Is this unusual?

[LizStreithorst]

The broiler I rescued and rehabilitated after it fell off the truck has now laid 4 eggs in 4 days. Is this production from a broiler the normal thing?

 

[sourland]

To me it sounds as if she is an over achiever. In reality it indicates that you are doing a great job in maintaining her. Well done.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not as unusual as some people may think. The parent flocks to the broilers are there to lay hatching eggs. Doesn't common sense suggest they would be bred to lay a lot of eggs, not just an egg every now and then?

 

[LizStreithorst]

I have read here that usually they develop problems leading to their death before they even reach laying age. I guess Sweetie takes after her mother rather than her dad.

I am trying to raise her well. I encourage her to be a normal hen. She is spending more and more time free ranging with my Light Brahmas but she can't keep up with them. She is a very slow mover. Yesterday the ladies introduced her to their favorite dusting place. She had never done that before. I have never in my life seen a chicken have such a wonderful time dusting.

The only thing is, she sleeps inside and lays her eggs on one of the dog's beds. She also has free access to their food. She much prefers it to her laying pellets. It's not supposed to be a balanced diet for a chickens but it's something I can't change. My dogs have always been able to eat free choice.

I've become very fond of Sweetie. I have considered hatching some of her eggs. The father would be my Light Brahma rooster. I don't guess that there would anything to gain from this other than the fact that when she dies I'll be able to remember her through her daughters.

 

[Compost King]

They are Hybrids... Hybrid vigor along with what @Ridgerunner said about the Parent Stock needing to mass produce eggs means if you do a great job of taking care of them they are going to lay well. Although I have not reached the stage of getting a Cornish X to lay (weeks away) my Red Rangers lay huge eggs often. I wouldn't recommend Meat Birds for an egg laying business as they eat way too much to be profitable.

Good job on the rescue, now you have a loyal layer.

 

[LizStreithorst]

Please let us know how yours do when they start laying. Sweetie lays the prettiest light beige/pinkish egg. It's a big egg, too!

 

[Mosey2003]

Are your dogs tall enough that you could put their bowls a bit higher, out of her reach? If you're trying to extend her life, you do NOT want her eating dog food. It's high protein.

 

[LizStreithorst]

No. The tallest dog I have is a Basset hound mix. What's the problem with high protein? I know protein is expensive. I thought that's why we limit it. The dog food has bone meal and meat protein. What's the problem with it.

Sweetie is laying an egg every 4 days then takes a day rest. In the evening, after I have locked the main flock in their house for the night, Sweetie goes out and picks around in the grass. She tries to go out with the other hens, but there are a couple that are still mean to her. She's looking good. Her legs are getting stronger.

 

[Mosey2003]

No. The tallest dog I have is a Basset hound mix. What's the problem with high protein? I know protein is expensive. I thought that's why we limit it. The dog food has bone meal and meat protein. What's the problem with it.

The problem with protein is you have a broiler you're trying to keep alive. High protein is what we feed broilers to make them grow faster. It's a conflict of interest in your particular bird's case.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I'm baffled that you have a Basset Hound that will eat 'free choice.' It doesn't all disappear in minutes?!

Slowly transition chicken to pellets by mixing some into dog dish?
Try making a special chicken dinner. Not of chicken, for chicken, should say. I enticed some traumatized ducks to eat their new pellet diet by mixing it with water til it was more like oatmeal, plus a variety of scratch grains, and lawn forages. Now they have an appetite for good old dry pellets I'm guessing a chicken can be converted in a similar manner, there's lots of options you can mix with her pellets.