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RE: Keeping off-grid laying hens at -40C/-40F
Awesome. Do you have places for your chickens to roost at night? How many hens do you have?
We have 2 small coops with runs (which helps when I need to be away from the farm). Our hens are "free range" except that I fence in my gardens or they will tear them apart. We don't sell our eggs but sometimes give them away to loved ones when we have a large surplus.
We only have 11 hens right now. No roosters until spring, since they cause more problems then hinder.
Thanks for the great post @wwf!
Yes, we have roosts and nesting boxes for them as well. In the summer they roam around all over the yard. They are away from the garden but do find their way there from time to time. We have 50 hens and 5 roosters. The roosters allow us to then hatch our own eggs. A conversation for spring. They also protect the hens and they keep an eye out for predators. They are the early warning system for the chickens. They help out a great deal.
Yeah, we have had 5 roosters in the past and there was too many fights, plus I didn't like how they treated the hens. We will try again next spring as each rooster definitely has a different personality.
Depending on the breed, you may want to limit the ratio between 8:1 or even 10:1. Any higher ratio and there is too many roosters and the hens really get beat up. Any lower and there is not enough to maintain a high fertility rate with the eggs. I work on a 10:1 ratio and they seem to do fine.
Agreed. Thanks!