread on byc for new years day put 20 in the Hova Bator Dec 11 View attachment 17766
candled today all but like 3 show veining may not keep some send those to auction personally do not really want more

I would not hatch in winter. Too hard to put them outside.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For some I can see why it would be hard emotionally. There are risks, but as far as I'm concerned there are risks at any time of the year. Physically you do have to be set up for it. It took me a couple of years to figure out a good way to do it, there are always little tricks and tweets to make it easier.

The timing works out great for me. I get meat about the time I'd normally be running out, but that's really about when I hatch and butcher and how. I still have some from a late broody hatch that need to go in the freezer, but that will be a warm day next month, well a relatively warm day. I'll probably have a couple of days in the 60's, which isn't that bad for butchering. I also can have days in single digits or lower even in March. People further north could have trouble finding a day to butcher in winter.

If I keep a replacement dominant rooster, and I will this year, he will come out of this hatch. That gives me some time to evaluate them all before I decide which to butcher or keep.

The pullets normally start laying in July or August, so I can evaluate them before I butcher them. I had one of this year's pullets go broody twice this fall. I broke her instead of giving her eggs, I don't hatch unless I have a reason, but since she also lays a fairly large egg for a pullet she is a definite keeper. I don't always keep my replacement layers out of this hatch, I'll keep some from a later hatch this year, but having time to evaluate them laying helps.

I can see some parallels in starting plants indoors during the winter. You have to set up for it, you have certain risks you have to deal with, like damping off (not necessarily seasonal but just from being inside). An extended power outage could cause problems. Now that I have my system worked out I don't see raising chicks in the coop in winter any harder than starting seeds in January, which I plan to do.

For some people it won't work. For me it's just the way I do it.

 

[PennyJo]

exactly @Ridgerunner that's my point I am set up with indoor brooder but then we do not normally have drastic
colds here it is easier to that than planting in January... buy the way I picked up old table style plucker
the other day for 80.00

 

[baymule]

exactly @Ridgerunner buy the way I picked up old table style plucker
the other day for 80.00

What a great DEAL!!!

 

[PennyJo]

His wife made the deal with me told me 35 years ago he paid 1800.00 for it

 

[Beekissed]

Chickens and dogs all snuggled into warm housing for the winter months, got squash and pumpkins stored for feeding them this winter...gives them a little bit of summer sunshine in every bite, many bags of leaves stored for winter bedding..to be turned into mulch for the garden without much effort from me, and eggs resuming from molting, so winter can just rage on.

 

[PennyJo]

Birds didn't want to step out in the snow at all they have a huge coop
but the water system I put in froze so was hauling water out to them