How many chickens?

[Zahboo]

We have 4 people in our family and we love to use eggs. Cakes, omlettes. We have bantams, beacoup de bantam! I am wanting some layers to just keep from spending so much on eggs and not having the joy of orange yolks and raising the girls myself. So yeah, do you think 8 hens would do it? We have a Andalusion, Lakevelder, and planning on the rest being EEs.

 

[ranchhand]

What's wrong with using the bantam eggs?

 

[Harrietsmum]

Do your bantams not lay? I only have bantams and I had enough eggs over the summer to give some away.

 

[Zahboo]

We hatch all the eggs they lay and mom doesn't like "little eggs" as she calls them. We give them away if we don't hatch them.

 

[gryeyes]

Plymouth Rock - Barred, AKA: Barred Rocks, are very nice layers.

I've read that the best way to estimate egg needs is to get a chicken per person in the household, plus one. That's for the MINIMUM number of eggs.

There's only one of me, I have 8 layers (currently) and I get six eggs every day. Sometimes seven, every now and then a full 8, but now that one of 'em is broody, I'm getting at least 5, maybe six a day.

I have all kinds of dual purpose chickens, so I get a colorful batch of eggs every day. Two of my girls ARE Lakenvelders - they are very good white egg layers.

 

[Zahboo]

Quote:
What's your opinion on Lakevelders besides layers? I heard they don't go broody but are flighty? I haven't really been able to mess with Juno yet.

 

[gryeyes]

My Millicent and Minerva aren't as personable as the rest of the flock. They tend to hang out on the outskirts of any group, especially when I'm giving treats. However, they were late additions and therefore lower in the pecking order. They're very sweet birds, very very quiet, but not "lovable" like many other breeds. They won't eat out of my hand; I have to toss their treats in their direction when the other chickens are busy right at my feet. I think they're quite attractive - mine are Golden Lakenvelders - and they're great layers. Carl the rooster tags them more often than any other girl, so much so that Millicent runs and hides to keep away from him! Minerva has roosting rights next to Carl, at night, and he protects her from Greta (a Black SexLink, bossy thing!).

Mine were a year old in March. Definitely no sign of broodiness.

However, they're still very dear to me. Here's a link to a thread I started when I thought one of them had drowned: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=358207&p=1

Dunno if any of that information helps you.