Want to improve egg quality. What to look for in feed.

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Some hay may be a good idea in addition to higher protein feed. That makes me think I could dry some other greens and offer that in the winter. (ETA: and alphalpha pellets too!)

I’ve not tried drying kale or spinach, but I think it’s worth trying.

With your limited daylight in winter, the eggs may not be great, but it’s worth a try to make them better.

 

[Castlemaid]

LOL, I just noticed how I spelled alfalfa! Not sure where that came from.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

OP?

Opening post.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Ooh, yes! A bale of alfalfa might be worth a try. Hope you keep us posted on this.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Opening post.

I thought it meant Original Poster or Over Powered.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I thought it meant Original Poster or Over Powered.

It can mean Original Post or Original Poster as well. I meant Original, I think. Same thing. Fuzzy thinking. I'm blaming it on Covid, I've been mush ever since.

 

[Danielpn]

You didn't mention if you are talking about the same chickens. If so, you probably need to also, consider that the hens are aging. Alfalfa pellets is good thought though. But my experience with mixing feeds is the chickens are happy to pick out the stuff they want, and walk on the rest of it. So you might save on the feed bill by only offering one feed at a time, on alternating days or some schedule.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Alfalfa meal plus a source of Omega 3 and 6s like flaxseed or fish oil.

 

[WonkierZulu]

Love klambach hen house reserve

 

[Katanahamon]

I've been feeding 16% layer pellets, and I have noticed a huge difference this year between the winter eggs (chickens mainly getting only feed and scratch) and summer eggs (chickens freeranging on acreage). I live in a pretty remote area in BC, and we only have feed from a relatively local feed plant. Specific ingredients are not published, only percentages of main nutrients.

I used to be happy with the quality of the winter egg, but I noticed this past winter the eggs were thin shelled, the whites runny, and the yolks pale. Egg quality shot up as soon as the snow melted and the birds started free-ranging again. It looks like the plant may have switched up their ingredients.

So I wonder for next winter coming up, what should I feed my chickens? Would upping to a higher percentage feed help? Supplement with specific goodies? Again, no name-brand feeds are available here, so I'm looking for general advice on improving winter egg quality.

Thanks in advance!!

I’m really interested in this as well..I’ve read quite a lot, my girls are on the verge of point of lay. Dark, leafy greens..flax seems like a big component in getting more omega acids, things like turmeric, paprika, calendula blossoms (all organic) are supposed to influence yolk color. There’s a chef and chicken owner, I think in San Antonio, known for raising chickens with reddish egg yolks, he feeds tons of red peppers. Since my girls aren’t laying yet, my experiments results are unknown, but in a couple weeks or months, I’ll let you know. I’ve been feeding Modesto Milling organic non soy, non corn chick starter, recently got a small ten lb test bag of their non corn, non soy organic layer whole grain feed. It has alfalfa pellets already in it, I believe..I’ll post a pic for your info, it looks and smells great, I’ve started introducing a couple handfuls into their feed, they love it, pick out all the interesting bits like treats..(I also try to give all the wild dandelions, organic kale, Swiss chard, etc type stuff as I can)

edit..any way you can have feed or supplements shipped? Dehydrated greens, blossoms, colorful supplements would be easy to add to their diet..