tweetzone86
Songster
Quick question. How reliable are the combs and wattles (size, color, etc) as far as POL is concerned? I'm asking because so far only 5 of my 23 week (tomorrow) RIR pullets are laying. More are squatting but not all (I think- they are persnickety at times and with one exception the rest are practically identical. There are very little differences in appearance that I haven't quite ironed out yet and I can't rely on combs and wattles as much as I'd like for individual identification because I know they're still growing), and I know one that's laying has a pretty small comb because I've caught her in the nest box and collected the egg afterwards.
But I am trying to figure out approximately when the other 7 will catch up to the current 5 layers. I'm supplementing light so they've got 14.5 hours of daylight on a timer out there, fresh water, and I just switched from the 16% layer feed to a flock raiser high protein feed with oyster shell mixed in, on the advice of what I've been reading on here regarding protein levels. Haven't had any issues with soft shell or missing shell eggs- shells are as hard as they should be and harder than the storebought ones for sure
Switched out feed on Saturday, not sure if it's making a huge difference yet. I also toss a handful or two of scratch grains when I am calling them back inside the coop because I got tired of chasing the stubborn ones that don't want to come when called in the evening...was using mealworms but that got very spendy very quickly. I do have tiny hands though, so a handful for me isn't all that much. I'd say the couple handfuls of scratch grains are no more than 1/2 a cup total, approximately, per day.
They are in the enclosed run when not in the coop, and I haven't been feeling well the past few days so they haven't been let out in the yard to free range (besides, I have neighbor cat issues so they're only free ranging when I'm out there and I haven't seen any hidden nests). The run has nowhere to hide a nest, though I did find one oddball out there yesterday in plain sight and brought it inside before it could freeze.
Anyway, I've gotten 5 eggs so far today (that's been 5 for the past 3 days) and I keep checking but no more ladies in the nest boxes and no more eggs. Temps are cold especially in the morning, hence the frequent checking...
But I am trying to figure out approximately when the other 7 will catch up to the current 5 layers. I'm supplementing light so they've got 14.5 hours of daylight on a timer out there, fresh water, and I just switched from the 16% layer feed to a flock raiser high protein feed with oyster shell mixed in, on the advice of what I've been reading on here regarding protein levels. Haven't had any issues with soft shell or missing shell eggs- shells are as hard as they should be and harder than the storebought ones for sure
Switched out feed on Saturday, not sure if it's making a huge difference yet. I also toss a handful or two of scratch grains when I am calling them back inside the coop because I got tired of chasing the stubborn ones that don't want to come when called in the evening...was using mealworms but that got very spendy very quickly. I do have tiny hands though, so a handful for me isn't all that much. I'd say the couple handfuls of scratch grains are no more than 1/2 a cup total, approximately, per day.
They are in the enclosed run when not in the coop, and I haven't been feeling well the past few days so they haven't been let out in the yard to free range (besides, I have neighbor cat issues so they're only free ranging when I'm out there and I haven't seen any hidden nests). The run has nowhere to hide a nest, though I did find one oddball out there yesterday in plain sight and brought it inside before it could freeze.
Anyway, I've gotten 5 eggs so far today (that's been 5 for the past 3 days) and I keep checking but no more ladies in the nest boxes and no more eggs. Temps are cold especially in the morning, hence the frequent checking...
