Chickens - Light and Tractors

[techman]

Wow, I had not idea about light and eggs.

I can easily make a DC only system using bright LED lights and a 555 timer circuit to turn it on and off. I can set the timer for 12 hours on and 12 hours off for example.

I normally leave an LED light on outside all night in summer anyway so I can see when the raccoon attacks. He is always trying to get to my birds. Every single night all summer. So far, he has been pretty quiet, but he has been around now and then. When I get my new birds out here, the war will be on in force again.

I have only gotten 2 eggs in a week from 2 adult hens I bought for the purpose of having eggs. The lazy birds.

I guess I need to set up a light asap then.

Thanks Dave

[techman]

Hi Everyone

I have bred Poultry for quite some years. From around September Until Mid Febuary your hens will Stop laying eggs due to the daylight hours being to short. If you give them a few extra hours of light each day they will onlt then continue to lay eggs through out the winter months. But i prefer to give my hens a resting period from laying as they also moult at this time of year which uses alot of calcium. Calium is also used to make egg shells. So if you decide to give them a bit of extra light to get them to lay eggs during winter if they are moulting at the same time you should give them a little pinch of "limestone flour" which is used for tortoises to promote shell growth it can be purchased from ebay or a local pet shop. Limestone Flour helps poultry when mouting and when they lay there first egg to reduce the chances of soft egg shell and when moulting.

One thing techman i have had to now stop breeding poultry as i found when i hatched & raised the birds up you will always get aproportion of cockerals in the mix. And i found after caring for the chicks for months & watching them grow i found it very hard when you have to dispatch the cockerels. So you need to carefull think about breeding poultry as you will either find a new home or dispatch cockerals that you have raised.

I will try & post you some photo's of my birds that remain tomorrow

Yeah, it would be hard to kill birds I hand raised, true.

I was thinking I can always sell them. I have mostly Bantams now, and they are more popular birds for collecting. Lets see.

[TonysShadow]

One way to change how you approach hunting or dispatching any animal life for food. NEVER just say youre killing an animal.
A closer truth and more proper way to think...youre harvesting.
The Good Lord put all life on this planet for us to use. In that vein of thnking...we are harvesting what is necessary to sustain ourselves. Hunters have always thought in such ways, because thinning is actually necessary for healthier animals in almost every game animal you can imagine. IN Georgia, last I heard, we even have 1 day of black bear season now...hehe. Our mental midgets in Washington sometimes wake up sometimes when they see who are actually the better guardians in this country. There are many that will dispute such things, but that is entering into a different arena of thnking... stewardship.

[techman]

Yes, that is true, but it is still hard to "harvest" your pets.

It is easier for me to go out and shoot a total strange animal than to kill something with your hands, up close and personal, that you raised. For me anyway.

I still do not like killing anyway, but I have to kill in order to live.

[Dave Thacker]

Troy,

Love the work you've done on the chicken tractor. It looks great. My only suggestion from what I've seen is to put the wheels on the heavy end, put the man on the light weight end.

Also, those look like vintage minibike wheels. They might bring $60 to $100 on ebay. I'd clean them up, take some photo's and dump them on ebay. Buy yourself some wheels that don't require air. You don't need that pain when it's time to move the tractor.

Another comment on the light, if natural light does not come brightly into the roosting box, you may need the light system working all summer. Depending on when you get up and let them out, you could artificially expose them to shorter days and longer nights.

I have a relative who has a farm and as a hobby he raises meet chickens for broilers. The breed grows really fast and if you don't take them to be butchered in time, they can suffer broken legs or other health issues as they over grow. He has no trouble bartering or selling these special farm raised birds. They are usually all reserved before he ever gets the batch of chicks. He feeds them, fattens them up, takes to butcher, picks them up and distributes to those sharing in the cost of the enterprise. I think he makes enough from it to cover the cost of 10 of them he puts in his own freezer. I am told they are very tasty.

Having a product to trade with is important. It's the only way any wealth is added to a society. And, it's a great way to make new friends and contacts. You can trade your excess produce for other things you might otherwise be forced to purchase.

[Dave Thacker]

Just saw the completed tractor, looks great. I don't know how densely you can keep chickens. It looks like a lot of birds for the space. Are you thinking of building another?

[techman]

To answer all your comments in one post.

I wanted the wheels on the light side so I did not have to worry about stress on them. I am no expert in construction and know my weaknesses. I feared the wheels would not hold up long under heavy load full time. I, on the other hand, can take a few minutes of weight now and then. Those were my thoughts when I put the wheels on and I stand by it.

I figured the wheels were there rotting in the forest and I put them to good use. They are a standard size that is still sold today in Tractor Supply. Of course, with rims, rubber and tubes, it adds up to a large price. All the better reason for me to use salvaged ones for free. They may have been valuable to someone at one time, but they have their use for me now too

The birds are not going to get much bigger than what you see now. The white hen and the two reds will be full sized birds, but the rest will be no larger than the two flowered hens you see there. They are adults.

I think they will be fine because I move them every day to get fresh pickings. I have certainly seen worse in professional hen houses and farms. My birds are quite happy in comparison. If it seems that they are crowded or not getting along then maybe I will build another later.

I am designing a lighting system using LEDs and a solar charged battery that will stay with the chicken coop full time. Hope it works out well. I will certainly show it on the video when its done.