I'm not happy.

[rancher hicks]

I'm not happy with the numb. of eggs I get each day. How can I tell which arenn't laying. Today I saw a dominique in the nest but checked later and no egg. what gives.
I talkied wi/ some girls a tsc and they say they feed there birds sweet feed and cracked corn only. what abiout that?
anyone heere got some info on laying feed? they wnt to share. I noticed that blue seal has more sodium in it. been pulling tags and comparing ingredients.
get maybe 13-14 eggs a day from 22 hens. different breeds. want to know wihich breeds to get rid of and replace.
friends losing jobs need more eggs to give.

 

[wombat]

Different breeds lay different numbers of eggs per week.

This will also vary by individual, to some extent, by age, by nutrition, by stress, by weather, by season, and by the number of hours of daylight.

I get about an egg a day from my various sex-links. I get about 5 eggs a week, perhaps a bit more, from my RIRs and RID-mutts. I get 3-4 eggs a week from Orps, but that's from a very small sample size. So far, I'd have to say that Golden Comets have been the most productive for me. I really like the RIRs too. Those numbers are all estimates for peak laying age, non-winter months.

If you want white eggs, white leghorns are probably the top producers you'll find anywhere. However, I think the main reason my mother thought I was "nuts for getting chickens when you don't have to"

was that my grandfather had leghorns, and they were all mildly psychotic (in their defense, they were not pets). I'll take the nice brown eggs from my RIRs and feed a few more birds, though ...

There are plenty of good layers out there to choose from ...

Here's a chart I like, because it is easy to scroll through ... it has egg color, size, and productivity listed by breed.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html


I can't help you on the feed much, I've always used Purina, never tried anything else.

 

[Renee']

I don't think it would be wise to only feed sweet feed and corn to your girls. You should stick with a layer feed, it's geared towards egg laying/production. If you over feed corn it can kill them. I think it causes a liver problem?? Are your girls confined to a coop/run? If not, maybe they are laying somewhere other than the nest. (Two weeks ago I found 20 eggs under a bush!)

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI1182.html

 

[KareyABohr]

IMO I think egg production is really breed and individual specific. Sure a good feed will help. Have you checked pin bones to see if they are even able to lay? If the pin bones are together the hen is a dud. Maybe they are too young? Just thowing some ideas out there.

 

[digitS']

Quote:
What about that? I'd say that those girls are NUTZ!

As far as I know, the only guarantee to a "sweet feed" formula is that it is sweet. It's got beet pulp or molasses or both. Cracked corn and sweet feed: corn and sugar with some fiber, I suppose.

Without adequate protein, there will be zero eggs. I'm not saying that there's no protein in sweet feed. You'd have to read the label but I doubt if there's been any effort to balance whatever protein it has so that the birds can turn it into egg protein.

Sweet feed is for animals that are having health problems or that you want to fatten.

. . . only what I understand of the product and just my 2¢.

Steve

PS. Neil, that's a good resource.

 

[acdoc]

I dont think 14 eggs from 22 hens is that bad this time of year

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
if you don't have light on them, that's great for this time of year, also are they pullets or hens, and check thier backsides if there spread wide there laying. age also has a lot to do with lay

 

[L*A*G*]

if layers need a lot of protein, then would it help to feed them cat food?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

L*A*G* :

if layers need a lot of protein, then would it help to feed them cat food?

cat food is really only needed during molt, 16% to 18% protein other wise, there is a lot of things that effect lay. light, protein, light, strain of bird. you can have leghorns that don't lay worth beans, its depends on a lot of things​