Need some advise for breeds.

[bostick18]

Totally agree. 6 eggs in 7 days which is in between your 5 to 7 range is 85% out of 365 days that's 310 eggs .. My birds take anywhere from 2 to 4 months off for winter and molt. That puts us at 250-190 eggs from each hen. You think your birds take a less time off?

 

[bostick18]

Just to clear things up that's a 50% egg per day average which means every other day so 3 to 4 eggs per week. When somebody says that the average chicken they bought from the feed store or the guy down the road lays 6 or 7 eggs a day they aren't talking about holding that over an entire year. It's literally a record breaking number. They are speaking in the best times of year at the best ages they will absolutely lay that. But over the year if you can get an egg every other day from your chickens its nothing to cull your flock over.

 

[bostick18]

6 or 7 eggs a week

 

[Beekissed]

Totally agree. 6 eggs in 7 days which is in between your 5 to 7 range is 85% out of 365 days that's 310 eggs .. My birds take anywhere from 2 to 4 months off for winter and molt. That puts us at 250-190 eggs from each hen. You think your birds take a less time off?

The BAs most definitely do, as they molt lightly and quickly and they rarely, if ever, go broody. The WRs take time off for brooding and raising young also, so their return to laying cycles are longer and can vary, depending on how good the laying line.

I'd say the average BA I've had takes less than 4-6 wks to molt and get back to steady laying, maybe a month off in the winter if they are older than 2 yrs...if that molt occurs in the winter months, those two coincide and so one break for two things. Even when molting, some of my BAs have laid 2-3 eggs per week. For winter, depending on their age, they may slow down to 4-5 eggs per wk but ramp right up to daily eggs come spring, some will lay 6 days out of 7 in the winter. Of course, as they continue to age, these numbers can slowly decrease and adjust but even BAs at 5-6 yrs of age have done better than 2-3 eggs per week on regular laying cycles/peak laying.

 

[Beekissed]

Just to clear things up that's a 50% egg per day average which means every other day so 3 to 4 eggs per week. When somebody says that the average chicken they bought from the feed store or the guy down the road lays 6 or 7 eggs a day they aren't talking about holding that over an entire year. It's literally a record breaking number. They are speaking in the best times of year at the best ages they will absolutely lay that. But over the year if you can get an egg every other day from your chickens its nothing to cull your flock over.

Nope... past the first year, they are allowed to lay every other day and still stay in the flock. After the second year, they are allowed to lay every other day in peak times of the year and still stay in the flock.

What you would normally cull your flock over are birds that are not laying daily, even in peak season, go broody too often and take too long to return to regular cycles, take too long to recover from molt, or take the whole winter off unless they are aged. Any of those or any combination of those makes for a bird that is not considered a good layer, she's just a chicken. She'll still make for good eating, so she is producing something after all.

 

[bostick18]

I'm saying that 2 to 4 eggs per year in a chicken is very normal 5 to 6 is very very rare and 0 to 2 is something to cull for. 300 eggs a year is borderline unbelievable. Don't kill your birds if they lay less than the internet or some people say. I promise your chickens are doing their very best to produce an egg as often as they can if their needs of nutrition andand health are met, And that number usually falls around 3 to 4 a week for the first laying year.

 

[bostick18]

I also think birds lay for longer than they say. Their production if cared for properly won't fall as much as some say. I have many birds in my flock over two that are still considered by some to be great layers. Each bird is different and needs to be treated that way. Just because it turns two and a half doesn't mean it should be dinner.

Although I have many clients that do just that and buy 8 month old birds every year and put last year's birds in the freezer. Nothing wrong with either method. Just differences in opinion and both are right

 

[teaton]

Good to know, Thanks!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Nutrena Nature Wise makes a "Feather Fixer" that is good for molting birds. I gave it to mine this year, and those birds that were not long into their molt when they started eating it did recover faster than the girls who had started molting earlier and were still eating layer food for the first half of their molt. Though light/weather was surely a factor, too.

@teaton , have you looked into Naked Necks for your DP birds? I keep mine just for eggs, which they lay plenty of (though maybe not as much as RIR), but I've heard people rave about the quality of their meat, especially the juiciness. Not sure if you have to have the Cou Nu/Poulet Rouge variety if you want to use them for meat, maybe someone with more experience in that department could weigh in on that. . . . But I have known them to have amazing temperaments, not to mention being very hardy and having fewer feathers.

Feather Fixer is essentially a gimmick.... It is 2% more protein than layer. You could achieve that by switching to a flock raiser or a grower or anything with more protein than layer.

Just so you know.

I actually am looking at Naked Neck...

But now I'm gonna have to go get me some of those BA! I already wanted them last year, but beekissed makes them sound great!

 

[teaton]

Feather Fixer is essentially a gimmick.... It is 2% more protein than layer. You could achieve that by switching to a flock raiser or a grower or anything with more protein than layer.

Just so you know. 

I actually am looking at Naked Neck...

But now I'm gonna have to go get me some of those BA! I already wanted them last year, but beekissed makes them sound great!

Alot of people like them and ive also heard they were good for meat!