Chicken/egg question

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
In a few more months some may be planning to order baby chicks . I fall into that category . I already have chickens but am studying different breeds that might offer more eggs during the likely lean months of winter for the apocalypse . I am looking at this from a preppers standpoint . -- I have a rooster someone gave me that I believe is a cinnamon queen variety . It was a pet for a young woman that has now married into our survival group . I am impressed with that rooster , it is well built and eye appealing . Occasionally a visitor will stop and comment on that rooster . Reading up on that variety , it claims the hens will lay about 300 eggs per year and lay very well during the winter months , Obviously any hen laying 300 eggs per year is laying quite well during the winter . This is actually a cross between two varieties and what I read goes by several different names but is the same chicken .
 
Last edited:
Cinnamon Queens have done well for me too. Right now I have all ISA Browns…which look exactly like Cinnamon Queens. My understanding is that they were bred from the same type of chickens, are both hybrid commercial layers and produce the same amount of eggs. I can attest to them laying every day. Yep, even in the winter! No lights needed.
 
That trip went South fast. The gallon of water fell off post and broke. My gloves were too thick and got stuck in fence. Had to go back inside for more water and gloves. Tracked snow in house. Finally get to coop and put the warm water inside coop. The ladies looked at the snow and said they were going back to bed. It is about 14° here.
 
Yesterday evening I put a bunch of straw in the coop. Really hate doing that as it is harder to clean out than pine shavings, but the girls will need the warmth factor beginning tonight. Also filled up their containers. The one outside will freeze, but the one in the coop is on a chicken water heater. Water won’t be a problem. Probably not going to allow their automatic door to open tomorrow as it is going down to 6 here! Brrrrrr! I still have to hook their coop heater up today and put on a smart plug so I can turn it on and off.
 
Robinjopo1 said:
Gonna take some warm water down to the ladies this morning. Im sure their regular water is frozen to hard to break with my stick. Guess I need to move it up to the coop because the snow 4". I hope the roof netting is holding.m don't feel like repairs in the cold.
Click to expand...
For our chicken and duck water we use a couple rubber tubs that are about 4" deep. We just turn them over and stomp on the bottom, and all the ice comes out. We do this twice a day. We deal with frozen water from October to April.
Instead of netting over the top of the small run, I ran electric fence wire back and forth across the top of the run. This keeps the owls out and doesn't get loaded down with snow like netting does. The ducks don't go inside the coop at night, so we put hay down in the area where the like to sleep. They're happy with it.
 
I had some closet rod left over from construction, so I made an outdoor roost for the chickens. Several hens like to roost on it, as long as it's not too cold.
20240115_162020.jpg
 
We have snow on the ground and about 0°C/32°F. All six are running around in the snow like little kids and the turkey is following them with wings flapping and gobbling the whole time. Only straw on the ground there, but a
100 watt infrared lamp hanging from the ceiling about 20 inches off the ground. It is only turned on at night.
 
Robinjopo1 said:
My chickens are still laying like it was Summer. It has to be the new feed.
Click to expand...
My plan is to follow Robin's example . In a few weeks I plan to order the same type chickens . A question though , is there something about the feed that appears to be making the laying continue during the cold and short daylight days , that could be copied ? --- My goal is focused on the winter laying of eggs , as I see it during the summer my garden is producing its most food . The shortage of fresh garden produce during the winter , puts me focusing on winter food , thus a winter egg laying chicken .
 
poltiregist said:
My plan is to follow Robin's example . In a few weeks I plan to order the same type chickens . A question though , is there something about the feed that appears to making the laying continue during the cold and short daylight days , that could be copied ? --- My goal is focused on the winter laying of eggs , as I see it during the summer my garden is producing its most food . The shortage of fresh garden produce during the winter , puts me focusing on winter food , thus a winter egg laying chicken .
Click to expand...

The breed matters for winter laying. Hens that are RIR or commercial breed of RIR’s do the very best. All my ISA Browns have laid every day… all summer, fall and winter, except for 2 eggs. Not sure which hen didn’t lay those two days. I see more protein doing the trick. The girls get some sunflower seeds daily in the winter.
 
poltiregist said:
My plan is to follow Robin's example . In a few weeks I plan to order the same type chickens . A question though , is there something about the feed that appears to be making the laying continue during the cold and short daylight days , that could be copied ? --- My goal is focused on the winter laying of eggs , as I see it during the summer my garden is producing its most food . The shortage of fresh garden produce during the winter , puts me focusing on winter food , thus a winter egg laying chicken .
Click to expand...
I just know that this feed is milled in northern Alabama and has the date. Never over 6 weeks old.
I was getting Dumor at TSC and was getting some with huge clumps of mold.

The new feed is cheaper too. Only $15 per 50#. I think I have posted that before. My apologies for redundancy.
 
We get our feed localy. It's made less than 150 miles from our house using locally grown grains. It looks like real feed too, not that pressed stuff that most commercial feed looks like.
If you live in cold climates, it's important to choose chickens that are cold hardy, and ones that will lay throughout the winter.
We have never bought chick's from places like TSC "chick days". We only order from hatcheries, such as Murry McMurray, Stromburgs and Dunlaps. They send out catalogs, and we can take our time and study all the different breeds and chose which ones will work the best for us at our location.
BTW, Strombergs has some of their chick's on sale right now for 30% off. Check them out. At least order one of their catalogs for reference.
 
ALERT - Today I pre-ordered day old baby chicks , today is February 1st - The first available Cinnamon Queen chicks is next June . This is an order from Cackle Hatchery . It appears from my standpoint there is now an ongoing run on high egg producing , winter laying chickens . I don't suppose I would classify this as Panick buying but , people are realizing the Delima we are now entering and are buying up certain species of egg layers . I suspect for the not picky poultry buyer , chicks may be available at their usual selling stores this year as the poultry dealers have probably already put in their large orders .
 
GeorgiaPeachie said:
Wow! Just Wow! I’ve never seen any chicks be unavailable for that far out…which we are just at the beginning of February. As you all know, chicks don’t take long to hatch at all and they ship them the very next morning. This odd to say the least.
Click to expand...
So many chicken farms have burned. I saw another had this week. They want it to be hard to get them.
 
poltiregist said:
ALERT - Today I pre-ordered day old baby chicks , today is February 1st - The first available Cinnamon Queen chicks is next June . This is an order from Cackle Hatchery . It appears from my standpoint there is now an ongoing run on high egg producing , winter laying chickens . I don't suppose I would classify this as Panick buying but , people are realizing the Delima we are now entering and are buying up certain species of egg layers . I suspect for the not picky poultry buyer , chicks may be available at their usual selling stores this year as the poultry dealers have probably already put in their large orders .
Click to expand...
I have had good luck with Cinnamon Queens. Good layers and friendly. I had one that would run to me every evening and let me put her on the rooster. Then the fox got her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top