Official BYC Poll: How Do You Expand Your Egg Laying Flock?

[Lady of McCamley]

I've over the years bought chicks, incubated chicks, bought hens. I brought disease in with purchased hens. Never again. I got tired of constantly replacing feed store breeds that played out early.

Now? I have a sustainable flock carefully selected for my flock from best bred and hatched from my flock. I only get new chicks brooding my fertilized eggs with my broody hens from parents that are my strongest and best.

I am seeing increased longevity and health with increased savvy brooders who can keep chicks alive in the main flock.

I've focused on darker brown layers and olive eggers....all mutts...selecting for temperament and health and flock savvyness.

So far, after 10 years, I'm arriving at a nicely sustainable flock.

LofMc

 

[BDutch]

So far I have just purchased sexed chicks(6 week olds) I am hoping for a broody to hatch some new additions.

Only sexed chicks? Hatching with broodies only works if you have a rooster! (and a breed /at least one chicken that will go broody of course.)

 

[aart]

"Natural breeding"??
...isn't most breeding 'natural', not many use AI.
That line item should maybe say 'hatching with a broody hen'?

I have used an incubator, broody hens, and purchased day olds to get more layers.
Cockerels and older hens are slaughtered for meat to keep the winter population the right size for housing available.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

If considering specific laying breeds, I usually just buy chicks from my local feed store. But where I also collect eggs from my game varieties, I reproduce those through hens going broody and through artificial incubation. I’ve got somewhere around 50-60 or so bitties running around the farm yard at the moment and around 30 in the brooders. I have another 30 thereabouts in the incubators. I would guess that of the hen hatched and raised bitties, I lose around half in the first 2 weeks to either weather or predators (including fire ants). If they make it past the first 2 weeks, they are much more likely to survive.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Only sexed chicks? Hatching with broodies only works if you have a rooster! (and a breed /at least one chicken that will go broody of course.)

I have a few broody breeds, and I realize eggs need to be fertile to hatch, you can buy them that way ya know, you don't need a rooster. No need to be snarky

 

[BDutch]

I have a few broody breeds, and I realize eggs need to be fertile to hatch, you can buy them that way ya know, you don't need a rooster. No need to be snarky

Sorry, sometimes I react too spontaneous . I don’t have a rooster either and bought fertilised eggs too this year.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Sorry, sometimes I react too spontaneous . I don’t have a rooster either and bought fertilised eggs too this year.

I know, I've been following some of your threadsAll good, no worries

 

[M-H-Fielding]

I get new hens from the local 4Hers, sometimes they give a few away.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I incabat my own eggs. My hens go broody And hatch chicks. They don't seem to understand to go broody one at a time! I've got 6 broody hens right now. Or I go buy more bantam chicks.

 

[Silexian]

There is nothing better than hatching and raising your own chickens. From selecting which roosters and hens will be mated together. Gathering the most perfectly shaped and uniformly sized eggs.,Then anxiously awaiting them to hatch. To watching the chicks grow. Praying that their genetics mix like you hope they would. So you have an improved generation. To start the selection process from again.