Egg and meat production in poultry

[sumi]

That is what I heard! I don't mind the mess and smell and it should be manageable with only 3 or so of them. No drakes here, I don't trust them around my hens and they all are going to share a large pen.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Gotcha, I've never kept them together. All my poultry species are separate, even though I'm sure they'd be fine!

I'm anxious for everyone here to start laying. I have 9 hens, 7 of whom are coming into their first spring, so should be a good amount of eggs! Even if they are little pullet eggs!

 

[Chic Rustler]

mine are just starting to pick back up. We are getting around 8 a day now. By the time summer gets here I should be getting 20-30 a day. Idk what im going to do with all those eggs! Haha

 

[Beekissed]

MMD, those are GREAT numbers, especially considering that most of your flock are not new pullets, but older gals just pumping out the eggs.

 

[treerooted]

My birds are also laying again this week and this will be their first spring. Getting 8/13. And I was sick last week and no one ate any eggs, so I've got around 4 dozen right now!

 

[sumi]

My birds are also laying again this week and this will be their first spring. Getting 8/13. And I was sick last week and no one ate any eggs, so I've got around 4 dozen right now!

Hope you're feeling better! I wish my hens would come out of retirement and lay something. I caved and cracked their last few eggs to cook them and all three had the palest green albumens Needless to say they went to the compost heap!

 

[Beekissed]

I got my first egg in weeks! I'm starting to wonder if the hens haven't been sneaking off to lay somewhere I can't find the nest and had no choice but to lay in the shed, since the snow kept them inside the last 3 days. I really need to get the coop up for them.

I would say that's a distinct possibility. This is the time of year they are looking to lay a clutch and sit on it, whether they actually do that or not is up to the individual genetic trait,but a lot of chickens are still driven by that instinct in the spring.

I just ruined a nest that had 14 eggs in it. In the days after ruining that nest, the production in the coop nests went up to nearly 100% of viable layers.

I have no doubt they will establish other nests out there, so I keep watch. If it's in a good place to brood, I'll keep removing eggs from it that I don't want hatched and see if one of the hens will actually sit on it.

 

[Mini Horses]

We all hate the cull. I have gotten the cooler weather here, so I HOPE to get a few down and canned. Looks like week of Thanksgiving I'm pretty much off and weather should remain cool. If it isn't rainy -- as it has been for 2 weeks -- plan to start with roos. Have a lot of those! Thanks to Spring hatch. Then, I can look at the hens.

Once you start, it's a doable mess. It's the getting started that's hard!! The first blood and gut takes over and you push through, for me at least. I have the cages all together to grab them from the roost the night before and pen. There are two that I will be THRILLED to eliminate, just annoying birds. They are all eating quite well, so should be good meat and will certainly reduce the feed bill!!

I'm going to intro "new blood" this year, also. Bee, where do you order your WR? Looking at both options -- chicks & hatching eggs. Have a few months to decide.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Bee, it's sad. Truly sad... I'm on a homesteading FB page, and it's truly amazing at just how ignorant people are about how to be self sufficient in any way, shape, or manner! Many of these folks are simply pretending. Thinking that talking about it will suddenly transform them into experts.

 

[Hinotori]

I did potatoes in an old wheelbarrow one year and it did great. Our soil is rocky, heavy, and wet most of the year. Ive thought about using feed bags but I'm not sure how much soil to fill them with