Eggs

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We just leave oyster shells out in a little bowl for them, seems to come and go in phases if they are eating it or not, never been able to put a pattern to it. The feed has claclium in it. I tend to think it has to do with them being out most of the time when the weather is good and not eating much feed. No proof though. Although chickens are omnivores, meat and meat byproducts shouldn't be a regular proline source for them, mostly because of the high fat content. Not withstanding, ours get meat too, just not a steady diet of it.
 
Was doing a little research yesterday. Ran across a article about a toxin called Vomitoxin. Symptoms are diarrhea, poor reproduction and a few other things. Mostly effect grains during hot humid conditions. I dont remember the weather conditions last year, I do remember tons of rain. And it was last years corn I was feeding, this years crop just now being harvested. At any rate, I havent given my birds any of the corn for two weeks now, 21% production feed only. Been getting one egg a day for about a week and got 2 eggs yesterday. I only have 3 hens of laying age. Today I am hoping to find 3 eggs in the nest box, probably wont be any. Oh well. My sisterinlaw has been feeding 30% cat food to her birds. Actually she feeds it to her cats and the chickens get their share. She feeds a 3grain scratch in her feeders and whatever cat food the birds can steal and she is getting plenty of eggs. Her birds run free all the time, and she loses her share to the foxes and possums.
You might be thinking of aflatoxin which does occur in corn under certain situations. The elevator tests for it and rejects loads destined for food grade plants. It stinks to wait in line 6 hours and get a load rejected.
 
When I raised chickens in the past, all they got was the 16% layer pellets. I never liked to feed the mash because the birds liked to flip it out on the ground. Cat food wont hurt chickens and it is made with animal byproducts. Since chickens where never intended to be vegetarian, a little meat in their diets works wonders. Of course to much of a good thing isnt good either. Plus catfood is about $30 for 40lbs so I guess I will stay with regular chicken feed.

We feed our birds all the scraps they can eat. Garden is gone now so they wont get as much as they had been getting. I dont feed extra calcium, according to the feed sack, calcium is added to the feed. My egg shells seem to be pretty thick so I suppose they are getting plenty out of the feed.

We would save egg shells, grind them with a grain grinder, and then feed them back to the chickens. For calcium.

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I cut up a couple of boston butts today to make sauage. I threw the bones in the chicken pen. On another note, I mentioned I got two eggs out of my 3 layers, and If I remember, I also said I probably wouldnt get any the next day. Well, I havent gotten any eggs the last two days. Wifey laid the law down to the birds today. Pick up production or else!!!!. I didnt ask what the "or else" is.
 
I cut up a couple of boston butts today to make sauage. I threw the bones in the chicken pen. On another note, I mentioned I got two eggs out of my 3 layers, and If I remember, I also said I probably wouldnt get any the next day. Well, I havent gotten any eggs the last two days. Wifey laid the law down to the birds today. Pick up production or else!!!!. I didnt ask what the "or else" is.

When my wife said that it meant I was going to have to get bloody.
 
Wifes threats seem to have worked. Got 3 eggs today, none yesterday and 3 the two days before that. Spent some time last week expanding their pen and locked them back up. Couldnt keep them from crapping all over the driveway and parking area. First day locked up I get 3 eggs, makes me think they may of been laying somewhere other than their nest boxes. I have looked, but havent found any hideanests. It seems the biggest problem now is roosting in their nest boxes. I have been going down at night and placeing them on the roost and covering the next boxes. Hope to get them trained soon.
 
Do you have any trouble with coyotes getting them when they are free ranging?
My dogs keep most away by scent alone, but some do still come in hearing the roosters, the German shepherd will go nuts if she sees a fox, and comes close to catching them, but I call her back.
After they get chased off they don't come back as often and then mostly at night.
 
About half our girls are in various stages of molting now. Which honestly is a welcome reprieve from getting so many eggs every day. We're still giving a few dozen eggs away every week. Wife was already thinking about getting a few more, and I told her no way. Still have too many so as it is.
We may get some broilers this spring, but I'm still not convinced I want them here at the house. May say something to my uncle and see if him and my cousins would be interested in splitting the cost, getting a hundred or so and keeping them at his farm. We used to do it yearly, but for the longest time we could get halves for 8 cents a pound if we got over a certian poundage . Was cheaper and easier that way.
 
I have been lucky so far about not losing any chickens. Probably get up tomorrow and find all of them dead. I lost about 30 young birds in one night a few years ago. They where all young birds, just feathered out good. I kept them in a dog kennel cage like the one in the above pic. A pair of foxes couldnt get in the cage, but they ran around the cage and the chickens kept sticking their heads thru the chain link fence, the foxes would catch them by their head and pull it off. I saw the foxes but didnt even have a good rock handy to throw at them. My solution was to put chicken wire around the cage over the chain link. Chickens couldnt stick their heads thru that and the foxes couldnt get in.
 
Was about the year 2000 ish I move to bantams from full size hen's and never looked back...
Feeding alone it cut feeding costs down to a 3rd..
Yes the eggs are half the size of full size chickens but I still have more eggs than we can eat...
Another thing the bantams seem to be more robust and healthy.. I've had bantam hen's still laying at 10 years old.. My Mille Fleur d’Uccle bantam rooster lived to the ripe old age of 14 years!

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My bantams are some weird critters. I have a 14' long area, x 5 tiers, for roosting. Lots more roosting room than I have chickens but they insist on sleeping on the ground. They also lay their eggs on the ground rather than the nice, clean, spacious hen boxes the other hens use. I've had lots of breeds of chickens before but the first I've seen this type of behavior, especially the sleeping on the ground part. That seems counterintuitive to the instincts engrained into their little bird brains 😁
 
I wouldn't wish a mink on anybody. Krafty keniving little vampires. They'll find holes in your coop you never knew you had.

About 10-12 years ago we had something get in the shed and killed 2-3 hens one night. It chewed their heads off and lined them up like a prize. I could not figure out what it was but I plugged one small hole going under the floor from the outside. The next night same damn thing. I was pissed. I then discovered a small hole in the floor and knew that was how it got it. I would get the bastard that night. I set (2) #1 longsprings and a #110 conibear around the hole. Of course the hens were all around there so I put a mineral tub over top the traps and the hole. I then sat a cinder block on top. About 10PM that night I went down and knew I had the scrounge as I heard him sratching around caught under the mineral tub. I flipped it over to find the biggest Mink I had ever seen. I humanely dispatched it but then ponder what to do as it was June and the hide was worthless. It was a cotton mink to boot. My wife suggested we asked our local game warden if she wanted the hide for education programs as it would be a good example of the difference between a nice mink hide and a cotton mink. Our sons were playing ball the next night and I asked her . Of course whet I did was technically illegal but I was not worried. My wife asked Laura, our game warden,......."Hypothetically if Bill was to find a dead Mink in the hen house would you want it for educational purposes ?". Laura being a great woman and a great game warden smiled and said......"Well hypothetically, if that was me I would hypothetically find a ditch for the scroungy bastard" We all all laughed.
 

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