May as well join up!

[SamT]

Ive been consulting the forums here since getting interested in chickens. Now that i have the hang of things i may as well contribute to this wealth of knowledge!

I have 10 Rhode Island red hens born 4-5-15. They began laying 9-20-15. I currently get 7-10 eggs a day, usually 8.
They live in a coop built from old pallets. Eat a ration of 30% crushed corn and 70% purina layer pellets. Since birth i have crushed every egg shell we have eaten and mixed that into their feed. They also get all the veggie table scraps and bad garden stuff. I threw a quail mineral block in about a month ago that I found onsale at a store!
My eggs are getting bigger daily now, i would call them medium on average. im hoping for some extra large eggs in the future!
Im always looking for free/cheap feed sources and I would call myself a "master scavenger" when it comes to building descent stuff on the cheap.

San

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to BYC, the easiest way to get Large eggs is to get breeds that lay them. I don't think you can feed hens into laying larger eggs if that is not in their genetic code.

Corn makes them fat but, does nothing for them nutritionally.

 

[SamT]

Welcome to BYC,  the easiest way to get  Large eggs is to get breeds that lay them.   I don't think you can feed hens into laying larger eggs if that is not  in their genetic code.

Corn makes them fat but, does nothing  for them nutritionally.

I picked the reds because i was under the impression they lay large brown eggs? What breeds may lay some bigger brown eggs?
My harvest yesterday was pretty good size eggs. From my reading I gather once they get a few years old they will lay fewer, but bigger eggs.

I just feed the corn to stretch the feed, its $6 a bag vs 14. I did see a bump in production when a switched, but they were ramping up anyway. My grandpa says im nuts for buying chicken food all together. He fed his milo and wheat only. Im thinking if switching once i establish what they are capable of on "the good feed"

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

 

[N F C]

I'm a RIR fan too, good layers and sassy personalities!

You might be interested in checking out this forum for some of your do-it-yourself projects:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16177/diy-self-sufficiency

Thanks for joining us!