How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

[Knobby]

3 chicken and 2 duck eggs...production should be ramping up with the increase in sunlight and temps..yay.

 

[MargieG]

I normally carry 10 hens over the winter. I get about 4-6 eggs per day in the winter with my hens that are under 2 years old. But that can depend on the weather, a lot, because egg production goes down to about zero if we have an extended period of -20F days, for example.

Also, I don't add any supplemental light to encourage egg laying in the winter. The short daylight hours are a big factor in the decreased egg production where I live. But I'm okay with that.

For me, winter is a time to let the chickens back off on the egg production and just use their energy to stay alive on those really cold days. Although egg production is down right now, we still get more than enough eggs for ourselves and even have excess eggs for sell to a few customers. That is enough to pay for my feed costs.

I have a mix of dual purpose and production hens. In my experience, none of them are good egg layers come their third winter. My current plan is to retire (freezer camp) all my hens after their second winter before their third, unproductive, winter.

I think the biggest benefit I get from my chickens is that they make tons of compost for my raised bed gardens. I have literally saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars using my own chicken run compost instead of buying bags of compost at the big box stores. I tell people that I have composting chickens and get eggs as a bonus.

Here is a picture of my compost processing setup...

View attachment 4038849

Wow... that's amazing... I'm trying to get some compost out of the bedding too but so far I have not succeeded... I have to admit though that I really don't have a set up for it... i simply dump the bedding + kitchen scraps on a pile close to the coop...and mix it with leaves... not much composting... I guess it might take some time...
Can you explain the set up?

ON A SIDE NOTE... and very important one... I GOT 1 EGG YESTERDAY, first in 39 days YAYAYAYAYAYAY

 

[akroberts1085]

3

 

[BigBlueHen53]

14.
9 brown, 4 blue, 1 olive (khaki)
It's amazing there are so many shades of brown, from yellowish to pink.

ugh, typos! Fixed them.

 

[akroberts1085]

14.
9 brown, 4 blue, 1 olive (khaki)
It's amazing there are so many shades of brown, from yellowish to pink.

View attachment 4039811ugh, typos! Fixed them.

Your eggs are beautiful. I got 2 EE's last year and one gives me olive colored eggs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Your eggs are beautiful. I got 2 EE's last year and one gives me olive colored eggs.

Thank you. They are amazing.

 

[gtaus]

Wow... that's amazing... I'm trying to get some compost out of the bedding too but so far I have not succeeded... I have to admit though that I really don't have a set up for it... i simply dump the bedding + kitchen scraps on a pile close to the coop...and mix it with leaves... not much composting... I guess it might take some time...
Can you explain the set up?

ON A SIDE NOTE... and very important one... I GOT 1 EGG YESTERDAY, first in 39 days YAYAYAYAYAYAY

Well, I love talking about my composting system. So, I'll try to outline it briefly and if you have any more specific questions, let me know.

When I first set up my chicken run, it was covered in beautiful green grass. That only lasted a few months before the chickens had all the grass ripped up leaving only bare dirt which turned into a muddy mess after a rain.

I first dumped in a load of wood chips which worked great. But then I decided that I might as well turn the chicken run into a composting system. So, I started adding in grass clippings, weeds from the garden, and then leaves in the fall.

I use dry deep bedding litter in the coop. I clean out the coop twice a year and dump all the used coop bedding into the chicken run to compost in place. I have used many types of coop bedding, but the last few years have mainly stayed with paper shreds I make at home. Paper sheds break down into compost in about 2 months where I live. But any organic coop litter would compost over time.

The chickens are constantly scratching and pecking in the chicken run compost litter, looking for tasty bugs and juicy worms to eat. That really speeds up the composting breakdown process. They are great little workers turning over the compost all the time.

I have more compost in the chicken run than I can use, but that's a good thing. I harvest a lot of compost in the spring, before I plant my raised bed gardens. I top off all my raised beds and get everything ready for the season. In the fall, I will harvest more compost and top off the beds.

I modified a cement mixer with a screened barrel to shift my chicken run compost. In this picture, you will see the black wagon is full of shifted compost and the rejected material dumps into the gray wagon at the end. It only takes me minutes to shift compost with this cement mixer compost sifter that used to take me hours and hours manually with my old wood frame and wire compost shifter on top of my wheelbarrow.

I can put different sized screens in that barrel. I have a 1/4 X 1/4 inch screen for potting soil, a 1/2 X 1/2 inch screen for mixing into and topping off my raised beds, and the barrel screen itself is 1/2 X 1 inch for less fine compost or mulch. I mainly use the 1/2 X 1/2 inch screen, but I do have other options as well.

