Topic of the Week - Let's talk about eggs

[ali2211]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?

- I'm relatively new to the "chicken business", but I have 5 one year old golden comets who have provided me with 5 eggs a day without fail (even through the winter) since they began laying.

- How do you get the best production from your layers?

We live in Florida, where the winter temperatures hardly get lower than 70, so my chickens lay through the winter as well. I just feed them layer feed from Tractor Supply, and they supplement their diet with whatever insects and plants they find throughout the day (yay free range!)

- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets?

We had to wait 6 months since we bought them as day old chicks.

- What do you do with your extra eggs?

Neighbors, teachers, anyone who wants eggs. Luckily we get eggs through the winter!

- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?

Golden Comets- Brown eggs

Ameraucana- Blue (I have some in my incubator. Fingers crossed they hatch well)

Orpington- brown

Cornish- Light brown

Silkie- Cream

Leghorn- white

That's all I can recall

 

[azygous]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?

I've had Brahmas, Cochins, Buff Orpingtons, EEs, Speckled Sussex, Marans, Cream Legbars, Welsummers, and Wyandottes. Hands down, the Wyandottes are the winners. They not only are egg dispensers, but they keep laying well into old age. Last years the Wyandottes were seven years old and they laid pretty regularly.

- How do you get the best production from your layers?

Several years ago I began fermenting my all flock feed. A year after being on FF, a couple of my hens came out of "retirement" and began laying regularly again. I think FF is the reason why I'm getting so many extra miles out of my aging layers.

- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets?

The heavy models took until they were nine months old to begin laying while my sports models such as my recent Cream Legbar hatched last summer, have started laying at five months.

- What do you do with your extra eggs?

I am in it for the money, honey! I open the hatch to a nest box and I don't see eggs, I see money. ($5 a dozen) It helps make ends meet, and people are as excited about eating eggs from my chickens as I am.

- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?


I began with an Orpington and an EE. I got hooked on colored eggs from the start. I love collecting the different and beautiful breeds, but I also love seeing all the different colors in an egg box. I have several church goers who love stocking up on my colored eggs around Easter because there's no need to go to the trouble of dying them for the festivities. My Welsummers lay brick red eggs, the EEs lay olive green to turquoise, By Cream Legbars lay sky blue eggs, the Sussex, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Brhamas, lay tan to pink eggs, and the Marans lay chocolate to reddish brown eggs.

Egg gathering is like a daily Easter egg hunt. And I never, ever lose the thrill!

 

[donrae]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?

Leghorns, sex links, hatchery barred Rocks have all been my top producers.My mixed breed Leghorn/EE crosses have been wonderful also, with the bonus of colored eggs

- How do you get the best production from your layers?

Basic good flock management. Water, good feed, enough space for physically and mentally healthy birds.

- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets?

I had one memorable red sex link that started laying at 16 weeks. Other than that, they're in the average range, 20-25 weeks, around there.
- What do you do with your extra eggs? (Yes… I know it's winter for most of us at the moment and that's only a dream but...

)

Sell them, give them away, do extra baking/cooking, feed to the animals. Or, hatch them

- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?

I love playing with egg color genetics. I've been breeding blue eggers and what I call Camo Eggers--basically mixed birds that can lay any color you find in Camouflage

hatcher with Marans eggs (those ladies were 4 years old, so eggs had lightened a bit) and bantam Cochin and silkie eggs.

some Marans, some Camo eggs...



My first Camo egg, my inspiration for the name....



A hatchery Welsummer egg....



White Leghorn egg...she loves laying in the tube feeder.

 

[lazy gardener]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers? Depends on your flock goals. If you want birds that lay a lot, and then are prone to succumbing to reproductive issues after 1 - 2 laying seasons, get a production bird, or sex link. If you want birds that are not prone to reproductive illness, but their annual egg production may be a bit lower, choose a heritage breed. Birds from a hatchery may be better layers than birds from breeders.


