Eastern Washington

[WhiskiRanch]

I love hearing from people on our side of the mountains!
Has anyone noticed an increase yet in the number of eggs they are getting per day? I know we are not very far into the longer day cycle yet but just wondering if anyone else has had an increase.
I also can't wait to get more chickens! This is our first year with them and we've has soooo much fun. We just moved and I think maybe I'll get a rooster and raise my own chicks instead of buying. I don't know if I'll end up with a reliable broody, tho. Nobody has tried being broody yet. Not last year or this year. Maybe the spring weather will help stimulate this response?
(If anyone has roosters for sale you should know I'm super cheap so I'm looking for a pretty much free Easter Egger rooster I'm also keeping my eye on craigslist because there always seems to be people who got chickens and wanted hens but ended up with some boys and need to find homes.)

All winter, i have been averaging 6 to 8 eggs per day. I have 6 laying hens and 3 laying pullets so as the weather warms up and sun comes out more, my numbers should shoot up. I have 3 cockerals for sale but they arent easter eggers. They are mutt breeds but my best guess is Splash Laced Red Wyandotte crossed on Black Sex Links. Momma Hen is a Black Sex Link and we think papa is the Wyandotte.

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
I have noticed an increase over the past six to eight days.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

By spring, I should have more pullets starting to lay. My laying pullets started laying at 4 to 5 months of age and next in line are my October 2012 babies I only really need 12 laying hens but i have 9 laying right now and about 20 babies to choose from to get to my 12 but if i can't decide on the the last 3, i may end up with 15 or more layers

. Now that I have the coop and run, I shouldn't have to worry about my hens running off and having babies this year

. If they are "normal" in the mind, they will continue to lay in their nest buckets once I start letting them free range this spring when the bugs come out...lol

 

[chickengarden]

Thanks, VelvettFog.
Whiski, that's an impressive # of eggs over the winter. I was down to 4 or so during December and I have 10 laying pullets. My Easter Egger had stopped, my Australorps had almost stopped as well and it was just 2 of my Buff Orpington's, my Barred Rocks and my lone Wyandotte that were laying consistently.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

Just finished cleaning out the coop and run. Total egg count today is 6 so far. 4 hen eggs and 2 pullet eggs. Will check one more time when I feed this evening. They may pop out more considering I did a complete litter change

. Its hard to keep the shavings clean in my coop. The floor is dusty dirt so I do a complete litter change once a month or so and rake the entire run. Our new coop that we will start building this spring will have better floors and more cover over the run. Gonna really compact the dirt and bring in lots of sand so they can still scratch around. Not sure about the coop floors though. I like the shavings in the winter time. Ill catch my chickens half buried in them. They love them. My chickens are only kept cooped up 24/7 in the winter time. Once the bugs come out, they will get to free range during the day.

 

[Sunbug4]

I have three girls, and am getting one or two eggs a day...

 

[BMwa]

I have 16 hens and get about 6-8 eggs/day now...up from 4-5/day a couple weeks ago. I don't run any artificial lights, so that they can have a break in the winter. ...ready for spring.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

I counted 7 eggs gathered today. Im not really sure who all is laying. I know my 3 pullets are laying because im getting a couple pullet eggs a day and one pullet is laying "big girl" eggs. Not sure which of my Black Sex Links are laying. 5 out of 6 of those were mommas last year.

 

[chickengarden]

Just finished cleaning out the coop and run. Total egg count today is 6 so far. 4 hen eggs and 2 pullet eggs. Will check one more time when I feed this evening. They may pop out more considering I did a complete litter change

. Its hard to keep the shavings clean in my coop. The floor is dusty dirt so I do a complete litter change once a month or so and rake the entire run. Our new coop that we will start building this spring will have better floors and more cover over the run. Gonna really compact the dirt and bring in lots of sand so they can still scratch around. Not sure about the coop floors though. I like the shavings in the winter time. Ill catch my chickens half buried in them. They love them. My chickens are only kept cooped up 24/7 in the winter time. Once the bugs come out, they will get to free range during the day.

Whiski, have you ever tried the deep litter method? I do it with my 11 chickens. All summer I toss in grass clippings and wood chips to their hen house. In the fall I added leaves. I stir it up once in a while and add more "brown" things. I love to garden and compost so the deep litter method makes a lot of sense to me. The chickens droppings add all the "green" matter and as long as I add the brown and mix it up periodically it doesn't smell like fresh chicken poop in their hen house. In the spring I plan to remove their litter and pile it up for aging before I add it to the garden. Then I'll start fresh in their coop.
I had an abundance of wood chips because I had a tree chipping company dump 10 yards in my driveway last year so I used them about a foot or two deep in their run, too. I also worked really well because they scratch and dig a lot in them and keep them turned over well so that they aren't stepping in fresh poops very much.

 

[chickengarden]

I have 16 hens and get about 6-8 eggs/day now...up from 4-5/day a couple weeks ago. I don't run any artificial lights, so that they can have a break in the winter. ...ready for spring.

I love giving my girls a break in the winter, too.
By the way, where in WA are you?