It’s now been over six weeks since my new pullets hatched out, so on Sunday I turned off their heat lamp for the first time since I bought them. It’s now on a timer, set to go on at 8 PM and off at 8 AM; at this time of year the days here at Sunset are reasonably warm (predicted highs this week of 19 most days, 22 on Friday) but the nights are still pretty chilly (predicted lows of 2 most nights). I’m traveling later this week, but Chekhov will mind them until I return, after which I’ll gradually shorten the lamp duration to give them their first taste of actual darkness before removing the lamp completely when they join the adult hens on May 9th. It may seem like I make this process more complicated than it has to be, and given my propensity for imposing structure on my life that’s probably true. But I’ve found these procedures to be the best way to raise healthy, contented chickens who dependably produce a lot of eggs and don’t give me any unusual trouble. And that’s a good enough reason for me.
Archive for April 13th, 2021
Diary #563
Posted in Diary, tagged animals, Sunset on April 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Visit my bookstore
This Month
Old Posts
Call me
Become a Blog Patron
If you want to donate but don't want a recurring charge, you can send any amount you like via PayPal to my email address (see below). Be sure to include a note so I can thank you!Contact Maggie
Maggie on Twitter
My TweetsBoring but necessary legal stuff