What to feed chickens to lay more eggs.

[Dagirls]

Is rape a green or onion? I am not sure. somewhere I read when laying eggs the egg picks up what the hens eat? Everything in moderation I think. No sure but I give greens and I put apple cider in their water and the eggs do not taste like vinegar. So give it a try. I dont give my hens avocado or onion.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

What about chicken genetics? Thats why I think I get those jumbo eggs from those hens? With this thinking then their egg production will drop off or we would have to remove them and decrease protien to get a smaller eggs and keep them laying longer? Do bigger hens have bigger eggs? Thanks

Of course different breeds will lay different size eggs and larger hens lay larger eggs. Their egg production drops naturally over time, but is accelerated a bit by oversized eggs. Yet, for the most part, you can't decrease the amount of protein and decrease egg size without affecting production.

I was just giving that as an example of how protein affects egg size, it would be hard to apply that type of management to your average backyard flock though.

On any given day we'll get about 400 dozen eggs. When managed properly they are extremely consistent in production. If we finish up packing eggs at the same time each day, the production numbers from a 2500 hen barn might be 2335 eggs one day, 2340 the next, 2337 the day, etc., with the average very slowly declining throughout the year. If there is a variation of more than few percent from day to day then I start investigating what the cause might be.

That same consistency applies to the weight of the eggs. We pack up eggs in stacks of 15 dozen and judge average egg size by the weight of those 15 dozen stacks. A 22.5 lb stack is the low side of Large and a weight of 25 lbs is approaching X-Large. We will have thousands of eggs that are sized anywhere from Small to Super Jumbo, but the average egg size is very consistent from day to day. When the protein is kept at a level just above what they need for maintenance and reproduction that average stack weight will only increase .05 to .1 lbs per week keeping the egg size in that Large range for most of the year. If I overfeed them, the stack weight can easily increase by a half pound or more each week until all the birds are laying Jumbo sized eggs or larger, which would be rather disastrous for our bottom line as we receive a lot less money for those eggs.

 

[Foggy1]

My

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Feed mine a mouse they chased each other around to try and get it!

 

[Foggy1]

I

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My

Feed mine a mouse they chased each other around to try and get it!

free range birds of mine also eat rodents & frogs

 

[melaniew]

Cut any corn corn stops laying dead

 

[chrisleader]

Hello i don give protein mix to my chickens cause it is full of chemicals, I have in the feeder corn but they don't really like it, every morning i give them scrap bread with olive oil i also add garlic to the water witch i change daily, there free to pasture to eat watt they want, when i close the cup i give them chopped grass, they do eat a lot of warms and bugs for protein. There is a medicine that if you give it to theme they will lay like crazy and probably die by exhaustion, stress, that medicine they give it to battery hens even if those hens can lay almost every day. Also if you decide to give proteins to your birds you should know that they will get fat and when they are fat they stop laying and have problems in the summer. Keep your coop clean and provide them with fresh grass every day avoid drafts in the coop and be sure that your birds are calm and have a routine.

 

[BaileyFarm]

My girls love a quality wild bird seed and suet. I get about 10 eggs a day from 13 hens. Summer and Winter.

 

[Angel16]

they like suet? i thought only woodpeckers liked suet?

 

[BaileyFarm]

They love suet! But I only give it to them when it is real cold and only occasionally. Too much fat is not good for them.

 

[Kikiriki]

Is rape a green or onion? I am not sure. somewhere I read when laying eggs the egg picks up what the hens eat? Everything in moderation I think. No sure but I give greens and I put apple cider in their water and the eggs do not taste like vinegar. So give it a try.  I dont give my hens avocado or onion.

Rape is the unopened flower shoot on garlic plants. They are wonderful steamed or bar-b-cued! I would steal them from your chickens if I was there!