# Feed



## robinson4

I am sure this question has probably been asked in the past, so sorry if it has. What layer feed has been the best for consistancy with your hens. Right now I am using an all natural feed and feeding it FF style, but I am getting very incosistent layers. I have 42 hens and some days I will only get 10-11 eggs and the most I have gotten is 18. Any suggestions?


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## robinson4

Well just realized I posted this in chick raising forum sorry!


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## Bee

robinson4 said:


> I am sure this question has probably been asked in the past, so sorry if it has. What layer feed has been the best for consistancy with your hens. Right now I am using an all natural feed and feeding it FF style, but I am getting very incosistent layers. I have 42 hens and some days I will only get 10-11 eggs and the most I have gotten is 18. Any suggestions?


How old are your hens, what kind of all natural feed, and what breeds do you have?


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## robin416

I'm going to ask one additional question: What is the housing situation?


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## robinson4

Nature wise natural layer feed.


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## Bee

You have to factor in the time of year~end of summer/beginning of fall slow down due to hormones that trigger molting~ and you also need to explore if any of your eggs are being stolen...this also is the time of year that rodents work hot and heavy on storing food. Rats and even squirrels will steal you blind.


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## robinson4

I have a variation of brown egg layers. Buff, Red Sex-Links, Black Sex-Links, Maron, a little bit of everything. I have 18 that are 7 Month old pullets and the rest average around 1 1/2 yrs old hens.


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## robinson4

Bee said:


> You have to factor in the time of year~end of summer/beginning of fall slow down due to hormones that trigger molting~ and you also need to explore if any of your eggs are being stolen...this also is the time of year that rodents work hot and heavy on storing food. Rats and even squirrels will steal you blind.


Would a rat leave any kind of evidence like broken eggs etc?


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## Bee

robinson4 said:


> I have a variation of brown egg layers. Buff, Red Sex-Links, Black Sex-Links, Maron, a little bit of everything. I have 18 that are 7 Month old pullets and the rest average around 1 1/2 yrs old hens.


There ya go....could explain the difficulty. Your older birds are in the summer slowdown and they really won't return to full peak laying until around the end of February, beginning of March.

Also, some of the breeds you have slow down drastically in their second year and really peter out into the third year....the sex links are these kind of breeds. Other breeds you've listed are not every day layers even in peak season, so you are going to get a grab bag of laying performances due to different breeds and ages in your flock.


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## Bee

robinson4 said:


> Would a rat leave any kind of evidence like broken eggs etc?


If they eat them there, yes...you'll find a shell with a hole in the end and all the contents eaten. If they store them you won't find anything, or you will find eggs in the corner or in some other odd place where it took a walk with a furry creature that got startled and had to leave it behind.


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## robinson4

Makes sense now. So if I want everyday brown egg layers what breed should I look to get into. I still like the variation of feather color so do my little girls, but we are wanting to provide eggs for our family and friends.


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## Courage

Some brown egg layers are Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Marans, Wyandottes, Australorps, Jersey Gants, Brahmas, Red or Black Sex link (also called Red or Black Stars), Orpingtons, Welsummers, Delawares, Naked Necks (Turkens), Sussex, New Hampshires. I could go on and on about all of the brown egg laying breeds... XD Let me know if you need more breeds to choose from!


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## Bee

robinson4 said:


> Makes sense now. So if I want everyday brown egg layers what breed should I look to get into. I still like the variation of feather color so do my little girls, but we are wanting to provide eggs for our family and friends.


I like variety also, so I don't stick with one breed but several good ones, some as dual purpose breeds and some as utility egg layers. Black Australorps are sweet, nosy and moochy...and will lay their hearts out for years, are usually very hardy and have no laying issues. New Hampshires are similar....I have a 6 yr old gal who lays more than any bird in the flock,in season and out of season. White Plymouth Rocks...the king of breeds...hugely meaty, don't eat too much feed and will lay steady and long. I also have some 6 yr old WRs in my flock and they are just now getting to the place where they need to be culled for non laying. But, they are so big they make a great meat bird in the end.

Heritage breed line Rhode Island Reds are wonderful and beautiful and will also lay like a machine for a long time...but the hatchery genetic RIR won't. They will burn out on you and aren't quite as hardy as the other breeds listed.

These are all brown egg layers that will go the distance and lay consistently in season and even out of season you will still have reasonable lay. If you manage them well~not light them up in the winter, control their diets, cull for laying performance, provide exercise and healthy living out on free range~these breeds will still be laying when other breeds have to be replaced for low production.