- How do you get the best production from your layers? FERMENTED FEED. I will say it again: FERMENTED FEED. When comparing my birds who get FF to those of my neighbors and friends who's birds came from same source, are the same age, and eat the same food from the same feed stores, my birds lay earlier, and more than those in other flocks. I have provided chicks from my incubator to friends and neighbors, and my pullets typically start laying 1 - 3 weeks before the pullets I've given to friends and neighbors.

I also provide winter lighting, but I do so according to a schedule that makes sense to me. I let my birds go through a natural shut down. Production decreases in October, until I'm getting 1 - 2 eggs/day, some days none. Some of the birds do a hard molt, while others do a soft molt, some don't noticeably molt at all. Late November, or when ever my stash of eggs in the fridge is dwindling, I start the light, and ramp it up a bit each week. Goal is for it to go on at 6 AM, off at 10 AM. On again at 3 PM, off at 8 PM when it's ramped all the way up to peak lighting. I use 60W equivalent warm LED.

They also get sprouts during our 6 months of frozen/snowy ground. Do not crowd your birds. Give them plenty of space.


- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets? Earliest layers have been 16.5 weeks. EE.


- What do you do with your extra eggs? (Yes… I know it's winter for most of us at the moment and that's only a dream but...

) I sell them. My customers include co-workers and church family. Currently, I'm selling 3 - 5 dozen eggs/week from my 15 girls. During the summer months, I will put out a cooler at end of driveway for self serve.


- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs? Go to Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Excellent resource.

I urge each flock owner to have clearly defined goals. What kind of flock do you want? In my case, my goals are: Small combed birds to cope with our cold weather. I don't want feathered feet for the same reason. I don't want a bird that's always broody, though I am happy with the occasionally broody. I want a colorful egg basket. I LOVE having sex linked chicks hatching from my own flock. Every few years, I have bought hatchery chicks to infuse my flock's gene pool with the traits I am seeking.

 

[GardenWren]

We first got started in chickens for their eggs. Within the first year I was officially addicted to chickens and by the next year, we had gone from 2 breeds to 5. It's just grown and expanded from there. Lol! I mean, we have more than enough room and the ability to care for them, so why not (my justification).

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?
We've had many breeds over the years, from production layers to fancy lawn art breeds. While I love different breeds for different reasons, I've found that nothing will out lay a White Leghorn. I will never be without at least a handful of them due to their powerhouse laying ability. Second, in our experience, has been a line of Olive Eggers we bred here for production. They've proven themselves time and time again and I adore their egg colors. Sex links are great for a time, but as was previously stated, tend to lay out in about 2 years generally. Our BA and BO are also pretty dependable layers.

- How do you get the best production from your layers?
Our layer flocks all free range different tracts of our property and are fed the best we can locally source. They also get their own "sacrificial" gardens in the spring and summer to supplement their feed and help deter them from trashing our main gardens. Yes, it's a bit of extra work, but they love it and the eggs they produce are amazing, so they more than deserve it.
- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets?
This vary greatly by breed and individuals. My earliest layers have been Golden Buffs (RSL) while my latest have been my Brahmas.

- What do you do with your extra eggs? (Yes… I know it's winter for most of us at the moment and that's only a dream but... )
We sell eggs locally. The main layer flocks supply our ever growing church and many in the community with farm fresh deliciousness. We also sell hatching eggs of different breeds in the "on" seasons, as well as those from the layer flocks year round. While they do slow down in the winter, they more than make up for lost time and revenue the rest of the year. Being a SAH, homeschooling mom, the farm has become my own business endeavor to help supplement our income. Im extremely blessed in that my "job" is also my passion.

- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?
I'm just going by the breeds we have, though there are SO MANY!
White - Leghorns, Campines, Appenzeller Spitzhaubens
Dark Brown - Welsummer, Black Copper Marans
Brown - Golden Buffs, Black Australorps, New Hampshire Reds, Dominiques, Barred/White Rocks
Tan - Buff Orpington, Buff Brahmas
Green - Easter Eggers
Blue - Ameraucanas
Olive - Olive Eggers
Gray - F3 OE Project

.

