Too many eggs?

[Tikkijane]

Quote:
I think we should be ok. I am working on getting a silkie, and if I can get one, that will lower my egg laying numbers by 1 chicken. This being the first year, is entirely experimental. It's probably a good thing that we are in town, or else we would end up with an actual farm

 

[JustClucky]

I read that you should have 2 layers per family member who eats eggs. That said, I have 9. None lay yet but everyone I know has asked for eggs already. lol

BTW, I had to add that we're also homeschoolers from Texas and I'm totally a yarnie! lol Nice to meet you!!!

 

[wowmanacat]

I started with just three and was getting 2 to 3 a day once they all got settled in. I got three more last week and i think they are molting at this time. I am now just getting 1 or 2 in a day, but for now that don't matter for they are on meds and I am going to try and hatch what I get over the next week.

 

[aghiowa]

Keep in mind also that for a while your pullet eggs are going to be teeny little things, so you will need a few more to equal a "real" egg. We are a homeschooling family of 6, and we currently have 5 hens. They keep us perfectly supplied. Just enough, but never too many. Of course, we like eggs, so...

Besides, you never know if one will be broody and not laying, or molting, or one may die (we had one die over the winter of intestinal blockage). I think 6 is a perfect number for you.....to start with. Chicken math is a strong force - we now also have 5 chicks that our broody hen hatched out from fertile eggs we bought her.

Angela

 

[Judy]

Part of the year we get too many, but I've yet to throw one away, and I've never tried to sell them. Between scrambling and feeding back to the chickens, and giving to two friends, one who does us favors and one who is simply needy and doesn't mind a bit of charity, I have no problem. I have too many part of the year and wind up buying eggs (ugh) another part of the year. (They will keep quite well at least a couple of months in your fridge.) Lots of folks sell at work or to neighbors. Lots also give to local charities, food for the needy and the like.

 

[Cosmopolis Chick]

Quote:
hi Tikki, I just happened to have kept score on how many eggs I got from my 6 girls in March (2011).
Week 1: 24
Week 2: 23
Week 3: 30
Week 4: 23
Total for 28 days (4 weeks, not a month) 100.

Only three times in March did we get 6 eggs in one day, the 17th, 19th, and 20th.

Now we are just a family of two and I hardly ever eat eggs. I do bake with them. I'd say I had 2 four-egg omlettes in the month. So, with my roommate eating 3-4 a day (most days) we kept pretty much up with supply. I saved out a dozen of the largest cleanest ones and sold the one dozen for $4.00 at our garage sale yesterday - they sold in the first hour!

My girls are 5 full size hens and one silkie, the silkie lays RELIGIOUSLY practically every day a cute little beige egg, got her at auction and don't know how old she is.
Two hens are 1 to 1 1/2 yrs old, got them as 'used hems', 3 are pullets that just started laying last Fall then took THE WHOLE WINTER off. (grrr!)

 

[ScotianChick]

I have five hens (nearly a year old) and I usually get 4 or 5 eggs a day. I also have some 7 week old chicks too so I'll be getting even more this summer. I've had lots of offers for people to buy eggs so I think I'll sell some to friends or take them to the little farmers market in my town. Being from a very rocky shore of NS, chickens and farming in general is a bit of a novelty and I doubt many people bring eggs to our market.

 

[franklinchickens]

We have 4 hens and get 3-4 a day but one of my EE girls moulted and didn't lay for about 2 months. We share a lot but right now we've got 1 1/2 dozen in the fridge - mostly because that same EE started laying again and decided to use the compost bin. We didn't find them until there were about 9 in there!
We're getting 2 more chicks next week which will be good because we love to give our eggs to friends & neighbors and sometimes we'd run short.
As previous posters said, winters they don't lay as much, and when they moult -nothing. Our Wyandotte's are super regular - 5-6 a week even through the winter and every day now that it is spring, but the EE's are more like 4 in the winter but nearly every day now.

 

[Tikkijane]

Thank you all! Dh is still convinced we'll have way too many, but FIL agrees with me, lol. I say, let's start with the 6 and see where we land, lolololol.

 

[Hornetkc5]

I bet you end up with 6 more next year! The FIL will be wanting eggs!