First Egg From September Chickens

[bobm]

And sometimes they're so proud of themselves!

yea ... and they don't call them kakle berries for nothing !

 

[Smart Red]

I could give mine a light bulb, but there's no electricity in there, and I think they would just kick straw over the bulb.

They are more likely to lay eggs beside the light bulb and try hatching it.

 

[ducks4you]

so lucky, go to our sister site, "Sufficient Self" and learn about using solar for the coop, with a big battery backup. I keep my girls with 13 hours of light every day and my layers hatched in June started laying on Thanksgiving morning. I just got my first egg from the girls hatched on September 1st.

 

[journey11]

I have thought about getting the Black Copper Marans for a dual purpose bird. Their eggs are so lovely!

The light really does work. They lay in reaction to it pretty quickly. I run one of those orange extension cords out to the coop and have the light securely mounted to the ceiling. Mine were going steady all winter with their light, but I had to turn it off when the really bad weather hit, to reduce picking/feather-pulling since they won't go outside. Within a week they quit laying again and now I'm down to my last couple eggs!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

my girls do have lights in their coop. i just think they're being lazy and were hoping their pin feathers would keep my boys from jumping on their backs a little longer!

 

[so lucky]

Well, I got my first sneak attack from Roger the rooster today. He ran up behind me after I had been in the coop, and jumped me. Fortunately, I had two pairs of pants on, boots and a heavy coat, so he didn't hurt me. I took off after him and chased him around the yard for a while. I'm gonna have to be noisy and carry a big stick around him, I guess. I told him I do know how to make dumplings.
Actually, I don't think I would "off" him. He was pretty expensive for a chicken.

 

[canesisters]

If you decide to keep him, do not hatch any chicks, that attitude gets passed along.
My first roo was beyond beautiful, hand raised from 2 days old, etc, etc..
Around 6mos old he started 'acting up'. By the time he was a year old I was carrying a shovel into the run just to check the water (he laughed at the broom and broke the rake). It took me WAY too long to give up and get rid of him. Shortly after he left, one of the hens went broody - what the heck, I thought and let her sit. She hatched 4 chicks - 2 boys, 2 girls. The boys went to freezer camp as soon as they started acting like their dad. The girls lay such lovely dark eggs - he was an expensive french black copper marans - that I ignore (for now) the HARD pecks whenever my hands get too close.

 

[catjac1975]

We got rid of our Maran roosters too. They never attacked me but were very intimidating. They were relentless on the hens, 3 ganging up on one all the time.

 

[so lucky]

Well, I only have the one roo, and there are 9 girls, so no single one gets all his attention. But I am really going to have to watch his attitude. I was sort of wanting to try to hatch some babies, but I don't want to pass along genetic meanness. He's about the age Buck was when I got rid of him.

 

[Smart Red]

Have you tried showing your rooster that you are the boss? I had a roo that seemed testy toward me but gentle with the girls. After picking him up by his feet and carrying him around the flock, he decided I was head rooster and hasn't tried anything against me or the family in a year. Good Nesco!