Do chickens slow down eating for winter?

[GRB73]

Are they molting? My girls lose their appetites during the worst part of the molt. As they finish the molt, their appetite returns and they are little piggies once again.

Check the feed too. Sometimes, as I get to the bottom of a bag of feed (takes about 4-6 weeks for 3 chickens, depending on the time of year), the feed consistency is like powder and the girls don't like to eat it. Once I switch to a new bag of crumbles they can't get enough.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Sometimes, as I get to the bottom of a bag of feed (takes about 4-6 weeks for 3 chickens, depending on the time of year), the feed consistency is like powder and the girls don't like to eat it.

I let my feeders get nearly empty at least monthly and I put the powery feed from there and the bottom of the bag in a large plastic coffee can. I make a wet mash daily until gone. The girls love it. . GC

 

[paneubert]

A bit of math might help here.
There are various estimates regarding how much a hen eats during a day.
This estimate varies from breed to breed but a good rough guide average is 140g or 4.9 ounces.
In the laying season, again it varies with breed and other factors, a hen over a week will lay 5 eggs.
An average egg weighs 55g or 1.9 ounces.
All the weight of the egg must logically come from what the hen eats.
So, roughly when a hen is laying just over one third of her food intake gets used to make an egg. That is quite a large proportion.
Calories are important in winter to help keep warm, but hens don’t just rely on calorie intake for warmth. What keeps a hen warm is her ability to adjust her feathers in order to trap air which gets heated by radiant heat from her body. Some heat is inevitably lost because the feather arrangement isn’t a perfect insulator.
Generally hens are less active in the winter months and less activity means less calories burnt. In short chickens tend to conserve calories during the winter months.
So, the chickens primary method of keeping warm isn’t through burning calories, it’s through insulation and calorie conservation.
You can find some fairly convincing papers on the Internet that will tell you the world is flat.

Good post overall, but I have to mention that where the "All the weight of the egg must logically come from what the hen eats" logic breaks down is when you consider that the "water" weight of an egg is massive. I have dehydrated eggs for long term storage and I can tell you that massive quantities of dehydrated eggs will fit in one mason jar. Literally dozens and dozens of eggs in one jar. So unless you are factoring in the water consumption of the chickens, you can't attribute feed weight/consumption based simply on egg weight.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Good post overall, but I have to mention that where the "All the weight of the egg must logically come from what the hen eats" logic breaks down is when you consider that the "water" weight of an egg is massive. I have dehydrated eggs for long term storage and I can tell you that massive quantities of dehydrated eggs will fit in one mason jar. Literally dozens and dozens of eggs in one jar. So unless you are factoring in the water consumption of the chickens, you can't attribute feed weight/consumption based simply on egg weight.

How do you dehydrate eggs?

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

My chickens aren't eating as much. They are confined to a run most of the time. There has been some unusually cold weather for this time of the year and I figure they aren't as active as normal. But, when the cold spells break and it warms back up to normal, they eat all that I give them.

 

[paneubert]

Since I like to crunch weird numbers, here is a little more math that sort of has some fun with trying to figure out the content of an egg. Haha. It is fun to do this stuff.

Fat content of an egg is 4.75 g. Eggs contain just a trace amount of carbohydrates but are high in protein, with 6.28 g per serving. So that is about 11 grams of "stuff" that contributes to calories. Stuff that the chicken had to contribute by eating feed. There is the egg shell.....but I don't want to go into figuring out that. Although if you know the calcium percentage of the feed, would not be that hard to determine.

I found that "For the UK a whole large egg (for the USA this is an extra large egg) out of its shell weighs approximately 60g".

So 49 grams of that is essentially water/non nutritional since it already accounts for no egg shell. 80% water!

 

[paneubert]

How do you dehydrate eggs?

Don't want to derail the original conversation much, but the short answer is to blend eggs (mix the white and yolk), then pour a thin layer of the mix onto a dehydrator rack. I have one like this. The red circle thing is a solid plastic rack, so can handle liquids. They are showing it making a fruit leather from what I assume was really watery/blended strawberry or something.

Then when it is done dehydrating, you have a brittle yellow circle. Break that up into manageable chunks and blend to a powder in a blender. Then store in an airtight container. Use to make scrambled eggs or for baking by rehydrating the powder by adding about 3-4 times as much water as powder. So like half a cup water to 1/8 cup powder. Roughly.

Disclaimer that some people in the dehydrating "world" frown on dehydrating or storing foods with any significant amount of fat due to the chance it can go rancid in a shorter time. But I have seen no issues with it. I am still alive.

 

[Melky]

My birds eat the same each day without fail. If they left food in the feeder they could not get to it without me knocking it down into the feeder where they can reach it. I make a wet mash that is fermented.

 

[Shadrach]

Good post overall, but I have to mention that where the "All the weight of the egg must logically come from what the hen eats" logic breaks down is when you consider that the "water" weight of an egg is massive. I have dehydrated eggs for long term storage and I can tell you that massive quantities of dehydrated eggs will fit in one mason jar. Literally dozens and dozens of eggs in one jar. So unless you are factoring in the water consumption of the chickens, you can't attribute feed weight/consumption based simply on egg weight.

A fair point.