Just thought I'd share.....I see alot of ?'s on this subject here.

[greenSearcher]

I can see a direct correlation between protein and laying. I feed 17% normally, but when I get freezer burned meat or too many eggs, I will give them a protein boost everning treat. Especially when I feed eggs back, I will see a 20% increase the next day in eggs. A nice thank you.

And yes, molting is starting, my EE girls have all lost their beards, so they have these little pink dewlaps. Pin feathers elsewhere. No surprise that I am getting only one aqua egg a day now.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Quote:
Remember that snakes, possums, rats and skunks will also steal eggs!

 

[catdaddyfro]

Just wanted to respond to all the thank yous and you all are welcome too. I figured it was a good time to resurrect this thread as I know there were less then 50,000 members when I posted this 2 years ago and we have gained a whole bunch of members since then. Glad I can do a little to educate some on a little bit of my experiences and not to say all my info is gospel but it works for me and if anybody has anything to add feel free to jump on in.

G'day everybody

Jeff

 

[LegginMF12]

Quote:
Remember that snakes, possums, rats and skunks will also steal eggs!

I live in the high desert, I have been up here 8 yrs ridden hundreds of hours horse back day and night and I don't live in town. I have only seen one possum, no skunks and it was too hot out for the snakes to be active yet. I am pretty sure it was the dog as I see him cruise the coop several times a day. If coop door is propped open only enough to let the chickens in no eggs end up missing, also if I am cleaning the coop Cletus will come in and check the nesting boxes! Good thing he's an old man now and I love him! LOL

 

[lynn1961]

Ok, so talk about spoiled chickens, when my girls start laying down on the job of egg production I make them cornbread. The corn bread has powdered eggs (extra protein), powdered milk, and peppers, the peppers induce them to drink more water, the added protein is good for them, they lay better in a day or so after the chicken cornbread, they love it, and I get a kick out of watching them chase each other around for the pieces when it is almost gone. A side note, be sure and let the family know it is chicken cornbread, DH did not like it quiet as much as the girls do, was way too funny LMAO seeing his face when he asked me what in the world was up with it.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:

How freekin' hillarious. I can only imagine the expression as he took a big ol' bite outta that fine looking piece of corn pone.

Reminds me of a time a friend of mine made some Spinach dip (

) I know right, but anyway her brother got him a chip and made a big ol' swath right though the middle of the mess (you know some people actually like the stuff, well when prepared properly that is) and tossed it into his mouth and man you should've seen the look on his face when that taste hit him it was like he'd just bit off into battery terminal corrosion or something. He started holding his fingers in a way to indicate a crucifix and shaking his head like don't anybody even dare try it ....or else. Anyway he immediately got rid of that and asked his sister WTH is wrong with that blankety-blank dip and a few other choice words that I shall not mention here on this Family forum (she's really known to be a great cook and such, well most of the time). He said I haven't tasted anything that bad since you made (buttermilk gravy) double

out at the deer camp the time we were outta reg. milk and you thought that it would be just fine to use as a substitute.

I don't even think the deer hounds would touch that crap.

Oh BTW she later on figured out what she'd left out of the dip and fixed it but it took some serious persuasion to get any takers right away. It was the package of onion soup mix she'd left out.

G'day everybody.

Jeff

 

[Bravo]

I have to agree with diet affecting laying. I notice it in my laying flock which is why I feed a 20% protein pellet and bump the protein content by adding 1# BOSS per 10 birds daily. I don't feed my birds scratch but as a treat I will give 20 birds the equivalent of 2C cracked corn mixed with 2C calf manna every other day. I also give fresh fruit, veggies and leafy-greens daily as a treat.

My established laying flock has thrived on this, especially since I have BCM's who are larger birds and IME require that higher protein to lay regularly.

On the flip side, I have 20, 28-week week old girls and only 2 are laying. In this case, I don't think diet has anything to do with it. I just think egg laying is extremely low on the priority list