- Aug 12, 2012
- 112
- 1
- 82
Hey everyone,
Always appreciate all the advice I find on this site. I have raised chickens for a few years now, so I feel like I've got a general idea of what I am doing....but maybe I don't . I started with a small flock of 5 chickens and everything was great - laying great, healthy, everyone got along, etc. Then 2 years ago we moved to a bigger farm and I decided to expand my flock and start selling eggs. Needless to say - it's not going as well as I had hoped.
Currently, this is what I've got:
23 hens between 6mo - 1.5 years (ok - I have 3 that I consider pets that are 5 years old - they don't lay worth a darn but I love them)
A few different breeds - light brahmas, cinnamon queens, easter eggers, RIR, white leghorn
They live in the barn with about a 20x20 area inside with a 20x20 run outside
We used to have 10 nesting boxes, but they only use 4, so now they have 4 boxes.
They have a window in addition to the coop door, a couple ladders and chairs to climb on, plus their roost.
Supplemental light in the winter
Eating 16% layer feed agrimaster (our feed mill closed 3 months ago). Plus they get a little scratch and table scraps daily.
Long story short - they were picking at each other all summer. I used to have a rooster, thought that was the problem - got rid of him. Nope. But since it has gotten colder they have settled down some, but a few off their backs are featherless from picking. I keep the coop clean, they always have food and water. They look and act healthy, but obviously I am doing something wrong.
They have never really reached what I would consider their laying potential. In the summer I'd say on a good day I'd get 12 eggs a day from the 20, but usually 8-9 is the norm. As soon as October hit, all 5 of my eater eggers stopped laying completely!! Even my young leghorn has stopped laying.
Oh and they have an egg eating problem too. we put their nesting boxes on a slight ramp so the eggs fall into a protected box so they can't reach. But they try their hardest to get to them and they usually get a couple a day, especially if they don't roll down for some reason. I have tried everything to fix this problem - so frustrating!!!
In the meantime, I also have 6 silkies in a separate pen, and they are still laying great - even thought they aren't supposed to be good layers!!! What a crazy farm I have.
Any advice would be much appreciated. My husband said he's had enough and wants to get rid of them all, and just keep enough to feed our family. I love my chickens - but they need to pull their weight in eggs. Help!!!
Always appreciate all the advice I find on this site. I have raised chickens for a few years now, so I feel like I've got a general idea of what I am doing....but maybe I don't . I started with a small flock of 5 chickens and everything was great - laying great, healthy, everyone got along, etc. Then 2 years ago we moved to a bigger farm and I decided to expand my flock and start selling eggs. Needless to say - it's not going as well as I had hoped.
Currently, this is what I've got:
23 hens between 6mo - 1.5 years (ok - I have 3 that I consider pets that are 5 years old - they don't lay worth a darn but I love them)
A few different breeds - light brahmas, cinnamon queens, easter eggers, RIR, white leghorn
They live in the barn with about a 20x20 area inside with a 20x20 run outside
We used to have 10 nesting boxes, but they only use 4, so now they have 4 boxes.
They have a window in addition to the coop door, a couple ladders and chairs to climb on, plus their roost.
Supplemental light in the winter
Eating 16% layer feed agrimaster (our feed mill closed 3 months ago). Plus they get a little scratch and table scraps daily.
Long story short - they were picking at each other all summer. I used to have a rooster, thought that was the problem - got rid of him. Nope. But since it has gotten colder they have settled down some, but a few off their backs are featherless from picking. I keep the coop clean, they always have food and water. They look and act healthy, but obviously I am doing something wrong.
They have never really reached what I would consider their laying potential. In the summer I'd say on a good day I'd get 12 eggs a day from the 20, but usually 8-9 is the norm. As soon as October hit, all 5 of my eater eggers stopped laying completely!! Even my young leghorn has stopped laying.
Oh and they have an egg eating problem too. we put their nesting boxes on a slight ramp so the eggs fall into a protected box so they can't reach. But they try their hardest to get to them and they usually get a couple a day, especially if they don't roll down for some reason. I have tried everything to fix this problem - so frustrating!!!
In the meantime, I also have 6 silkies in a separate pen, and they are still laying great - even thought they aren't supposed to be good layers!!! What a crazy farm I have.
Any advice would be much appreciated. My husband said he's had enough and wants to get rid of them all, and just keep enough to feed our family. I love my chickens - but they need to pull their weight in eggs. Help!!!