Who will be using lights this winter?

Production has taken a dive and its mostly pullet eggs! Customers are not happy with the wee eggs!

I wish we could help you out with eggs. Our customers disappear when the Farmer's Market closes for the year and we have lots of eggs right now. The dogs and pigs are enjoying some each day. Since we have lots of eggs there is no need for extra light although I have a heat lamp on a timer in the coop for some younger chicks.

We could start shipping eggs! I have had to turn multiple new customers away so I can fill orders for the regulars. I always feel bad but what can you do But it is disapointing to have 40 plus layers out there and 5 wee eggs today

Anne

My birds live in an insualted coop wioth a red heat lamp running 24/7 all winter, they only vneture out (grudgingly) to eat and my big Australorp roosters STILL got frostbite on their combs. Bad. All the bumps froze off. This is puzzling since they only nip out to eat then are right back in the coop. I have a theory: that as their large combs brush the metal feeders while they eat, this contact with cold metal is too much for their natural heating mechanism to overcome. THe poultry equivalent of sticking your tongue on the steel lamp post on a winter day.

I wonder if anyone keeping their birds in a heated hen house (it's not tropical, just above freezing)but feeding out of plastic or wood feeders has less/more/the same frost bite problems. But I point the finger at large combs rubbing up against cold metal feeders. Until I hear otherwise...

I have my lights on now in the main hen house, 15 hours of artificial light. I have always used light in the wintertime, I think it has alot to do with temperature, but not sure. I don't heat the henhouses, it is what it is, they are reasonably insulated with insulation between some of the joists and then plywood over. We did that last winter here before the cold weather came. It still gets darn cold in the houses, water will freeze, but I have apparatus to keep the water warm.

I am not using artificial light in the buckeye coop. They are still laying 3 eggs every day between 3 hens and I want to see if they will continue to lay without artificial light. They haven't missed one day yet since they began to lay, think they are what I would call consistently good layers, well, so far.

I need all the eggs that my hens can muster up. With three families eating eggs, that is a whole lotta eggs. Also when we take a trip to the coast, I bring in tow, many dozens of eggs to split up for my siblings' families. That is every couple of months, so bring on the eggs.

I have 6 buff orpingtons that decided that 4 of them would moult. So they are down to 2 a day, but with the artificial light as backup, they should start to lay again in about a month. By that time I will have four more orpington pullets that should begin to lay. So hopefully, I will have copious amounts of eggs all winter. I know that the orpingtons laid all winter, but I have never taken a chance and not had lights. So actually, no clue if they will lay without extra light, but I want eggs, so I daren't to take that gamble.

Of the 6 cochins, 4 had gone broody, and they haven't began to lay again yet. But should soon be going to, if they are not going to take a break for the winter. Time will be the teller of that tale. Two cochins are laying each day still though.

Such a quandary, to light or not. Guess it is just dependent upon what you want to do.

Rosewood. Why don't you crack the extra eggs and freeze them in the freezer for the time when your birds may be shutting down? You could freeze like 4 in a ziploc or something. Or...make some pickled eggs!! That is what I would like to do this winter, I think pickled eggs would be good and I bet the family would love them!! Have a wonderful and great day, CynthiaM.

Rosewood. Why don't you crack the extra eggs and freeze them in the freezer for the time when your birds may be shutting down? You could freeze like 4 in a ziploc or something. Or...make some pickled eggs!! That is what I would like to do this winter, I think pickled eggs would be good and I bet the family would love them!! Have a wonderful and great day, CynthiaM.

We have tried freezing eggs here with some success, but it is not our favourite way of eating eggs. I made quiche with shrimp which DIL and I really like, but not the Dutch side of the family. I also made a big jar of pickled eggs, but I'm the only one that will eat them. I thought about doing pickled eggs to sell at the market, but there are some risks with canning pickled eggs. Once skiing starts we will be able to sell at Sun Peaks. There are 3 or 4 farms selling eggs in the community of Barriere.

Luckily DH and I both like quiche and we make several at a time in infinite variety. I can use over a dozen eggs in one quiche. I'm now at the point of buying frozen pie crusts which makes it really easy.

Otherwise the pigs get the extra eggs.

I make a frittata that everyone likes that uses about 2 dozen eggs at a time, but have never tried to make it and freeze it for later use. At the present time I don't have a lot of time for cooking as we have a number of building projects on the go. We need to get a chicken coop together for winter.

Can't wait to start getting a decent supply of eggs again! The frittata sounds especially good. My older hens are still taking a break from laying and the pullets have not started yet, so I'm averaging 3 or 4 eggs a day from a flock of 35! Not impressive.
But once they get started, I know I'll have more than enough for my family and my few dedicated customers. I don't use extra lighting, but luckily I have a row of south windows in the coop that provides plenty of natural light. It must be enough to keep them laying since I don't have any shortage of eggs in the winter.
I only use heat lamps in extreme weather - colder than -28, but the coop is insulated and stays pretty decent in normal winter weather.

I posted my frittata recipe under the "recipes".