How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

[SkyAJK]

4 eggs today, that is a fancy indeed. I take what I get from my feather kids. Who knows tomorrow they might decided to take a holiday and no egg. ;-)

 

[FarmerGirl101]

It's this:

View attachment 4020852

I never even thought to check the date! The bags I have now all say best by 6/25. They'll be through it by 3/25.

To me personally this looks more like something I would give as scratch and not their main feed. The % breakdown does look good but I’m not sure how nutritional dense it is. If it were me I’d try a bag or two of a different brand to rule out nutritional deficiencies. If that doesn’t solve it then I’d switch back and focus on preventing them from having the time to eat the eggs. Aside from that I don’t have anything else I’d do.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

2 for today. 3 hens/2 roo's a good thing is the sparrow hawk has cleared out the wild birds who had been leaving dropings on everything, Im happy about that part of it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

To me personally this looks more like something I would give as scratch and not their main feed. The % breakdown does look good but I’m not sure how nutritional dense it is. If it were me I’d try a bag or two of a different brand to rule out nutritional deficiencies. If that doesn’t solve it then I’d switch back and focus on preventing them from having the time to eat the eggs. Aside from that I don’t have anything else I’d do.

I agree, looks like scratch whuch I would give as a treat. That's why I like pelleted feed or crumble, I know every bite is complete and consistent and they won't be picking and choosing their favorites out. Like my daughter does with chicken pot pie (eeewwww, peas!) Lol.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Ugh, typos. Must be past my bedtime. Good night!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I agree, looks like scratch whuch I would give as a treat. That's why I like pelleted feed or crumble, I know every bite is complete and consistent and they won't be picking and choosing their favorites out. Like my daughter does with chicken pot pie (eeewwww, peas!) Lol.

Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. I had neighbours who gave free choice both layer and scratch. Of course the scratch was gone first. I personally don’t give treats till they’ve had some time to eat their layer feed first.

Agreed on the pelleted or crumbled feed. No matter what it is a complete feed and complete bite. They can’t pick and choose so it’s more nutritionally impactful. That’s why I personally feed it. I just go ahead and grab a bag of DuMOR layer pellets. It’s cheap, good nutritional value, and they can’t pick and choose. The name brands are good for a reason.

 

[Winderdear]

Do they eat everything or pick and choose what they like?

They leave a few yellow split peas behind, and also some of the powdery flax meal if I don’t mix in some water. I wouldn’t call it scratch personally. It has no sunflower seeds, corn or millet, and it’s not formulated to fatten them up for winter warmth. It isn’t junk food, and I like that I can see what it’s made of.

My girls get 2-3 hours of foraging time, where they get a ton of greens and additional protein (worms, reptiles, amphibians, mice etc), so I’m not concerned about any imbalances from leaving a few things behind. Scratch and Peck does make layer pellets as well, so that is always an option.

I personally really like giving them this unpelleted feed because it can be sprouted, which unlocks more nutrients. Not that I always sprout it, but the option is there.

There is a youtube channel called EdibleAcres, and they have a really interesting way of feeding their hens where they bring in local organic food scraps from restaurants, and add whole soaked grains like wheat and oats, which sprout on the ground and in the compost the chickens create by picking through the vegetables. They get rich compost full of worms and sprouted grains, which leads to lots of eggs and a happy flock. They don’t buy bagged feed, just locally grown wheat, oats and sunflower seeds I believe. Their flock has lots of older hens, so it must be working for them, and the chickens seem like they’re in paradise. I have to admit I find it inspiring, and would like to emulate their set up where I can, but as it is I still stick to specifically formulated and balanced feeds, just in case.

 

[thistlewick]

^^^ Perris has a beautiful article on this and I have been wanting to try this for awhile but for right now, all-flock Purina really is wonderful, my girls are hale and healthy and producing gorgeous eggs.

I specifically use this flaked oyster shell on the side and I have *zero* issues with shells.

I do let my girls free range every single day, from about 2 hours after sunrise until sunset, so all day long really. They forage like champs. There isn't a lot of bugs around during winter though so they eat like maniacs LOL

Also, way more eggs yesterday than I thought, 12 total!

 

[pecky33]

Even that kind of harassment is illegal though.

My bad.

 

[Ponypoor]

Glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. I had neighbours who gave free choice both layer and scratch. Of course the scratch was gone first. I personally don’t give treats till they’ve had some time to eat their layer feed first.

Agreed on the pelleted or crumbled feed. No matter what it is a complete feed and complete bite. They can’t pick and choose so it’s more nutritionally impactful. That’s why I personally feed it. I just go ahead and grab a bag of DuMOR layer pellets. It’s cheap, good nutritional value, and they can’t pick and choose. The name brands are good for a reason.

Scratch at night before roosting, gives them something to digest overnight.

Right now my gang is eating everything in sight, it’s cold and they have good appetites. Anything they can get their beaks into is fair game. I haven’t seen any mice running about so I guess they are getting those as well. It’s hilarious watching 5 hens sitting patiently around a mouse hole waiting for the wee beastie to poke its head out……GONE!

The chooks are way better than any cat I have had with catching mice. Haven’t seen any rats in a while either. Wonder if they can take on a rat?

Anywhoooo…

9 eggs today, so far. Might get another one from my one Buff Orp sitting in her nestbox. Hmmmm no olive egg from Jaffarra today.