How Are you managing?????

[Oregon Blues]

31 hens need a lot of feed. For the number of eggs you are getting, I suggest that you do some serious culling. You've got some freeloaders out there.

Also, pay attention to what the local wildlife is getting away with out of your feeders.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
The locals get Zilt .. I feed inside.



C.

 

[ECBW]

Clay,

Sounds like you are some where near 50% production rates. As a hobbyist, I would be satisfied with 50%. I do have 2 old birds that lay infrequently. My flock also gets about 2 hours of free ranging of bugs and grass.

My local Agway is saying that corn price is dropping so feed price will follow soon.

Have you checked for waste?

 

[carrlr]

I was going through way more feed, before switching to pellets. Seems like they get more satisfied with the pellets, thus cutting my overall costs. Right now mine are almost all going thro a molt, so egg production is way down.

 

[Wynette]

There's a whole lot that goes into a discussion like this - and as of yet, no one has mentioned the time of year. Most chooks are slowing down, or stopped completley due to molt or time of year. Some folks put light on them all year 'round to force continued laying, but I still don't believe they lay quite as well in the dark months, even with the extra light. I don't know many folks who truly feel their chooks pay for themselves in eating egg sales, as there are so many things to figure in (electricity for lighting/to heat waterers, feed containers, even cost of gas to run to the grain elevator & back home) - all this stuff figures into the cost of eggs. Then, consider how long you raise them before you even GET eggs. Sigh. For me, I just enjoy what I'm getting in eggs, as do my eating egg customers, and I haven't tried to figure out the "cost" of my chooks in a very long time...I think, maybe, I don't want to know.

 

[Fred's Hens]

For those whose "hobby" must also make a profit, the answer lies in a couple of areas. First, high laying hens. If you are all about eggs, eggs, and more eggs, you're pretty much forced to consider Leghorns for white eggs and ISA Brown or similar for brown eggs. Those are the industry leaders, and yes, you'll have to turn them over every year to 18 months. Again, this is if you want to deal with the business side of things.

Second, you'll have to find a better source of feed than 40 lb bags at a retail store. You'll have to find an old fashioned feed mill than sacks in a generic, string tie closure kind of place. 100 lbs at $19.50 makes your price look very, very expensive. That is for a premium, 17% Hubbard layer mash.

Ranging helps a lot. If they can get even 10-15% of their intake from ranging, that's a big plus. Unfortunately, up north, our season is fairly short, so it only helps so much. Ration feeding to prevent loss of feed to rodents is also very important. No feed out at night. Period.

Not everyone HAS to make a profit from their hobby. But for those who must, the final key is having great customers who are willing to pay the area's premium price for eggs. That premium in our local area is quite low, making all these management choices even more acute.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Not trying to make a profit, just trying to cut the costs and keep my family happy. My boys 3 and 6 can go through 2 dozen a week.. They LOVE eggs... But when the eggs start costing more than $7 a dozen due to feed costs it's hard to justify.

My birds are laying an average of 10 eggs A WEEK right now due to the molt. But in early summer when egg laying is at it's peak I was getting around 12 eggs a day from 31 hens. So they aren't high yield birds.

And I did switch to pellets and it really did cut into the overall expense...Even with mash there was almost no waste, the floor around the feeder is almost always spotless. They have 24/7 access to 15,000+ square feet of grass bug, and fruits trees till the weather turns really cold, so they do get to range as much as they want.

I don't want industry layers. I like to process the older birds for when they get too past their laying prime. I'd like a mix of Buckeyes (meat) and RIR (eggs). My girls are just turned 3 years old so it's time to rotate anyway. Time to make stock, fill my freezer with ground chicken and look for new chicks.

Discussions like this are why I love BYC.. Thank you all!!!!

Clay

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I think you can find better layers and still have the breeds you want. They may not be show quality, but they'd be good layers.

I've had some beautiful show quality birds in the past, but some of them weren't my best layers. You can't select for everything at once in a breeding plan and that isn't always at the top of some breeders goals, compared to winning. Especially earlier in their efforts. My hatchery quality birds of the same breed have been much better layers, although not always the most beautiful.

Do you have an idea of which chickens were your better layers in the summer? Those would be the best ones to keep. At the least, keep the best layers right now. Do you use supplemental lighting? If they're eating all winter, you might want them laying all winter. Plan on getting some new chickens next year. You can do more culling in the flock next year.

 

[ECBW]

My strategy is a 3-year cycle. A third of the flock gets replaced each year... resource leveling (still some peaks and valleys but more even).

 

[Clay In Iowa]

I do know which ones are the best layers and do plan to keep them. I also know the slackers in the bunch and they are out...

Yes I do suplement the lighting for a year round consistent 18 hour day. It does seem to help.

Thanks
C.