Opinions on best egg layers

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That is surprising that you have had such poor performance out of your Salmon Faverolles! My SF hen is 1 year old and has so far laid an egg 6 days a week even through the winter months. She hasn't had her first molt yet, and has never displayed any broody tendencies, but then again she is close to the bottom of the pecking order so maybe that factors in. She does indeed lay a small egg, but hers are the best overall for boiling and sturdiness compared to all my other breeds, so I still consider her to be an exceptional layer and beneficial member of the flock. I was simply listing the breeds I myself have had excellent success with in laying while pointing out the fact that no flock of hens is going to lay 7 days a week, 365 days per year without shortening their laying years and stressing their bodies.
 
bruceha2000 said:
Your experience with Salmon Favorelles does not match mine. They were doing OK their first winter (born in June, 2012) but shut down for a month mid February. Even the Cubalaya kept laying. Then they went broody so down a week plus again. Then down for their first moult. One quit laying the beginning of August and didn't lay again until mid Feb. The other laid maybe 3 a week during moult (which is remarkable in my flock) and laid until the end of January, then quit for 3 weeks. Then last summer (now 2 years old) they did the broody thing again a few times, down for 1.5 to 2 weeks each time then moulted. The one that laid well her second winter shut laid all of August then shut down until mid February - 5.5 months without even 1 egg. The other shut down the beginning of October through February. They have both been broody twice since mid March.

If my girls are representative, I wouldn't put them in the "good egg layer" group and their eggs are the higher side of USDA Small to the lower end of Medium. The only breed I have that are worse layers than the SFs are the Cubalayas and they aren't expected to lay more than 2 or 3 a week. My EE that was taken by a fox a year ago laid about the same number of eggs in the year and a half she laid as one of my SFs has in her nearly 3 year life and that EE wasn't on the top of the productivity list.
Click to expand...

what do you feed your chickens?
 
chickengr said:
what do you feed your chickens?
Click to expand...

They get BOSS in the morning (because they are spoiled). They get scratch at roost time (because they are spoiled). They have layer feed available all the time. The door to the barn is open from morning until roost time (*) so they can and do forage whatever they want. They also get whatever would go in the compost pile if it isn't moldy.

* Except right now since I lost my Partridge Chantecler to a fox Sunday evening a week and a half ago. Lost an EE about the same time last year. I incorrectly remembered it being early in the month of April and no losses since so I wasn't cautious as I should have been since it was "past" danger season. I guess late April it fox kit time around here and their regular menu items aren't yet available. Now the girls get out in the morning and I do outside stuff - mostly been repairing a fenced in area behind the barn so I will have somewhere I can let them loose during the day and not worry TOO much if I'm not between them and the woods. Then they get locked in the barn at lunch time and I work on "I can't be a Livestock Guardian Dog all day" projects. Then they are let out a couple of hours in the evening and someone is out with them.
 
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try to feed them layers feed in the morning and evening and treats during the day. it is possible that they don't come in to eat. or give them scratch together with BOSS mornings and evenings - more scratch than BOSS. I feed mine scratch, boiled eggs with shell, marble dust (for calcium), garlic, herbs, veggies from my garden, etc and they lay almost every day. but I feed them properly mornings and evenings, the rest of the day they are just pecking bugs or veggies and herbs I give them. I soak grains overnight as it is too hot to ferment know (the last batch I fermented spoiled within a day).
 
I have two New Hampshire Reds and they are my best layers, I almost always get an egg from both each day. I also have a Barred Rock that lays an egg about every other day. As far as attitude, all of my hens are friendly and come running when they see me. The NHR don't mind being handled, but the Barred Rock doesn't care too much for it.
 

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