Okay, some seemingly dumb questions, in one post.

[SharkmanDan]

Alright. I feel like I've asked too many newbie questions, already, but I still have questions. I guess I'll ask here, and hope I'm not sounding like an idiot. I am totally new to raising chickens, guineas and turkeys. We started, because we love eggs for breakfast, AND need bug control. We are not likely to be too prone to cooking our own flock, often, but, certainly love the idea of lots of eggs.
First and possibly the dumbest question. I keep reading things, that are not outright saying, but implying, that chickens lay eggs, seasonally. Possibly not at all, or much less so, in the winter. Is this true. Is it maybe more true for some breeds than others?
Second, I used to think, that chickens lay multiple eggs per day. Then I read that this is not true, and that depending on the hen, and her breed, you might get one every day, or most days, or every other day, or only one, or so a week. In my short experience, this seemed pretty true. My Australorps are laying 5-6 eggs a week each, and my brown leghorn, 3 a week, MAX. THEN, a neighbor, who has had chickens for years, told me yesterday, that he has a hen, which lays 3-5 a day, every day. That seems a bit exaggerated, to me. What's the scoop?
Third, a friend said that my chickens are good for bugs, but, other than the dried mealworms, they don't seem to have nearly the interest in bugs, that the turkeys and guineas do. Is this normal?
I'm certain that I'll have more newbie questions, as will others. I just hope this converted city boy, now chicken farming, doesn't seem too ignorant.

 

[troy4]

First: That is true but they sometimes they still will lay but not as much and not all of them will lay at all.
Secondey lay one egg per hen a day unless they're broody or in other words they are having chicks.
Third: They eat worms, moths, beetles, grassshoppers, and crickets

 

[Judy]

Yes, they tend to lay most in spring and before summer gets really hot, and less or not at all in winter.
But this varies widely, with breeds and probably about a dozen other factors. My Austrlorps lay some in winter but my EE's do not. I think white Leghorns tend to, too. I had a couple of brown Leghorns who did not lay nearly as well as white ones are supposed to.

The egg cycle is about 25 hours, so a good layer tends to lay about one a day for 6 days, then take a break, starting over in the morning, at least during the peak of their laying. You can check out the average number of eggs per year a breed lays easily enough. It is in our Breeds section, and there is this chart, for two sources I am not inclined to believe a hen lays 3 a day. If she does, she is not well.

Chickens certainly eat bugs. Guineas are well known for tick control; I don't think chickens do nearly the job on ticks that guineas do. If you hang one of those electronic bug zappers where chickens can eat the bodies, you will see that they do indeed eat bugs. People turn their chickens loose in their spent garden to clear bugs out -- but I don't know how good a job they do, or whether they ignore some pesky species. I'[ve seen my chickens pass up stink bugs, though. As for which bugs they will and won't eat, the variation between chickens, guineas and turkeys, I really don't know a lot. Maybe some other members will come along with more knowledge in this area than I have.

And there are no dumb questions. We were all beginners at some point, and very few people know anywhere near all there is to know!

 

[SharkmanDan]

Okay, I just thought of another couple of "Dumb questions". I do realize that this is likely to change with breed.
How many years should a hen be able to produce eggs?
At the end of their laying cycle, are the hens too old for being viable "roasters"? The fellow I got my 14 hens from, Saturday, mentioned something, and didn't elaborate, but it led me to believe they were pretty much good for stewing, or soup, after the laying cycle ends.
I'm sure that I'll have more questions, as I think about everything. And, as I learn new things, I'm certain that new information, breeds new questions.

 

[Judy]

There is REALLY no good answer to the question about eggs. If you didn't know, commercial operations often get rid of their hens after around 1.5 or 2 years, or at their first heavy molt, as the number per year will presumably start decreasing then -- which it usually does.

I have 8 hens who are between 3 and 5 years old. When they are laying well, I get 4 or 5 eggs a day. I suspect that is a fairl average production. I have heard of a hen laying at 10 years. When the number starts to decrease around 2.5 years, the size also tends to increase, and that is when you get those XXL eggs. I think the double yolked eggs tend to increase as well, though not in my little flock.

If you require them to be at their most effecient in terms of eggs vs. feed, you probably need to cull around 1.5 years, or maybe it's 2, I'm really not even well informed about that. But if they dont get sick, they may continue to give you some eggs for many more years.

Maybe some others will come along who have more experience with this than I. I've had a number of flocks, but before this one, always thought they needed to be culled before the dead of winter, which is the way we did it when I was growing up in Illinois.




This is the best article I've ever seen on eating "old fashioned" and older chicken: It's linked in a sticky in our Meat Birds forum.
The classic French recipe, coq au vin, calls for a two year old rooster!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...rom-historic-chicken-breeds/0_20#post_3473262

 

[SharkmanDan]

Judy,
Thanks. That's good news. I have lots of room for chickens. My goal is 50-60 layers, by next summer. We have a good start. 15 now, 30 more, mostly straight run chicks, this week, coming, (5-Jersey Giant and 5-Delaware/Hampshire cross females, then 5 straight run each, on brown leghorns, EE's, Sultans and Silver Laced Wyandottes). That should get us through this year. Then, next spring, make up the difference with more of whatever we prefer the eggs from.
My personal choice, is to have bigger eggs, over more eggs. I'm not even yet thinking about efficiency, as far as feed, yet. I guess that eventually, I will.
I was very hesitant, about getting the chicks, in the first place. My wife just jumped in, both feet, and brought home a bunch of chicks, and I've been playing catch up, ever since. Unfortunately, as they were just getting to be ready to coop, with the full grown chickens, we had a disaster, while free ranging them. So, we're kind of back to the beginning with chicks. Luckily, we've picked up 15 layers, and three roosters, along the way, so we're getting by on egg production, with an occasional purchase of a dozen, here and there, from our previous "egg lady".
But, I'm learning to enjoy the chickens, a lot. And, trying to read, as much as I can, with our HORRIBLE internet connection, to learn as much as possible. But, being unfamiliar with the nomenclature, of chicken farming, trying to "Google" things, often does not lend itself to fruitful results. Thank goodness for this website and it's forums. I'm getting far better answers, to my questions, here, that I seem to be getting, by Googling.
More questions to come, I'm sure.

I should add this. I hope to be, at some point, getting 40-50 (about 3.5 to 4 dozen eggs a day) out of our flock. As the production rates drop, and egg sizes increase, I can add what I need, to make up the difference. My goal is to produce enough eggs, for my wife and I, plus a few family and friends, who are nearby, and then sell the rest. By my count, the family and friends part of the equation, would be about 4-5 dozen a week. The rest, can be sold, or used in our dogs' food.

 

[troy4]

Okay, I just thought of another couple of "Dumb questions". I do realize that this is likely to change with breed.
How many years should a hen be able to produce eggs?
At the end of their laying cycle, are the hens too old for being viable "roasters"? The fellow I got my 14 hens from, Saturday, mentioned something, and didn't elaborate, but it led me to believe they were pretty much good for stewing, or soup, after the laying cycle ends.
I'm sure that I'll have more questions, as I think about everything. And, as I learn new things, I'm certain that new information, breeds new questions.

well they quit laying around 3 years.