Rancid Crbtree
Songster
- Feb 20, 2024
- 104
- 611
- 133
One year chicken update.
Its been exactly 1 year since we got our chicks. I do not claim that my results will be your results. (your mileage may very)
Ive kept production records for our chickens. We got them a year ago (At this writing) which was April 5th. We got a barn yard mix of chicks that includes Leghorns, Barred Rock, red sexlink, Black Sexlink, Black Isbar. We bought 24 chicks and after eating the 4 roosters, we were left with 20 hens that lay a mix of white, light brown, dark brown and greenish/blue eggs.
Coop/run: The birds have well over a foot of roost bar space per bird in the coop and about 2 1/2 sq/ft of floor space per bird but spend very little time in the coop except to roost. The coop has a sand floor in the summer and hemp over sand in the winter. (deep liter method) In the covered run (where they spend the bulk of their time) they have 16 sq/ft per bird.
The run also has roosting bars. The floor of the run is sand in the summer and straw over sand in the winter. The coop has 4 nesting boxes for 20 hens. During the short, winter days we do have a string of outdoor lighting in the run. Under the coop (ours is an elevated coop) there is a mixture of sand and wood ash from our wood stove so this is where they dust bath.
Climate: We are in the frozen tundra above the 45th parallel. Winter temps dipped to -28F. Summer highs reached 95F.
Feed: We give them a mix of our own home grown food that we raise (soil-less grown fodder that is a sprouted mix of Barley, Wheat and oats) They get that year round because we grow it indoors on large trays. Its fed to them when the greens are 5 inches tall. They also get forage boxes in the summer with is the same mix of seeds grown in soil filled trays with a mesh screen over it to prevent them from scratching it out. Two forage boxes are rotated in and out to allow for growth.
They get a bounty of stuff from our big garden in the summer so they get live greens year round. The food we buy is Purina brand Layena Crumbles. We do not feed oyster shells and still have very strong/thick egg shells.
We have not lost a single bird nor have we had any ailments/injuries. We have not had mites/lice or any other sort of infestations. They get nothing but food and water, no meds, no vet bills, no health issues to date.
Production: We got our first eggs on July 24th. This was 127 days after hatching. At their peak we had several days where we were getting 20 eggs a day from the 20 hens. Most days of the peak summer/fall were 18 eggs a day. In the winter months we dropped to a dozen to 13 eggs a day but the daily average has been 15 eggs a day for what has now been 256 days. That's 3,840 eggs to date. (320 dozen eggs over 8.5 months of laying)
We have not had a bad egg or any sort of egg anomaly (like soft shells, blood spots, deformed shapes, lash eggs, etc) Just, nice, deep orange yolks from mostly large to extra large eggs. In the early stages of laying (first 3 months) there were many double yolk. We have not had a double yolk for some time.
Its been exactly 1 year since we got our chicks. I do not claim that my results will be your results. (your mileage may very)
Ive kept production records for our chickens. We got them a year ago (At this writing) which was April 5th. We got a barn yard mix of chicks that includes Leghorns, Barred Rock, red sexlink, Black Sexlink, Black Isbar. We bought 24 chicks and after eating the 4 roosters, we were left with 20 hens that lay a mix of white, light brown, dark brown and greenish/blue eggs.
Coop/run: The birds have well over a foot of roost bar space per bird in the coop and about 2 1/2 sq/ft of floor space per bird but spend very little time in the coop except to roost. The coop has a sand floor in the summer and hemp over sand in the winter. (deep liter method) In the covered run (where they spend the bulk of their time) they have 16 sq/ft per bird.
The run also has roosting bars. The floor of the run is sand in the summer and straw over sand in the winter. The coop has 4 nesting boxes for 20 hens. During the short, winter days we do have a string of outdoor lighting in the run. Under the coop (ours is an elevated coop) there is a mixture of sand and wood ash from our wood stove so this is where they dust bath.
Climate: We are in the frozen tundra above the 45th parallel. Winter temps dipped to -28F. Summer highs reached 95F.
Feed: We give them a mix of our own home grown food that we raise (soil-less grown fodder that is a sprouted mix of Barley, Wheat and oats) They get that year round because we grow it indoors on large trays. Its fed to them when the greens are 5 inches tall. They also get forage boxes in the summer with is the same mix of seeds grown in soil filled trays with a mesh screen over it to prevent them from scratching it out. Two forage boxes are rotated in and out to allow for growth.
They get a bounty of stuff from our big garden in the summer so they get live greens year round. The food we buy is Purina brand Layena Crumbles. We do not feed oyster shells and still have very strong/thick egg shells.
We have not lost a single bird nor have we had any ailments/injuries. We have not had mites/lice or any other sort of infestations. They get nothing but food and water, no meds, no vet bills, no health issues to date.
Production: We got our first eggs on July 24th. This was 127 days after hatching. At their peak we had several days where we were getting 20 eggs a day from the 20 hens. Most days of the peak summer/fall were 18 eggs a day. In the winter months we dropped to a dozen to 13 eggs a day but the daily average has been 15 eggs a day for what has now been 256 days. That's 3,840 eggs to date. (320 dozen eggs over 8.5 months of laying)
We have not had a bad egg or any sort of egg anomaly (like soft shells, blood spots, deformed shapes, lash eggs, etc) Just, nice, deep orange yolks from mostly large to extra large eggs. In the early stages of laying (first 3 months) there were many double yolk. We have not had a double yolk for some time.
