Basic egg laying question

[jnicholes]

Hi everyone,

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but I have a very simple question about egg laying in chickens. I am working on planning out my flock for when I start raising chickens again. I haven’t raised chickens in a while, but I’m going to start up again, with egg prices the way they are. I figured it would be cheaper.

A little background, last time I raised chickens, I had 10 golden sex links. I had way too many eggs, and had to give most away. I was getting about 9 to 10 eggs a day.

Here’s my question, are there certain breeds of chickens that lay eggs slower, like once every 2 to 3 days? I don’t want to get overwhelmed with eggs like last time.

If that is not possible, how do I preserve eggs and what I do with all the eggs I get?

If you need more details, I will post them. I haven’t built the run or the coop yet. I’m just in the planning stages.

Any help figuring this out will be appreciated.

Jared

 

[ExoticPetOwner]

In the beginning, raising chickens for eggs can be more expensive, so I definitely recommend watching/researching ways to save when you have chickens! HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO SAVE! There's certain chicken breeds that will lay less eggs a year than some, but not any that will not lay for a few days. Some chickens will stop laying because of an environmental change or stress.. So you might get lots of eggs one day and not get any the next. REASONS WHY CHICKENS AREN'T LAYING EGGS! Geese lay every 2 days if you're interested in something like that? They do lay larger eggs, though. You can also have less chickens if you don't want many eggs if that's easier. You can preserve eggs besides refrigerating them by:
- Freezing them
- Dehydrating them
- Freeze drying them
- Water glassing them
However, eggs can last a while in the fridge or unwashed and on the counter!
CLICK ME TO READ MORE ABOUT WASHED VS UNWASHED EGGS!


* Hope this helps! Also, the words that are in a brown-orange color and/or capitalized have a link attached to them.

 

[CloneFly]

Jerseys, EEs, Salmon Favarolles and Silkies would definitely lay less than other breeds. My Jerseys and Easter Eggers lay about 3-4 (maybe 5) eggs a week. Pretty cute breeds too if you don't mind the talking from the jerseys

 

[Krugerrand]

If you can track down somebody breeding chickens for show, they typically lay fewer eggs, as they're bred for their appearance. If you're fine with those not up to show standards, you can often get them at a lower price than the others.

I'm guessing by the overabundance of eggs, you aren't looking to cull them for meat. (They stop laying in freezer camp.)

Also, chickens slow down as they age. So, let's say you're up for 12 chickens. You buy 4 chickens to get started and wait 2-3 years and by 4 more. Then, after another 2-3 years buy another 4. This way, you have a decent supply of reliable layers. Plus, the others are contributing but not as much. When attrition takes you down to 8 chickens, you can get 4 more.

You can do the same for nine chickens in sets of 3 .... but depending on where you source them, sometimes it is difficult to get fewer than 4. Plus, integration of new birds into the flock has challenge. Having a group works better than have fewer.

 

[Krugerrand]

oh ... you can also look for older hens. That has risks (health of birds). But if it works for you, some people are looking to turn their flock over for younger hens and would be glad to unload the slow layers.

 

[RoyalChick]

Pick heritage breeds rather than production breeds. They lay at a more reasonable pace. But they also eat more so it won’t be as cheap unless you free range them most of the time.

 

[jnicholes]

Thank you for all the advice so far. I really appreciate it.

 

[Krugerrand]

In the beginning, raising chickens for eggs can be more expensive, so I definitely recommend watching/researching ways to save when you have chickens! HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO SAVE! There's certain chicken breeds that will lay less eggs a year than some, but not any that will not lay for a few days. Some chickens will stop laying because of an environmental change or stress.. So you might get lots of eggs one day and not get any the next. REASONS WHY CHICKENS AREN'T LAYING EGGS! Geese lay every 2 days if you're interested in something like that? They do lay larger eggs, though. You can also have less chickens if you don't want many eggs if that's easier. You can preserve eggs besides refrigerating them by:
- Freezing them
- Dehydrating them
- Freeze drying them
- Water glassing them
However, eggs can last a while in the fridge or unwashed and on the counter!
CLICK ME TO READ MORE ABOUT WASHED VS UNWASHED EGGS!


* Hope this helps! Also, the words that are in a brown-orange color and/or capitalized have a link attached to them.

I'm hoping to experiment with water glassing this summer.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

My opinion is that saving money on eggs may or may not happen. Therefore make sure you're okay with the outcome even if it's the fact that you spent more. I think that if you're successful in saving money, it's a very small difference unless you're just not going to feed them (bad idea.) So with that being said, I find that Barnevelders lay later and less frequently. It's a roller coaster because when they molt and during winter you can go from 9-10 / day to 1-2. I feel the problem of what to do with to many eggs is a problem I'm happy to have. If I'm over run and I've already given them to friends, family and neighbors then dinner is "Taco Egg bake" I've made it with 30eggs.

 

[jnicholes]

Jerseys, EEs, Salmon Favarolles and Silkies would definitely lay less than other breeds. My Jerseys and Easter Eggers lay about 3-4 (maybe 5) eggs a week. Pretty cute breeds too if you don't mind the talking from the jerseys

You know, I’ve always wanted to try Easter Eggers.