Coyote Ridge FarmsWelcome To Our Rural Blog

A couple of weeks have gone by now and we have been noticing some positive results.

When I was a little kid, my grandmother raised chickens – egg layers.  She had a real love for her birds and even though she would often come back to the house with bloodied hands, caused by some of the chickens that didn’t want to give up their eggs, she seemed content with the basket of eggs she would bring to back to the house, twice daily.

She did not buy new chickens every year… it was more like every 2nd or 3rd year.  She just didn’t have the $$$ to get new birds every season.  As most homesteader folks know, chickens don’t lay very well when they get older and they often cease in the darker, winter season.  My grandmother used to reset her hens from time to time.  When the birds quit laying, due to age or season, she would limit the light her girls would be exposed to.  For a week or so, my grandpa would stuff the window cavities of the hen-house with straw.  This would darken the hen house dramatically.  The only light the hens would get would be from the ceiling lights and for a few hours each day, the door would stand open.  After that week or so, the straw would get pulled from the windows and the hen-house lights would be turned on earlier and stay lit longer.  For some reason, this routine would jump-start the birds into the laying process again.  I believe it would fool the layers into thinking spring had arrived.

Our winter chicken coop

:read: Well, recently, Carol had a problem with her layers laying.  It’s like the switch got flipped off.  She did some reading and of course I added my 2¢ worth.  On Nov. 15th, Carol decided to put a dozen or so of her favorite hens in a make-shift chicken coop.  She also added a rooster for good measure.  Once the birds were situated, a bag went over the window in back and the lights were hooked up to a timer.  For fresh air and natural sunlight, the door was opened daily.  After a week, the window was uncovered.

Since then, a week and a half (maybe longer) has passed.  On a re-adjusted timer, the lights come on earlier in the morning and then again in the evening for a few hours.  The last few days have shown promise.  We went from no eggs to 1, then 2-3… then 4-5.  And with the hens in warmer coop, the eggs we get are not frozen.  Last year, most of the eggs that we were able to find, were frozen and/or cracked.  So far, even with sub-zero temps., all the eggs have been in good shape… many of them have been chicken-butt warm.  :chicken:

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