 

[ChickNanny13]

LOVE ALL YOUR COLORFUL EGGS!!!

I've been able to control my chicken math but seeing all your colorful eggs got me thinking again

I'm fairly new to having eggs, in the past I raised hatched chicks for a breeder friend that go back to her between 6 - 8 wks. I now have (5) Blue Wynadottes that I got at 7 months (Oct) that started laying at 9 months (Dec), have been getting 4 - 5 eggs a day and I think that's good. Prior to these I had 2 RIR & 2 EE, they started laying at 7 months & I got 4 everyday but had to sell them soon after

.

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?
My limited experience - Wynadottes, RIR & EE

- How do you get the best production from your layers?
Fermented feeding (Flock Raiser), oyster shells, mealworm treats, veggies & fruits. I used to let the RIR & EE grub my fenced yard (they tore it up) but my Wynadottes stay in their enclosure (8x12).

- What do you do with your extra eggs? (Yes… I know it's winter for most of us at the moment and that's only a dream but...

)
I've give to my family, neighbors (live in a residential area) & bake

- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?
Wynadottes - variety tan
EE - greenish
RIR - brown
Figured out one but still haven't learn the other 4
I could distinquish who laid which by the shade & shape

 

[abbevilleoz]

We've kept a variety of breeds over the years and the POL varies with each and season of year at maturity. Anywhere from five to eight months. Each hen is different, too. One of the most prolific layers we have is a ten year old BO. She was still laying during the peak of last Spring as was our WPR of the same age.
I'm really impressed with our new White JG hen. She's been laying big brown eggs during the dead of winter. My wife loves the taste of our Silkie eggs. She says they have a much richer taste and our Silkie hens are good layers when they're not broody. We have Ameraucanas that lay a pretty blue egg and I would say they are average layers. We have Campines that are great layers of large white eggs, especially for their size.

 

[ChickNanny13]

We've kept a variety of breeds over the years and the POL varies with each and season of year at maturity. Anywhere from five to eight months. Each hen is different, too. One of the most prolific layers we have is a ten year old BO. She was still laying during the peak of last Spring as was our WPR of the same age.
I'm really impressed with our new White JG hen. She's been laying big brown eggs during the dead of winter. My wife loves the taste of our Silkie eggs. She says they have a much richer taste and our Silkie hens are good layers when they're not broody. We have Ameraucanas that lay a pretty blue egg and I would say they are average layers. We have Campines that are great layers of large white eggs, especially for their size.

Curious, how "big" are the Silkie eggs?

 

[abbevilleoz]

Curious, how "big" are the Silkie eggs?

It takes 3 Silkie eggs to make 2 LF eggs I think. They're a little bigger than normal bantam eggs.

 

[GardenWren]

  LOVE ALL YOUR COLORFUL EGGS!!!  

I've been able to control my chicken math but seeing all your colorful eggs got me thinking again    I'm fairly new to having eggs, in the past I raised hatched chicks for a breeder friend that go back to her between 6 - 8 wks.  I now have (5) Blue Wynadottes that I got at 7 months (Oct) that started laying at 9 months (Dec), have been getting 4 - 5 eggs a day and I think that's good.  Prior to these I had 2 RIR & 2 EE, they started laying at 7 months & I got 4 everyday but had to sell them soon after 

Thank you! Chicken math has been a downfall of mine for a while now. Lol! We started out with just white and various shades of brown eggs, but I couldn't resist the colorful ones. With eggs being one of our biggest sources of revenue, I decided to add some "rainbow" layers and, eventually, worked on creating my own lines for specific colors. It's time consuming and labor intensive, but the chickens and their lovely eggs are definitely worth it. I'd love to get or produce some medium-darkish blue egg layers one of these days. So far, that's about the only color we're missing. Regardless of the color, though, there's nothing quite like eating eggs from your own chickens. Makes you appreciate and look at your food differently when you raise/produce it yourself.