Topic of the Week - Let's talk about eggs

[Nardo]

Quote: -Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers? I have had experience only with BR, Australorpe, Welsummer and Delaware. They all lay/laid 6 eggs a week in Summer.
-How do you get the best production from your layers? They lay more frequently when they free range or get worms and greens.
- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets? I'm a bit vague, but 20 weeks I think was average
- What do you do with your extra eggs? Gift them to people who help me out or for birthdays, or anyone who saves egg cartons for me. LOL
- Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?
Welsummer lays the normal dark speckle and a bit larger than others. BR lays tannish brown. Australorpe lays long skinny light brown. Delaware lays almost pink round circle shaped.

 

[The Duck Ladie]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?

I don't know about about chickens, but as far as ducks go Campbells, Runners, Magpies, Anconas, and Harlequin are great!
- How do you get the best production from your layers?

I don't really do anything to maximize production, but the longer the days are the more eggs I get!
- At what ages did you get the first eggs from your pullets?

Hmm... I think it was about,6 months that I got my first duck eggs..
- 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...

)

Up until winter I was drowning in eggs, but then we had Christmas Baking, and they suddenly disapeared! But once they get going again this summer, it's going to be time to be hatching!

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

The only colored ducks eggs I have ever gotten were black ones from my Cayuga.

 

[A-K-A]

Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers? [B/]
I have currently 14 hens. RIR's dom's Black Australorps- silky- Gold Lace Wyn- leghorn- araracunas - Buff orp and Wellsummer. They are all good layers some just better than others. Currently have 13 Black Australorp Pullets. Will lay end of March as the Hens turn 2

How do you get the best production from your layers? [B/]


Feed kitchen and garden waste- free ranging plus we will feed surplus goat milk when we have it. -no artificial light they deserve a break too. We are coming into 12 hours natural light and getting ooddles of eggs. Even in winter we had plenty and some for our customers

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

Each was different around 6 months for most


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[B/]


Like most i sell them. We do take some to the Homeless Vet Center. We sometimes also just take a bunch to Wed. Church supper and hand them out. I put them on CL and get all kinds of cslls for them.

Eggs of different colours - Which breeds lay which colour eggs?
Welsummer Dark Brown
Aracunas greenish
Leghorn white
Rest shades of brown including a speckled
Silky lays little brown egg

 

[oEch0o]

@I Love Layers

Oh hybrids are only supposed to live around 2 years?! Three of mine lived near 4 and one is turning 5 in April. I thought they lived a little longer than 3 years

 

[CrazedCowgirl]

- Which breeds or types of chickens are good egglayers?

I've found that my Orpington's and my sexlinks are my best yr round layers. My Delawares come in a very close second by they've been on strike since we got a foot of snow about a month ago.

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

This is my first winter with laying hens but I've found out in the last week or so that adding just a plain light bulb to their coop and setting it up on a timer to be on for 13 hrs a day has kicked everyone into gear and started my laying production again. I'm now getting 4 or 5 eggs a day from 7 hens! My girls free range all day and get a handful of treats every couple days, they're happy, healthy, and good girls.

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

I got my first egg from one of my Delawares when she was 18 weeks. Laid like crazy throughout last summer and even kept it going strong with 2 or 3 eggs a week until we got snow in January.

- What do you do with your extra eggs?

I sell them for $3-$7 (depends on size, and colors wanted) a dozen at work! I've made a pretty good empire off of it last yr. I made enough to build a new bigger coop for the girls!

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

Most of my flock lay brown eggs ( Delaware, Orpington's, Sexlinks, Marans, Barnvalder ) with a couple white layers ( my blue Andalusian and cochin) I have 2 blue layers ( Whiting true blue and an EE hen) then a few EE hens that lay me some very pretty greens. I'm hoping to cross my Marans hens with my EE roo to get some olive eggers here soon!

 

[GardenWren]

@I Love Layers

Oh hybrids are only supposed to live around 2 years?! Three of mine lived near 4 and one is turning 5 in April. I thought they lived a little longer than 3 years

What most mean when they say 2 years is that most of your production sex links tend to lay well for around 2 years then fizzle out. I have a 4+ year old Golden Comet girl that's still as plucky now as when she was a pullet, but I haven't gotten an egg from her in about 2 years. She is our self proclaimed nest box supervisor.

 

[I Love Layers]

What most mean when they say 2 years is that most of your production sex links tend to lay well for around 2 years then fizzle out. I have a 4+ year old Golden Comet girl that's still as plucky now as when she was a pullet, but I haven't gotten an egg from her in about 2 years. She is our self proclaimed nest box supervisor.

what i meant was that some get slower in production and their eggs get larger making them have production problems sometimes.

 

[BuffOrps416]

Buff Orpingtons: Good layers, first and second year laid all winter. This year she was molting so didn't lay for a while but right now my BO lays every other or every two days. Lightish to normal brown (not speckled just solid color).

 

[chikinman864]

Alright so I'm not going into all this detail but I bought two white leghorns that were supposed to be 13 weeks old when I got them. Well it's been two months and I still haven't gotten an egg from either one of them. Can anyone explain this?

 

[Lizardlicks]

I don't know where you are in the world, but my pullets I got last November haven't started laying yet, mostly because it's still cold and dark where I live (about 2 hours from the Canadian border). Also depends on what you're feeding them. If you're northern like me and your girls aren't getting any free range forage , kitchen greens, or supplemental lighting, they probably won't lay until closer to spring.