HI All:
I have been posting about my lack f egg production from my girls. Even after adding the lights, I still didn't see any uptick in production.
We had to go somewhere and while we were returning home, we remembered that we needed some chicken feed as we were passing a Tractor Supply store. We stopped in and they didn't have the brand we usually buy so we brought what they had.
Our egg production has dramatically increased. We have been getting over a dozen every day and are heading to the point where we may be getting maximum production from our girls. The only factor we can point to as a cause of increase is the change in feed.
Does feed make that much of difference? We usually use Layena pellets. Not at home so I can't post the name of the new stuff.
Needless to say I am very happy and a 2009 Chicken Massacre and Holiday Supper has been averted. :-)
BB
Does feed really make that much of a difference?
I am sure you have established a new national Chicken Holiday.......
One possible reason for the difference is that, for some reason, the original feed had been in storage for too long. The nutritional value drops precipitously after a surprisingly short time. I don't remember exactly which nutrients are most affected--or what their effect on egg production might be--but it is a significant factor in poultry health.
This message was edited Dec 7, 2009 1:06 PM
It may also be that the lighting effect has finally kicked in... it's not instantaneous as it's all about the hormone cycle and that takes a spell to ramp up... how long have you had the lights up?
A couple of weeks I guess
I think it might be the lights are finally taking effect... but I never did lights on my hens. I just know it takes a while with horses. If you go back to your regular feed (and Purina is a pretty reliable brand) and there's no decrease, then you'll know for sure.
Horses need more light to lay eggs?
Indeedy they do... those high dollar racing broodmares are brought in under lights to improve their chances of settling in Feb and March so the foal will be born as close to Jan. 1 as possible.
Left to their own devices, many mares won't cycle or settle til spring, oddly enough.
For the life of me, I've never been able to figure out why the Jockey club picked Jan. 1 as Thoroughbred's official B-day...
I've always thought it was a dumb idea.
You only need one horse egg to make a whopper omlet.
LOL
BB
Chickens like egg mash or scratch feed. They do not do well on pelleted feed. We tried some last spring when we went from pullet feed to layer feed. They basically wouldn't eat the stuff. Switched to a ground feed & they cleaned out the feeders.
Still getting nearly an egg a day out of the old girls. Even in this sub arctic cold!
Bernie
And mine won't touch mash. They throw it everywhere, looking for soemething solid. Okay, so that's just my opinion {g}, but I do know that the mash is ignored. Crumbles are picked thruogh, and pellets eaten grudgingly. Yes, they love the scratch, but it's nutritionally limited, so I don't give much. What they really like is whatever it is they find out in the wilderness....
And canned cat food.
What's egg mash?
BB
I think they mean layer mash--it is the fine, almost powdery form of feed for laying hens. Mine prefer crumbles--hate pellets and eat but waste most of the mash. Crumbles are a bit coarser than mash. Pellets resemble rabbit/guinea pig pelleted feed and are the most economical because chickens don't waste it scratching it around into the bedding. But a lot of chickens don't like it. Basically they are all the same food, just in different size particles.
Mine prefered the crumbles, too. But I fed them the pellets because they did fine on them and less waste. Of course, they did get to free range and plenty of exercise (donkey bowling!), so I had very healthy hens. Preferred by dogs everywhere...
Donkey bowling???????
BB
Mine wasted the crumble so I went back to the pellets,I have lots of eggs year around but I do have 14 hrs of light in my coop.
Yeah, where the hens are pecking through the corral and the donkeys try to run over them. Chickens flying everywhere. Loads of fun... LOL
(No, the donks never caught one)