managing a old to new flock

[mamarosa]

Everything I know is what I have learned from this site about raising chickens and thank you for everything. I have truly enjoyed raising my 24 girls an 1 rooster Rudy...
The flock will be 3years old in June and from what I have read, egg production will decrease every year. ( Is this true) To avoid a drop in eggs I was going to get
25 new chickens and then as they become older blend them with the older flock and then cull the older flock in the fall. Is this how you do this??????
Or is there alternatives????? I feel bad, but I an not going to continue to feed chickens that don't produce. any imput would be highly appreciated
once again thanks for all your help over the years!!!!

:

 

[Ridgerunner]

Basically, yes. Hens normally drop production by 15% after each adult molt, except after the first adult molt. You've seen how nice those eggs are after the first adult molt and how nice the production is. After that second adult molt, production drops some (15% on average) but the eggs are still real nice.

I've got a system that I try to follow. You are further along, but I'll try to explain it from day 1.

Year 1 - Start with Group A with however many pullets you want. Keep them all.

Year 2 - Get Group B, half the pullets you want in your laying flock. Keep all of Group A until they molt, then choose half to keep and half to process. You have half of Group A left and all of Group B. Group B should be first year pullets that probably lay some while Group A is molting.

Year 3 - Get Group C, half the pullets you want in you laying flock. When the older ones go into molt, process the rest of Group A. You have Group C that hopefully will lay some while B molts.

Year 4 - Get Group D, half the pullets you want in your laying flock. When the molt starts, process Group B.

With this system, you have your full complement of hens laying big eggs until the molt starts, while the new pullets lay the small pullet eggs. You feed each group of hens through one molt and get the benefit of those nice large eggs they lay after that first molt, but you don't pay to feed them through a second molt.

Some people use a system something like this but base it on replaceing 1/3 of the flock every year instead of half. Many different ways to do it.

 

[brandislee]

Wow... that is amazingly practical information. I have been wondering about this in the back of my head as well... I get that people love their chickens, they're pets, etc, and I'm sure I will form some chicken attachments as well, but the long and short of this is that I am doing this for food for my family, and it's totally practical to not want to feed non or low production chickens through a molt and a winter.

Thanks! I'm going to write this all down in my chicken book!

 

[mamarosa]

Thanks Ridgerunner for the usefull information....yes I am a little further along but it still can work....I copied your plan for safe keeping and plan on following your
system Again, thanks so much!!!!!!!

 

[brandislee]

Alright, I was in the middle of writing this down and I had a thought- how will I know who to cull before the 2nd adult molt? The obvious answer is the lowest egg producers, but how do you know who is laying and who isn't? I mean, normally they'll lay in the nest box (or wherever) and unless they're going broody they just lay and leave, right? So how do I know who's laying what and when? Anyone have any tips?

 

[brandislee]

Nevermind... I just realized you only have to select who to cull out of a single group the second year, after that you just process the whole group, so knowing production doesn't seem to really be that huge of a deal...

 

[Ridgerunner]

This link helps you tell which hens are laying. There are different methods.

One method is the moist vent method. A hen with a small hard vent is not laying. One with a big soft moist vent probably is. I have not found the moist vent method to be totally reliable. Any pullet I have butchered with a small hard vent was not laying. That part is reliable. But I have butchered several with the big soft moist vent that also were not laying. It is an indication, not an absolute test.

http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Factsheets/Evaluating_egg_laying_hens.pdf

This might come in handy if you raise ten replacement pullets each year but only keep six.