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## RickaRae

Bee said:


> I like variety also, so I don't stick with one breed but several good ones, some as dual purpose breeds and some as utility egg layers. Black Australorps are sweet, nosy and moochy...and will lay their hearts out for years, are usually very hardy and have no laying issues. New Hampshires are similar....I have a 6 yr old gal who lays more than any bird in the flock,in season and out of season. White Plymouth Rocks...the king of breeds...hugely meaty, don't eat too much feed and will lay steady and long. I also have some 6 yr old WRs in my flock and they are just now getting to the place where they need to be culled for non laying. But, they are so big they make a great meat bird in the end.
> 
> Heritage breed line Rhode Island Reds are wonderful and beautiful and will also lay like a machine for a long time...but the hatchery genetic RIR won't. They will burn out on you and aren't quite as hardy as the other breeds listed.
> 
> These are all brown egg layers that will go the distance and lay consistently in season and even out of season you will still have reasonable lay. If you manage them well~not light them up in the winter, control their diets, cull for laying performance, provide exercise and healthy living out on free range~these breeds will still be laying when other breeds have to be replaced for low production.


We just processed some 3 year old birds that a friend of a friend had & couldn't process herself. We ended up making sausage out if them because they were so tough! How do you cook a 6 year old bird & have it still be tender???


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## Bee

RickaRae said:


> We just processed some 3 year old birds that a friend of a friend had & couldn't process herself. We ended up making sausage out if them because they were so tough! How do you cook a 6 year old bird & have it still be tender???


Some people stew them slowly and say they are great that way. I've tried it and it's fine if a tad dry, they make really good soup but my favorite way to do old birds is marinate them in lemon juice, red wine vinegar and BBQ sauce for several hours and grill them....oh, the succulence! You really can't tell an old hen from a young meat rooster when done in this way..I know because I did it for a cook out and tried to have folks guess which was the young bird and which the old and they couldn't tell.

If doing more than just a few, I like to can them. I remove the breast and can the rest. The breasts are then used in stir fry, chicken salad, etc. Canning makes any meat tender...and then you can use them for soups, pot pie, casseroles, etc.


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## robinson4

I might have to send you some pictures of my girls so you can tell me exactly what they are. The chickens that is. I know what my 5 yr old and 2 yr old girls are....monsters!...lol


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## Bee

Weren't we all!


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## robinson4

where do you get your chicks from?


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## Bee

Some of mine came from hatcheries and some have come from a nationally known breeder. If you can at all find a good heritage breed line breeder in your area or even within a hundred miles of you, it will pay to invest in quality stock by ordering chicks from them...you may have to wait in line because they usually have too many people wanting their chicks, but you may also be able to pick up some retired layers and cull roosters from them if they have them and are selling. 

Until you get some quality birds, the hatcheries can fill your chick needs. I got most of my chicks from MyPetChicken who sources Meyer hatchery, but Murray McMurray has some great lines of Black Australorps...at least they used to, not sure what they are putting out nowadays. 

You can ask around on the forums and decide where folks are getting the better looking stock and source that hatchery and build you a flock from that until you can get some good heritage breeder stock. It will make all the difference in the world to start with quality if you can get them.


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## robinson4

Bee,
What is the process you use for culling your hens. With a large amount and only one chicken coop and working all day long is there a secret to finding out which lady is laying and which are not?


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## Bee

robinson4 said:


> Bee,
> What is the process you use for culling your hens. With a large amount and only one chicken coop and working all day long is there a secret to finding out which lady is laying and which are not?


Yep...but you may not like it. I've tried all the traditional "ways" to tell such as spacing between the pelvic bones, vent appearance, etc. and have found them to be faulty at any given time due to the variations in the build of individual chickens.

The most fail proof way to tell is to feel for an egg. I wait until around the middle of March, when anyone who will be laying for the year is definitely in lay. Then I put on a medical glove and insert a finger into the vent..you won't have to go far to palpate an egg through the rectal wall. Since I keep layers who lay every day or every other day(if older birds)in peak season, I want to feel that next day's egg.

If I don't feel one, I place a zip tie around her rt. leg. All who have one in the chute are fine that first night. The second night I repeat the palpation on all birds...all who are wearing a zip tie that don't have an egg again the second night get to keep their zip tie. Any who didn't previously have a zip tie(had an egg the first night) but don't have an egg the second night, I zip tie the left leg. The third night, I only palpate those who are not wearing a zip tie and those with zip ties on the left leg. If any with a zip tie on the lt. leg don't have an egg, I leave the zip tie on them.

The fourth night, all wearing zip ties are removed from the roost, feet are trussed(tied) with bailing twine, and they are laid in the bedding of the coop to await an early morning processing.

I've been using this method for a good few years now and have not mistakenly butchered an active layer since starting it. Before, much to my dismay, I would open up a bird to find her full of eggs and want to kick myself for killing a good layer.


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## RickaRae

We culled a bird we thought wasn't laying & turned out she was. My hubby was NOT thrilled. I wasn't either, but I'm not the one who does the deed (I help pluck & clean, I just haven't gotten the nerve for more than that yet!). I'm going to show him your method, I think that's wonderful! You are so helpful & full if great info, Bee! Thank you!


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