Egg Production Tracking

[FrozenChicken]

Do any of you track your egg production? Since we keep a flock of 80-100 birds we have undertaken writing each day how many eggs are collected. It is put down on a spreadsheet along with sales etc. The results are pretty interesting as even with different sized flocks a yearly pattern is pretty much revealed. We have tracked for 2 years now.
2006 2007
948 1105
610 841
776 498
1019 1408
1022 1681
998 1524
1034 1613
727 1319
829 867
893 580
1598
1578


Months in bold are months the birds are confined to barn due to winter temperatures. The other months egg production in lost when eggs are laid outside the barn is done as also broodiness and molting occurs.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Wow, that really is interesting. They say that production goes down in the heat of the summer, and in the winter, but I'm not seeing that except for maybe Aug. Hum

 

[FrozenChicken]

Well if you could collect all the eggs during summer months it would be highest by much further. I had 6 broody hens and found numorous nests of eggs under sheds, in an old dog house etc. None of it can be tracked

unless I follow the hens around all day. The birds go into molt in Sept - Oct and outside temperatures drop to 0 - 10 Celcuis so I think that affects production as well. The birds are enjoying their last couple weeks of being outside. I should see a spike increase once they are inside for the first bit then a decline towards the end of winter etc. It's very predictable.

 

[Marlinchaser]

Question about keeping indoors. Does this mean you do not let your chickens out in the winter??

 

[FrozenChicken]

I live in northern Alberta ,temperatures plummet to -40 Celcuis during winter months and average -15 to -25 Celcuis. Snowfall is generally high , waste high deep some winters. It would be a death sentence to leave your hens out year round here.
They get to go out on mild days -5 to 0. I clear an area by the hatch door and put some straw down. The hens will have access outside til around November 15 and will likely not see outside til March sometime.

 

[sunnychooks]

Wow! It's cold up there!!! Now I see where you got your user name!

 

[Marlinchaser]

Quote:
If that is the criteria, I guess mine will be confined for about 3 days in Jamuary.

We dont have much real cold weather here, just checking to see how long yours have to stay inside.

 

[silkiechicken]

Same here, if that was the criteria, they could be out side all the time... I don't think I've seen single digit temps in years.

 

[FrozenChicken]

Marlinchaser wrote:
If that is the criteria, I guess mine will be confined for about 3 days in Jamuary. We dont have much real cold weather here, just checking to see how long yours have to stay inside.

Here the cold is most bitter from late November to around the end of Febuary. It gets dark about 4:00pm so again artificial light is needed in the barn.​

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Mine have only been laying two months but, I have been keeping a chart. We got 317 eggs last month from 12 pullets. I was happy. The month of September I think was in the low 200's but, that was their first month and we had a rooster issue.