Egg and meat production in poultry

[Beekissed]

I wish your hens could come have a word with my hens and tell them how it's done. I haven't seen an egg in weeks. Actually, between the 3 hens I have, I think we got 6 eggs in total over the last 5 months. They can be GLAD they are pets!

You'll be getting new ones soon, won't you, Sumi? That will boost your flock production in time. Have you been able to find a source for breeds you like?

I think if my hens had a word with your hens, your hens would be kissing your feet when you walk by and bowing in your presence! My hens would tell them what happens to slackers in my coop!

 

[Beekissed]

Almost all hens laying for the past two days...I have 17 hens, one of which is a 6 yr old EE that only lays a couple of times a week, so I don't count her as a steady layer. So, 32 eggs gathered these past two days, which colors me happy.

That's a mix of 3 yr old, 2 yr old, one 6 yr old and 6 pullets. The EE pullet mixes are just now kicking in, as is the pure EE pullet. I also have a mutt pullet that looks to be a BO/BR cross bird...she's just starting too. The older birds(WR, BA, WR/BA mix) and WR mix pullets have been laying well for some time now.

 

[sumi]

DS found another egg from his hen in the shed today Finally we're getting eggs and they getting laid in a good post for us. I'd hate for her to go broody outside somewhere. The eggs are infertile and it's dangerous out at night for a hen.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

I'll be doing the same here in a few weeks. Ive got some meat chickens to cull along with a few that I have to constantly kick out of the nesting boxes at night. And there are two loud panicky chickens and a few that hang around all day waiting to be fed rather than free ranging. These will also be culled.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee, you hit the nail on the head. The same will happen in a month with garden plants, and seeds. I have heard folks remark throughout my life that "if it gets bad, I'll start a garden". Gardening is much more complicated than that and requires a persistent development of the land, techniques, and management practices.

I agree....and that's already happening here. Went one week, saw asparagus and rhubarb and such at Rural King~both things that most folks don't plant around here, so I figured I'd have time to pick some up. Nope, the following week they were cleaned out. Found the same thing at TSC, though, and was able to get my already planned amount of both to plant this spring. Those are among the few things I'm planting this year as I'm moving more towards perennials, root crops, etc. Don't know if those folks know you can't really get a harvest off either of those plants the first year or so and neither lends itself to storing except the rhubarb, but that requires a lot of sugar and then you can only eat it a few ways. Not a good plant for those wanting to get food this year.

Folks are also walking around the bedding plants already out and for sale~mostly brassicas and herbs~and I can see the thoughts going round and round. Most will buy what they think they will eat first,~cabbage, mostly~ but soon everything will be bought up and anyone with a patch of sunlight available will be trying to grow a little pot of food.

For anyone currently panic gardening and you want to make the best of your money, efforts, and for sheer storage and optimal calorie and mineral content~as well as ease of planting~potatoes are your best bet. They are easy to grow and yield the most and can be utilized in more ways in the diet than most anything else, while being able to store them without any method of preservation. They are cheap to get~right now, though that will change REAL soon, if you can even find them at all and, if you can get your hands on some hay, grass clippings, straw, etc., you don't even have to till deeply to get them planted.

You can store potatoes right in a hole in the ground....dig it deep, line it with straw and leave a top on it that allows you to access the hole, but you can place a straw/hay bale on top of the topper to further insulate the space. Has the same storage capabilities as a cellar as long as you didn't dig it in a place that holds ground water. The potatoes stored this way come out crisp and sweet clear up until spring.

But, you are correct, BB....takes a learning curve and many have laughed that off for years, saying they can do it if "they have to". In other words, any dummy can garden, farm, etc., so why not them? Same with raising chickens, sheep, hogs, rabbits, etc....folks think you can just get an animal, feed and water it, and it's all good. I have family with just that mindset....never paused a single second in all their lives to study up on what they planned to do "some day" and now some day has rushed right through the door and they want to get some chickens and such.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth on that issue, I do believe, as their best efforts to keep things alive isn't successful.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Lets hope that these times will produce more folks who learn how to take care of themselves. I hope and believe that there will be folks who will be successful with their gardens and successful with their chickens. It's really NOT rocket science, and there's a lot of good places for them to learn. Like here! We all started somewhere. I wish them well.

 

[Hinotori]

Potatoes don't do the best here. I wish they did. I'm putting in extra winter squash as that loves it here. Butternut, sweet meat, and pie pumpkins. As a bonus I can feed it to chickens if I don't eat it all.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

And, tomatoes are so very easy to can!

 

[wyoDreamer]

Potatoes don't do the best here. I wish they did. I'm putting in extra winter squash as that loves it here. Butternut, sweet meat, and pie pumpkins. As a bonus I can feed it to chickens if I don't eat it all.

I wonder if growing potatoes in bags would work for you. You are able to control the soil and water better. Potatoes like a loose soil and don't like wet feet.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I did this out in Wyoming (high mountain desert with no topsoil) and I used a mix of compost, peat moss and topsoil. 50/50 on peat moss to topsoil to keep soil moist and fluffy. The peat moss will hold water but not keep it soaking wet - like a sponge that has been squeezed out, moist but not dripping wet.
And use a gallon milk jug with 3 small holes in the bottom for watering. I put rocks in it to keep it from blowing away, lol. Just set the jug on top in the center and fill the jug with the hose. It will slowly drain into the soil and allow the soil to adsorb the moisture instead of it just running through the soil and out the bottom.