Record Keeping

[aart]

To get free range bird to use nests at point of lay it is often necessary to confine them to coop and run around POL,
to 'train' them to use the nests and make it become a habit. I'm assuming you are free ranging your birds WesleyBeal, forgive if I am incorrect.

When dloading weather history, be sure of what station the data comes from.
I made the mistake of using the wrong station and gathering inaccurate data.
Once I found a closer station and checked it against my reading here for awhile, then I gathered the historical temps.

Just some thoughts...ignore them if they don't apply.

 

[mobius]

I did have a couple eggs outside initially with exception of a naughty broody hen but she doesn't count (much smaller flock than yours ). I put curtains on the laying boxes, put simulated eggs and nice herbs and pine shavings in there, made sure roost was higher (they never did sleep in the boxes thank goodness) encouraged them to explore the boxes, and when they were near point of lay, did not let them out of coop til late morning. I listened for the chicken song! I realize you may do all this, just mentioning...it would be hard to keep track of 24! My six all started laying together so it would have been tough to know who was who.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

to subsribe

 

[WesleyBeal]

Yeah, I was late getting simulated eggs into their nest boxes. I think they helped. Now I have far fewer "floor eggs." Still have some, but now they're laid in the same spot on the floor each time. If I stuck a nest there, it might get rid of all of them, and I think it's the same hen laying there each time.

 

[WesleyBeal]

To get free range bird to use nests at point of lay it is often necessary to confine them to coop and run around POL,
to 'train' them to use the nests and make it become a habit. I'm assuming you are free ranging your birds WesleyBeal, forgive if I am incorrect.

When dloading weather history, be sure of what station the data comes from.
I made the mistake of using the wrong station and gathering inaccurate data.
Once I found a closer station and checked it against my reading here for awhile, then I gathered the historical temps.

Just some thoughts...ignore them if they don't apply.

Since they started laying, I haven't been free ranging, but have allowed them to go out into the fenced area. I have a 165-foot electric netting fence set up around their coop. I *had* it set up so that it went around this old corn-crib that was falling down. Then one laid an egg in there, and I moved the fence to exclude it. Did still check in all the other hiding spots they might of had access to in the run.

I would be free-ranging them again by now, since I think they've learned that they want to lay in the coop, and in the nests. But our snow and cold weather has them reluctant to go wandering beyond the patch just in front of the pop door, so hasn't been much point in opening up the fence for them.

 

[Earl Medcalf]

Have you setup your data sheet and actually gone out to collect the data you are wanting. I collect data daily with things not chicken. It is easy to attempt collecting more data than you can accumulate in the field and to process into something you can make sense of.


I would baby step it first working on specific types of information like egg number to see how you can organize the information. Then start collecting the additional information.

 

[WesleyBeal]

Have you setup your data sheet and actually gone out to collect the data you are wanting.  I collect data daily with things not chicken.  It is easy to attempt collecting more data than you can accumulate in the field and to process into something you can make sense of.


I would baby step it first working on specific types of information like egg number to see how you can organize the information.  Then start collecting the additional information.

Yes, I'm collecting some data now (I also work as a database developer). I'm trying to determine what to add to what I'm collecting now, getting ideas, figuring out what would be most useful.

If I weren't on my phone, I'd share what I'm doing so far.

 

[Earl Medcalf]

When I saw your original description of data to be collected, it reminded me of what we do only once every two weeks; usually we have three or more people collecting the data. If you have to walk around writing, either your walking or your data is going going to get sloppy.

 

[aart]

I started by trying to collect too many different items.
Some was deemed unnecessary, some quickly became obviously inaccurate/noncollectable - so why bother, garbage in/garbage out.
Nothing wrong with starting big, but you'll probably pare it down eventually as you gain experience with your data system and organization,
and with your bird keeping goals in general.

 

[WesleyBeal]

I started by trying to collect too many different items.
Some was deemed unnecessary, some quickly became obviously inaccurate/noncollectable - so why bother, garbage in/garbage out.
Nothing wrong with starting big, but you'll probably pare it down eventually as you gain experience with your data system and organization,
and with your bird keeping goals in general.

Well, right now I'm not collecting anywhere near this much information.

What I'm trying to do with this thread is create a long list of things people think may be useful.

Then I think the job is to think about what my objectives are, how all these data points would contribute to my objectives, weigh the amount of effort required to collect the data against the benefits the data would provide, and then develop a data collection plan. Try doing it, see how it goes.

Right now I'm not collecting any data on individual birds. Just collecting the number of eggs laid each day by the whole flock, the number of "bad" eggs (such as softshells) laid by the whole flock, the number of eggs laid anywhere other than the nests, and the number of eggs that were damaged at any point after being laid.

Definitely not taxing my time much. Add to that, when I have the time, I enjoy playing around with google sheets and forms. I enjoy teaching myself how to use those tools.

That, and professionally I manage data, so have a healthy professional interest in how to steward data to assist you in achieving goals.

So for now, I still want to flesh out a list of everything that might be useful information to have that can be collected. Get it all out there, so that then it can be looked at and decisions made about what is most helpful for what objective, what isn't worth the time or effort.