Every spring, I shift out about $200 - $300 dollars of compost if I had to buy it at the big box store. So, truly, my chickens bring/save more money in finished compost than I get from the eggs.

Hope that helps.

 

[akroberts1085]

Well, I love talking about my composting system. So, I'll try to outline it briefly and if you have any more specific questions, let me know.

When I first set up my chicken run, it was covered in beautiful green grass. That only lasted a few months before the chickens had all the grass ripped up leaving only bare dirt which turned into a muddy mess after a rain.

I first dumped in a load of wood chips which worked great. But then I decided that I might as well turn the chicken run into a composting system. So, I started adding in grass clippings, weeds from the garden, and then leaves in the fall.

I use dry deep bedding litter in the coop. I clean out the coop twice a year and dump all the used coop bedding into the chicken run to compost in place. I have used many types of coop bedding, but the last few years have mainly stayed with paper shreds I make at home. Paper sheds break down into compost in about 2 months where I live. But any organic coop litter would compost over time.

The chickens are constantly scratching and pecking in the chicken run compost litter, looking for tasty bugs and juicy worms to eat. That really speeds up the composting breakdown process. They are great little workers turning over the compost all the time.

I have more compost in the chicken run than I can use, but that's a good thing. I harvest a lot of compost in the spring, before I plant my raised bed gardens. I top off all my raised beds and get everything ready for the season. In the fall, I will harvest more compost and top off the beds.

I modified a cement mixer with a screened barrel to shift my chicken run compost. In this picture, you will see the black wagon is full of shifted compost and the rejected material dumps into the gray wagon at the end. It only takes me minutes to shift compost with this cement mixer compost sifter that used to take me hours and hours manually with my old wood frame and wire compost shifter on top of my wheelbarrow.

View attachment 4039803

I can put different sized screens in that barrel. I have a 1/4 X 1/4 inch screen for potting soil, a 1/2 X 1/2 inch screen for mixing into and topping off my raised beds, and the barrel screen itself is 1/2 X 1 inch for less fine compost or mulch. I mainly use the 1/2 X 1/2 inch screen, but I do have other options as well.

Every spring, I shift out about $200 - $300 dollars of compost if I had to buy it at the big box store. So, truly, my chickens bring/save more money in finished compost than I get from the eggs.

Hope that helps.

I would love to be able to afford to make a compost system like yours. I would be in compost heaven. I could also compost my rabbit bedding and stuff.

 

[Ponypoor]

guys big news and I don't even know why I'm doing this but

Tilly decided to go broody! She's definitely decided and picked a nest and I think it's fascinating because she picked the FAVORITE nest and *every single one of my ladies is respecting her choice* and while Tilly is not remotely the highest pecking order lady, not a single of of my girls has tried to bully her out of it and I'm so proud of them!

There were 11 eggs yesterday, but 3 I decided Tilly could try and hatch. She was so delighted when I gave her the 2 extra. Little coos and fluffing her feathers and pancaking, the whole 9 yards.

My favorite thing was discovering how much she likes us, because she raptor calls to everyone near her, except me and my husband and lets me pet her and do anything. She coos at me GOSH they sure know how to make you love em right back!

I didn't think she liked me that much but I always spoke super sweet to her, she was our runt. Her name is after the Little Engine That Could - because she had a rough time of it. She also honks, she's our only girl who sounds like a goose and we are just delighted by her in general. She waddles and is silly and is always running last behind everyone. She isn't small anymore though! haha

So she has an egg by Chocolate, Sophia (her Maran sister) and one of the Jersey Giants or Sapphire Gems, it's almost impossible to tell who lays what (of the brown egg layers, except for Jane who lays an oblong egg lol -- oh and Blanche, who has a very distinctive round shaped egg with a slightly diff color of brown, more peach than brown).

Will candle them in a week to see if any are actually developing.

Also caught Dorothy laying yesterday! So that's all 17 girls officially grown up!!

I read dozens of posts about it yesterday, I'm just going to let nature take its course and let Tilly do her thing and see what kind of mama she is. I wrote dates on the eggs (with pencil) and will start the countdown!

Our hen house actually is the perfect place to brood - loads of space and I will not change anything - free ranging, not removing her from the flock, it will be exciting and fun to see how it goes. I'm prepared for the worst and will accept whatever happens. They are livestock, but they also have great instincts, I trust them, so we will see how it goes!

What breed is your rooster?

My Polish Roo bred one my silkies gave me a lovely pullet who lays pink eggs

 

[akroberts1085]

Apparently I got a 4th egg today