Egg Laying and Free Ranging

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you find any studies please share a link here. I always like learning stuff.

 

[chkva]

Honestly there are not too many studies on this... I'm assuming probably because of the layer pellet industry. If they say that free range is better, then everyone will stop buying. If they leave it inconclusive then consumers can leave it to their own knowledge and the knowledge of others. Finding studies that show you that a product is not all it's cracked up to be are very hard to find...

 

[Aunt Angus]

If you find any studies please share a link here. I always like learning stuff.

Will do! I'm on my phone, but I will post links once I get back to my laptop. My phone is awkward to use.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This is an interesting thread! It makes sense that birds kept in confined quarters would need a feed with a specific percentage of protein, minerals, vitamins, etc., carefully formulated to meet their growth, maintenance and production needs to equal that of their more fortunate sisters who have the advantage of living in an enriched environment where they can see the sunshine, wallow in dust, walk on a carpet of grass, pluck at weeds and forbs and chase after bugs to their hearts' content!

Our backyard biddies have it all, don't they? And nature tells them what they need and how much and when! Life for them is a smorgasbord, a garden of delights, a live-in salad bar! In addition to all that Nature has to offer, we provide free-feed layer pellets (16% protein if I am not mistaken) and toss out a few handfuls of scratch twice a day; there is a dish of gravel & grit for their gizzards and another of oyster shell for egg production free for the taking, and of course fresh well water to slake their thirsty throats at all times. Kitchen scraps are of the highest quality and never include meat, fat or grease of any kind. The life of a chicken at Mrs. Cluckmore's Chicken Ranch & Spa is a life of ease and joy. Egg production falls off only during moult, broodiness, extreme heat or cold, the very short days of winter, and when a hen drops dead of old age. These are, to my mind, all excusable lapses. My own production falls off in these circumstances, although I admit I have not personally experienced moult yet. But it certainly looks uncomfortable! Oh... nor have I dropped dead. Yet. ;-)

 

[The Moonshiner]

I do both with basically the same birds. I free range all the birds I can and pen birds when used for breeding. In the breeding pens I feed 100% layer. Pellets or crumbles. The free range get unlimited of the same feed. The free range eggs look and taste better but when penned they always lay better. Not a huge difference but enough to surely notice.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I do both with basically the same birds. I free range all the birds I can and pen birds when used for breeding. In the breeding pens I feed 100% layer. Pellets or crumbles. The free range get unlimited of the same feed. The free range eggs look and taste better but when penned they always lay better. Not a huge difference but enough to surely notice.

This is exactly the kind of info I am seeking - a situation where birds in the different situations can be compared.

Are your free range birds the same breeds as those you pen for breeding? And are they roughly the same age?