Tractor supply brands of feed

[Florida Bullfrog]

Because the OP had supplemental lighting. Read through the posts.

I have read the entire thread, and about a week’s worth of claims on social media, especially Facebook chicken groups. Most of these claims don’t involve use of supplemental lighting, but instead revolve around 2 year old birds that laid through their first winter as pullets and quit around July during their 18 month molt and lasted through the winter equinox. Then once the days started getting longer, the chickens turned back on. But at that same time, the feed was changed. That’s how the bulk of these claims are going.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

wow is just from my limited experience. I have 2 hens that are going through just their second winter and are just finishing up their first molt. I also have two August hatched hens and one just started laying.

My older ones barely slowed down at all last winter. This winter, during their molt, they slowed down but probably never skipped more than 4 days.

So, some of that wow, along with my question to age and number of chickens, is ..... 'is this what I'm going to expect and when is it expected.'

My impression is that most people around here have more than 4 hens. I would guess the average is in the 8-12 range or more. So, if 8 layers cold stop for 1.5 - 2 months, I am pretty surprised. I would have guessed up to 75% reduction .... but not a cold stop.

Again ... very limited experience ... but I'm surprised. thus ... .wow.

That’s a completely fair and honest answer.

What I can tell you, as an experienced chicken keeper, is that a 1.5-2 month shut off is not only normal, but much lighter than how long mature hens can shut off for. Shutoffs for the entirety of July through December are not uncommon.

What rubs me wrong about how this is snowballing is I believe new chicken keepers are being taken advantage of via their lack of experience in order to spread the conspiracy theory. I also don’t think its fair that one business/corporation is getting dumped on and the benefit of several other businesses/corporations. The competition now has a vested economic interest in fueling this conspiracy theory. It will put more money in the pockets of TS’s competitors, almost all of which are large corporations themselves. Even your local feed mill is probably corporately owned. For instance, a major feed mill company that runs many of the mills in north Florida is Southern States. So if you get your feed from a mill here, its likely them or a similar big co-op. They are not locally owned. Instead they are headquartered in Virginia and are a $1.5 billion dollar enterprise. So if there a nasty conspiracy with the TS corporation, why wouldn’t Southern States also be involved? Why wouldn’t every feed mill in the country that is corporately owned and does national or international business not be a part of the same conspiracy?

If there is any conspiracy, its likely TS’s competition seeing a way to knock out a competitor.

 

[Happy Helper]

I completely agree with Florida Bullfrog. Chickens take a break in the winter after their first year of laying. I also think conspiracy theories should not be on this site. It doesn't do anyone any good. All new chicken owners need to know is the basics and answers to their questions in a precise manner.

 

[springvalley123]

I also think conspiracy theories should not be on this site. It doesn't do anyone any good. All new chicken owners need to know is the basics and answers to their questions in a precise manner.

The last thing we need is for yet another site (BYC) to label something they don't like as conspiracy theory and sensor it, so we all get only one side of the "science". I was a new chicken owner once, I know how to vet what I read and find. But I can't vet what's been withheld from me because someone disagreed with it or knew it was true and didn't want anyone else to see it.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Also note that my criticism is not directed at any one person here. This conspiracy stuff has been building on social media for several days and people are just accepting the blurbs without thinking critically. It started as “they’re cutting out nutrients to save money” and it quickly evolved into “Epstein New World Order Egg Suppression Scheme.” Which really doesn’t make sense if only Tractor Supply is doing it. Please people, question everything. Not just the things that align with your world view. Sure, question the corporations. But also question the the people who do the questioning.

 

[tripletfeb]

I completely agree with Florida Bullfrog. Chickens take a break in the winter after their first year of laying. I also think conspiracy theories should not be on this site. It doesn't do anyone any good. All new chicken owners need to know is the basics and answers to their questions in a precise manner.

Questioning something doesn't make you a conspiracy theorist. It makes you a thinker

 

[Krugerrand]

The burden of proof is always on the person making the claim, and something that can’t be proven false isn’t a scientific proposition

I really read everything as a gathering of information. There cannot be 'proof' of a problem without gathering information first. I have seen in the past people argue 'there's no proof it must be a conspiracy' to not only dismiss an allegation but to also dismiss further investigation. I have seen in the past proof later to unfold where it had been 'there's no proof' before.

If people want to gather together their experiences to compare ... that counts for me as reasonable investigation. If one person offers x number of hens of breed y and age z change their production rate over a timespan .... then others can opine if that compares to what they experienced in years passed or if there is an abnormality.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I really read everything as a gathering of information. There cannot be 'proof' of a problem without gathering information first. I have seen in the past people argue 'there's no proof it must be a conspiracy' to not only dismiss an allegation but to also dismiss further investigation. I have seen in the past proof later to unfold where it had been 'there's no proof' before.

If people want to gather together their experiences to compare ... that counts for me as reasonable investigation. If one person offers x number of hens of breed y and age z change their production rate over a timespan .... then others can opine if that compares to what they experienced in years passed or if there is an abnormality.

I don’t question the investigation of the allegations. I question the immediate acceptance of the desired conclusion. And I question when people get emotionally defensive against the questioning. How someone responds tells me whether they’re objectively seeking truth or whether they’re already emotionally invested in an outcome they’ve already made their mind up is true. Which is very relevant when the topic ties into conspiracy theories, which are very much a personal belief system.

 

[casportpony]

Locked for staff review. Please do not start a similar thread.