We have a small flock of chickens in a 20 x 20 fenced run with a nice 6 x 6 hen house inside. They are all a year old, nine total, five Americanas and four Barred Plymouth Rocks, one of which is a rooster.
I have a couple of questions. I've seen this addressed, but it is the my first experience with one hen being bullied.
She's got a bald spot in the middle of her back. It isn't bloody -yet- Is there anything to do without drawing further attention to the area? My second question is this.
We live in south, central Texas so it's usually not necessary to heat a hen house in winter. This year when temps dropped and the wind was high, we did have to put a heat lamp inside.
The light at night boosted egg production dramatically. We were getting two to three eggs per day during the winter months prior to our severe cold, but with the addition of the lighting at night, the eggs were back up to seven eggs from eight hens!
Is this altering nature for the hens? Do they need a break during the winter months? I'm asking because we ran electricity to the hen house and leave a light-sensitive night light plugged in now.
I don't want to decrease their overall egg laying life. I'd like your opinion on this.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
