Eggs N Kits

In Rabbit News, Today:
We got an update on some of our rabbit kit bodies and colors. We think we need a second opinion, as the first one was quite rushed after our regular 4-H meeting, so we are asking for help from Black Diamond Rabbitry.


We may also be going to the Plymouth, CA rabbit show on February 13th, 2016. That would be weather & health pending. Seems like kiddos always come down with colds in so much snowy, cold weather!


The News from the Coop:
Our chickens (barred Plymouth rock, white brahma, easter-eggers x 2) had been laying an egg or so a day, each, up until about two weeks before Christmas. Around winter solstice (shortest day of the year), Sesame (white brahma), and Fluffy Muffy (easter-egger), stopped laying suddenly.


Chickens have the ability to lay throughout winter, as it is not the cold weather that causes a drop in production, but the amount of light in a given day. So, shorter days, mean less eggs. What to do? Add more "daylight" hours in the day, by supplementing via a light inside the coop at night.


We had not supplemented the light in our coop, and did not have the ability to, as we were planning to run electricity professionally to the coop, but the freezing temps and snow began earlier than we expected.


But we needed to take action, as only Bob (barred rock) was continuing to lay daily. 7 eggs per week is just not enough on some weeks for our family. And we cannot supply eggs to family or friends at 7/week.


So, we got their old heat lamp, added a fluorescent bulb instead of a heat bulb, and plugged it into an extension cord. The heat lamp is not outdoor rated, but our coop is dry inside, does not leak, and we have our trusty roof over the entire coop and run to keep things extra dry. So we could chance it. So far, no heat, no problems.


And....drum roll.....the last two nights, after a week of extra light supplementation, we got TWO eggs instead of one! Fluffy Muffy is laying again. I thought I heard Sesame doing the egg song this morning as well, so I am eager to see if we have three tonight.


As a side note, some people feel that supplementing light causes undue stress to the chickens, however, we only resorted to doing it when - GASP - we might have to buy eggs from the grocery store! That is just unthinkable when we have four chickens in the yard! True confession: I finally broke down and supplemented when I did actually have to buy Model Dairy eggs one day to make waffles after already making homemade crepe tortillas all week. Yikes!