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There are many studies that free ranged or pastured eggs are higher in vitamins/minerals and lower in cholesterol. Free range = access to greens/bugs not available from your bagged balance feed + sun + exercise digging them out. Totally unnecessary for productive egg laying and even detrimental...

not if you are running a separate freezer for their high protein "treats". The same as you have to do when raw feeding a dog that you don't want to eat dry kibble.

any food scraps, garden weeds, and lots of fall leaves that people kindly bag for some reason. 3-4 runs of charged wire on insulators around the fence keep the predators and pests out. It is 2 birds with one stone: you are protecting both chickens and your compost pile.

if your science say people can't raise chickens without using commercial feed, I have problems with that. If your science say that chickens won't produce better quality eggs with limitless access to greens and bugs such as they do when free ranging because it would unbalance their feed, then you...

No need to. The "treat" factor is blown out of proportion. I know there are lots of people on BYC who manage chickens the same as their parents and granparents used to, know it works, and just ignore any "you've got to use the balanced feed" posts

this conversation is clearly about 2 ways of managing chickens and could be well sponsored by big ag, and I have a few problems with your way. 1. Use of "Treats" like "candies" in relation to foods such as fruits, veggies, grains, kitchen scraps (including meat/fish), bugs, worms - another...

we found the best to have herbs closest to the house and shortest past to the kitchen. When thinking what would plants grow the best in certain area, how much sun the spot gets is about most important thing, followed by how dry/wet the spot is, followed by how windy. within the garden in...

if she spent 3 weeks outside sitting on a clutch of eggs why would you worry about putting here in the coop other than possible integration issues? But I am not sure if warmth of a house for just one night is going to be a problem either.

it is pretty bad if it was the only thing they eaten without access to high protein components to compensate for higher carb intake. Otherwise it is very fresh and being proceed being significant part formulated feed you advocating for. That was not my experience. Just as with oyster shells...

for some reason you are talking about formulating feed (mixing dozens of ingredients in correct proportions like feed companies do) and giving your birds no other choice but eating that feed. The original discussions was about giving the birds free choice access to fruits/veggies instead of...

as it is been going for a few months now, would love to. Any tips on identifying which one?

please define "refluff". I find a broken egg in the current straw bedded nest - I toss the straw out and put new one. How can you refluff when it is a sticky mess?

nobody says about feeding them veggies alone, but if you give them free choice, they are well capable in balancing their own diet. It is a matter of stating that vitamins/minerals in the live veggies are better than those in dry feed (even when there is no big ag scientist to mix them in perfect...

even with new bedding it does not help. The only "solution" I found so far on a rainy day is to check for eggs as frequently as possible, collecting them 3-4 at a time including from under the hens and not in the evening after they has been well walked on. That is a lot of walks to the coop :(

straw is what I currently use, toss it on the floor and replace when it is dirty. Don't see myself using any product that require washing/cleaning as @Iluveggers and @rayrose. Those broken egg incidents occur with extremely thin shelled eggs one of the hens (I think) is laying. I even picked up...

is not it what I said? hint: cute decoration, hard to manage, overstated capacity :)

yes, it also much easier to feed from the bag, and for achieving good productivity, but not necessarily the healthiest choice for the hens or for the best quality eggs. just saying that some people have taken it few steps further (just as feeding their dog/cat pets raw vs just feeding them...

the same experience here with nipple&cup vs open container. I don't think they are thirsty, they just enjoy it more from the open container for whatever reason - like if they were tasting wine.

veggies and free ranging - bad, commercial feed - good :clap

I have 3 double size (24x12) boxes for 30. One box fits 1-4 chickens. high enough so they could walk under (to save the floor space) approx 24x12 plywood with mesh bottom (to let the dust/poop through) and 6" high removable board to keep the bedding in.