California-Southern

[Backyard Buddies]

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I think it's one of the funniest things to throw a pancake, Frisbee style, out the door and watch them start the chase.

So funny! There are things that my girls just love and other things other people's chickens enjoy but mine do not. Mine won't touch bananas. They enjoy yogurt, a lot, plus some fruits, and noodles. Mostly they get their feed plus some high protein grower feed to bump up the protein.

 

[baustin]

I guess mine aren't too picky. I give them Layena and scratch and alfalfa but also toss them left over everything from the kitchen. They pick at what is in a peel but leave the peel. My hens started laying in May and they're laying some pretty good size brown eggs. I've never measured or weighed them though. I have nine high production reds, bred for eggs and not meat. I have a roo called Daddy'O

 

[Linkz317]

hi everyone I live in landers ca. I have about 6 chickens and an emu. I have never thought of tossing a panacake out the door. they really like it that much.

 

[flower]

When chickens forage, they eat green plants, broccoli, lettuce and just about all young tender greens plus grubs, insects and worms. Fenced in a yard, they still love vegetable greens (except onions and maybe a few others). I give my hens grass, dandelion and other plants that are in wrong spot. Mine also love cooked grains, rice, oatmeal and any style pancake or bread. Some times they appear to ignore some stuff but usually it disappears after a bit. Most left-over casserole dishes and all types of cooked foods are greeted gleefully. My birds must be either bored or really, really need a ROO.

 

[Carlyle]

Now, everybody, don't ridicule me - remember these are my first chickens - so I am learning as I go. You may recall that I have been marvelling at these 4 maniac egg layers I got in Vista. They have been consistently laying 3 eggs each and every day. From my reading and discussions with other people, I thought this was very remarkable - for chickens in winter. But now, for the last couple of weeks - starting coincident with the bad weather - I have been getting 4 eggs every day. This seems remarkable and bizarre to me - but 'tis the truth. My wife (who doesn't know squat about chickens) says that 1 of the chickens must have been a late bloomer or came from a different "litter" - and that before only 3 of the chickens were laying and now all 4 are. Opinions?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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Chicken egg laying patterns can be an interesting thing. Each chicken lays on her own schedule and has her own distinct pattern, and even that will change with the time of year, molting, breed of chicken, etc. The general rule is that a chicken lays an egg every 25 hours, which means that she'll lay later and later in the day until she finally skips a day, then will lay early the next morning, resetting her cycle again. Thus, it wouldn't be impossible for one of the girls to be skipping a day and then every once in a while to get them all laying together, only to have a day pop up where one or even a couple of the girls fails to lay that day. But, being the individuals that they are, chickens don't necessarily follow the rules.

In high production breeds such as yours, it's not uncommon to get them laying every day, so your wife's theory of one of them being a late bloomer or younger than the others may very well be correct. With them being the same breed, it's a bit harder to do this, but you can often observe differences in the size, shape, and color of a shell to determine which chicken laid the egg. This involves spying on who's in the nest box when a particular egg is laid when they're all of the same breed.

I've kept a calendar on my girls since they were chicks, but since only two were of the same breed, it was pretty easy to keep track of whom was laying eggs. Even though I got all three at the same time and could tell by feather development that all were the same age, the EE laid first at 20.5 weeks, the first RIR at 23 weeks, 6 days, and the second RIR at 27 weeks. The first RIR had smaller eggs than the second RIR, so even without observation of the nest box, I could tell who laid a particular egg. The EE's egg was green so there was no confusion there.

I work from home, so I could also listen for the "I laid an egg" call and would often mark down on the calendar what time an egg was laid and can confirm that the later in the day theory was correct even for them, but more so when they weren't brand new layers. Your girls' patterns will change over time as they age.

One more benefit of knowing which girl laid an egg is that the second RIR developed a reproductive disorder and would sometimes lay soft eggs, sometimes even without shells. This disorder isn't uncommon in high production birds such as yours so it's something to keep an eye on. We lost her earlier in the month but were able to bring her in the house when the end was near so we could give her lots of love and care. So, now I'm down to two girls until we can add a couple more to the flock and start all over again learning who laid what.

 

[Carlyle]

Wow - thanks for the extensive reply. One conception (misconception?) I had is that rather than, say, every 25 hours, that they lay an egg every 14 hours of sunlight. Hence my extreme surprise that I'm getting an egg per day in winter. I had calculated (ha!, yes, I'm an engineer) that I would get - if I was lucky - 1 egg per chicken per day in summer and maybe every 2 days in winter.

 

[flower]

Dear backyard Buddies, Very informative post above ! I have the same chickens as Carlyle. One of them is a bit smaller than the rest and usually goes in to check tha nesting box after I remove the four eggs. I haven't taken the time to observe who lays which eggs but have noticed the differences in the egg pattern. One of the hens did make the eggs without a shell on three different occasions, now I am guessing that I might have one girl who will potentially not last very long ? And that is my question to you ?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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Since this is your girls' first year of laying, they may very well lay through the winter THIS YEAR, but maybe not next or perhaps just less often than this year. My girls were hatched in late March 2006 and laid well their first winter, but with the big molt that comes when they're about 18 months, they slowed their second winter. Now nearly 4 years old, they definitely take time off from laying from late fall into early winter. I just got my first egg this week from one girl and the other one is doing the "squat" so should be laying any day now. Last year, the EE took a 7 month break whereas the RIRs only stopped for a couple of months. You can do supplemental light as some people do, but there are two opinions to that method, especially with production breeds - with one side saying that the break does them good and others wanting to maximize their production. My girls are pets so I go the natural route with them and let them have the break. If you want both to go the natural route and have eggs every winter, you'll need to get a couple of new chicks every spring or at least every other year.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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Since your girls are new layers, the eggs without shells may not be an indication of a problem in your girl. Some girls just take a little bit longer to get it down. Just be sure that they have free-choice oyster shell available at all times and that you're on a good quality lay feed with calcium. My girl that developed the problems with her shells laid quite normally for the first couple of years of her life and didn't develop the shell problem until 2008. She would have periods of normal shell production during that time but much of the time her eggs were oddly shaped or without shells. Penny had a really good life, even if it was shorter than it might have been. We're grateful that we had her with us for nearly 4 years since they're pets rather than just egg producers. Commercial layers are kept for only 18 months, so it worked out for her as well. We do miss her a lot though. She was one smart girl. We have a picket fence that separates the veggie garden from the backyard lawn. If the gate was not latched but was shut, she could open the gate by putting one foot on the bottom rung and then scooting the other one like she was riding a skateboard. Funny girl.