..Winter... Chicken Tricks, Tips..

[Tim Horton]

In another thread there was discussion about wintering chickens...
My 2 best tips and tricks..
Feed more protein and fat in winter.. We would get organ meats from our neighbors who had the butcher shop.. We would boil, grind, can this meat to feed in winter with beef suit available also..

We fed a warm gruel of hen scratch grain, kitchen scraps, canned meat for the chickens with ground apples, rose hips, and alfalfa leaves ..

I also kept 2 small light bulbs on timers to extend light in the morning and evening to provide a steady 12 hours of light.. Hope this helps someone..

 

[montanabill]

I decided to add more hours of light for my 13 egg producers. Set a timer to turn some lights on at 4AM and in two days I doubled egg production from two a day to four.
I was going to let then rest a bit during the dark cold days but due to the ongoing issues in the world I am getting them laying again so I can freeze dry the high quality eggs.
Even tho I have excess grain stored for them It might be easier to just add hot water to a mylar pack than to defend my backyard flock from hungry people.

 

[Magpie]

In the winter instead of composting veg skins I boil them up and mix with the chicken meal, feeding it while it's still warm. I also stick a ball into their water to stop it from freezing, and lay a few pallets in their run so they aren't standing in sodden ground all the time. Towards the end of summer, I beat eggs and freeze in containers for use when they aren't laying much.