Winter is here.

Well, we we down to the 20’s last night. Brrrr But chickens are good. I have upped the corn and all the feed since forage is slim now. They spend most of the day in our woods since leaves are down, looking for bugs. They are ranging further now too because pickings are low.

Pullets hatched this year are now starting to lay. First hatching done in early April is laying. So we are now getting fresh eggs again. Rooster are going nuts over these hens. Opening coops in the morning is interesting to say the least. Lock up gets a bit wild too with rooster chasing each other and the hens.

We are changing the roof of the coop to let more light in. Right now new hen coop has a tin roof. We are taking one panel out and replacing with a clear plastic panel so more light get in. This will make it easier for me to work in the coop with door closed. Also it will help the hens have more daylight time since they have to be let out late morning most days.

My two oldest hens are in molt now. Since we no longer have Longfeather, these hens have not bonded to a new rooster yet. When let out of the coop the run to North part of property to get away from all the roosters. One in particular is really avoiding the roosters. She was never mated by Longfeather either and when she went broody and hatched eggs killed the chicks by not caring for them. She is a good layer but will be for the soup pot this winter after she is done with her molt. Same with many of the roosters this winter.