Small-scale Egg Production

[millbrookfarm]

I don't claim to be an expert at small-scale egg production, but I am doing some research on the subject with plans to increase our own production with the intent of selling more eggs to others.

I would like to discuss here the methods you've used increased the production of your hens either through management practices or breeding methods.

My idea is that by focusing on small scale production the exchange of information will be greater given that we are most likely not in competition with each other selling our product.

I hope that this first post will be continually updated with more information that I can refer back to as well as others.

(if there is already a thread like this then mods please delete)

Small scale egg production from Penn State Extension
http://extension.psu.edu/business/a...-scale-egg-production-organic-and-non-organic

Breeding chickens for Egg production
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/ALBCchicken_assessment-2.pdf

Book?: Egg Marketing from the UN
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y4628E/y4628e01.htm#TopOfPage

Small-Scale Pastured Poultry Grazing System for Egg Production
University of Hawaii
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/LM-20.pdf

Book: Profitable Poultry Production; has chapters on egg production
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/ppp/pppToC.html

Here are some threads here at BYC that have to do with production qualities:

Breeding for production eggs and/or meat
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/845018/breeding-for-production-eggs-and-or-meat

Sustainable Meat/standard bred dual purpose bird thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1076131/sustainable-meat-standard-bred-dual-purpose-bird-thread

I will add more information as I find more.

 

[nsscchd]

Thank you for this list! I found it interesting in the Penn State article when it stated you could get started with 1,000 hens. Such a high number for a starting point but I know that is extremely small compared to the commercial egg farms. I find that the work hasn't even started until the eggs are in their cartons. I love everything up until then. Sometimes it can be trying dealing with the public.

 

[millbrookfarm]

Yeah 1000 hens isn't my idea of small either. We have decided to go with the CSA model for selling our eggs. So far it has been successful. What is your experience with this model?

 

[nsscchd]

I have no experience with a CSA. I am talking small. I only have ever sold from about three dozen hens at a time so sorry, not much help.

 

[nsscchd]

May I ask, how many hens do you have? What made you decide on this number and has it been economically sustainable?

 

[millbrookfarm]

What you just described is about our size. Just over 3 dozen hens.

We started this year with about half that many hens and decided to do a test run with a couple of friends. Four shares total. Next year we are planning on having 10 shares (6.5 shares already sold). It is pretty exciting when you are doing something you love and make a little cash from.

Ultimately, I have plans to have 50 shares with about 150 laying hens. Still small scale compared to the big "egg factories."

 

[nsscchd]

In all my experiences, it seems there's such a fine line in everything between finding a way to profit and going too far and burning out on something you once loved.

I don't want to get into how much I love my chickens because we all do here. Whenever I tried to sell too many eggs, brood too many chicks at once, or raise too many meat birds at once it became drudgery instead of a hobby.

Please don't get me wrong, if one is truly trying to make a profit to live off of, there will always be some tasks that are pure work. Myself, I was just trying to lighten the feed bill so I could Enjoy my hobby.

 

[aart]

What you just described is about our size. Just over 3 dozen hens.

We started this year with about half that many hens and decided to do a test run with a couple of friends. Four shares total. Next year we are planning on having 10 shares (6.5 shares already sold). It is pretty exciting when you are doing something you love and make a little cash from.

Ultimately, I have plans to have 50 shares with about 150 laying hens. Still small scale compared to the big "egg factories."

Do you have a CSA contract detailing cost and expected production, would you care to share it here?

How old are your birds?
Have you been thru a molting/winter season yet?
Will(do) you use supplemental lighting in the winter?
What's your population turnover plan?

 

[millbrookfarm]

I do not have a contract per se but I do have an order form and a letter I give to every potential member. I will not share the order form though for this reason... it apparently sucks. I've had to walk people through filling it out over the phone.

The letter I give them simply tells my story and why I am doing this. I'm currently in a completely different field of work and some people wonder why I'm getting into farming. I tell my story that it's a boyhood dream.

I have a group of chicks right now that will serve as our main birds for next year. I will probably have five 2 year hens next year. I will be butchering/rehomeing my hens for this year.

I have been through a molting/winter season. I have had no problems with people understanding about the drop in production.

I do not now use supplemental lighting, but I am considering it to just have a better understanding of when the eggs will start and stop. I would still give the girls a two or three months off.

I have kept hens for 3 years and I don't think its that great. I think I will keep them for as long as a commercial operation would but instead of just processing them at the end. I would try to sell them to our members if they would like a flock at home or on craigslist. I have also just been using sex links/production hybrids and they simply don't produce that well in their second year. My plan is to get a couple of breeds and focus on production qualities with the hopes that they will maintain a decent production in their second and third year. I really wish that there were a lot more breeders that were focused on production not just the SOP which isn't inherently bad either. It just doesn't serve my needs.

I want to say again. I am NO expert. I am just starting out, but I am trying to learn which is what this thread is really about.

 

[Pasturedpeeps]

I have around 100 laying hens and sell about 90+ dozen a month and use primarily RIR from hatcheries. But turns out they are not really RIRs at least not SOP. They are ok but definitely not my favorite.
I would also like to have a pure bred flock. I feel like it would fix some of the problems I have with my hatchery birds. I would love to have a standardized size and weight, fast growth, better point of lay, and better egg size and shape to name a few. I’m planning to slowly grow the size of my flock up to the 200 range and I think it would be possible to do so with a purebred flock. My hang up is starting. I get cold feet due to lack of experience in breeding for production.