Hello

We have 27 dual purpose hens. We feed them a mix of layer mash, corn screenings (we get those free from my Dad who grows corn) a bit of green stuff from our kitchen leftovers and they have free choice oyster shell. Our egg production is all over the place- anywhere from 4 eggs to 11 per day. The hens are mostly 5-6 months old, and 7 from last year's brood that the raccoons didn't get (arggh, another story).
I think they should be laying a lot more eggs. Last year our hens laid one each per day, year round. My husband insists on feeding them lots of bread he gets from a bakery for free. From what I have read here, I am thinking they are not getting enough protein. When we fill the feeders, we use about 1/2 layer mash to 1/2 corn screenings, with about 10% flax seed. Should we increase the layer mash, reduce the corn and cut out the bread? Thanks.

Hi Barbara, according to Dr. Bruce Smith and CJR, true mentors here on the coop, your birds are getting too much "candy." Corn and bread do nothing to help the birds produce eggs. Of couse your birds will slow down production some during winter and when their molting, but not that much. CJR says to only give your birds approximately 1 teaspoon or less of scratch (corn)per bird, per day. It is just chicken treats to them. She says it's just like children with candy, the corn has no real nutritional value when it comes to egg making. Give them all the layer mash they want, chill on the bread and corn, and your egg production should improve. Also all the fresh water they can drink. If the birds aren't getting what they need from their food, then their bodies will actually rob calcium and protein from their bones and feathers. Good luck, and give it a try for a few weeks and let us know how it's going!

Thank you so much, Hannah! After my reading here, I had suspected as much. I will do as prescribed and see how the girls are doing. It is good to know how much to feed, as well. I will pass it on to my husband, and nix the bread and corn.

Hi Barb, you don't have to totally nix the corn and bread. Just use it as a treat only and in small amounts. The corn and bread is good for fattening them for the winter, but alas, not for egg production. I know I love giving my birds these same treats, but have learned it may be good for me, but not for them. Let me know if they increase their production for you. Thanks!

Barb,
Actually the number one ingredient in chicken crumbles/mash is corn and other grain products. If I had access to free corn and bread, I might check out mixing my own feed. You need to boost the protien by adding soybean, peanut, or sunflower meal. There are sources that will help you formulate a mix. You might want to check with your local Extension office.
Good luck,
Janet

Thank you, Janet!
We will look into that as well- my Dad also grows soybeans, and can keep quite a bit of the "leftovers" for us as well as the corn screenings. I can see that it would have to be crushed into meal, and we can have that done at the local feed mill. Sounds like a good alternative. My husband was wondering if we could just boost the protein content of the corn and layer mash by adding extra soya meal. I will put in a call to the local agriculture office. Last year we fed layer mash and corn, about 2/3 : 1/3 ratio, and our hens laid an egg each every day. When the feeders were empty yesterday I put in only layer mash and some flax seed. We will see how the egg production goes from there.
Great idea- thanks!
Barb

Barb, I have read that soybeans must be cooked in order for their (high) protein to be properly utilized (by birds, other livestock, or people). I don't know whether feed producers roast the beans or what...steam them, perhaps? If steamed, it would then need to be dried!

This apparently applies to all dried beans, which contain some component that prevents proper digestion. This component is partially nullified by cooking. At a guess, it's a sort of protection against being too well digested by the birds, so that the seed can't germinate to perpetuate the species. Sounds sufficiently Darwinian to me!

This was on an Australian grains and legumes organization board. I think I found it by searching Google on "legumes".

Another document I read indicates that enzymes are added to commercial feeds to further overcome the anti-digestive factors and increase utilization/assimilation of soybean protein.

I do lean toward "natural" forms of foods, but it does appear that cooking and the addition of naturally-occurring enzymes significantly increase the food value of soybeans in commercial feeds.

The above is not intended to be a discouragement from "making your own", just a consideration. I'm not an expert, just a voracious reader. Wish I could remember everything I've read!

If you happen to accumulate unsold or unused eggs, you can microwave-scramble them to feed to your chickens as a protein supplement. (Although, the source about enzymes indicated that egg whites are right behind soybeans in containing anti-digestive / anti-assimilative factors! Kinda makes you wonder how any animal survived without human intervention, huh? Or, for that matter, how we have survived, since we seem to have such difficulty assimilating foods. )

Thanks LaMartha- I will aslo ask at the feed store. They mix their own feeds and are quite good about helping those of us who are less knowledgable!
It may mean purchasing soybean meal- maybe that is cooked. I have no intention of cooking my own!<g>
Barb

Speaking of egg production, We have some Black Australorps, Light Brahmas and Buff Orpingtons that are now 25 weeks old and haven't given a single egg yet. They are on laying pellets and get a very small amount of scratch in the morning and again at night.
When can we expect something from these birds?
Thanks.B&D

Eliminate the scratch altogether. Is your layer ration at least 16% protein and available to them at all times? If your feed is not at least 16% protein, change it immediately. Are you feeding shells free choice? Are you supplementing light so as to offer 14 hours of light for them? Are they stressed, chilled, unhappy about something? Is their water supply constant and clean? Did you raise them on starter and grower? How much space do they have? What do you use for bedding? Let us know the answers to these questions and we will do our best to help. All other things remaining equal and favorable, they should be laying now.

I don't know about Orpingtons, but Australorps and Brahmas are quite late bloomer breeds. They should come into lay at 25 weeks, but it being November???
Also, from what I read on this board, pullets should be on grower untill they actually start laying and then switched progressively to 16% layer mash or pellets.

All of our chickens are 25 weeks old now. We also have Barred Rocks and Reds. They started laying on the 16th of Oct. and have been laying steady. All of these birds began with starter mash and we began replacing that with laying mash at about 18 weeks. (protein is at 16%) This was done a little at a time. We then worked them into laying pellets. (Also 16%) We have been working oyster shells into the food and they all seem to be eating very well. Water is changed twice a day and plenty of fresh feed is available at all times.
As far as stress goes, We did have an Americana rooster in there as well that was a terror. He was culled yesterday. We have only one Rooster (Blk Australorp) and he seems quite gentle.
I have held back on any additional light because I was afraid of them laying too early.
Weather has been kind of warm for this time of the year.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Barred Rocks and Reds do come into lay very early. Them laying well proves your management is OK. Give the others some time, the season might retard them some but they will lay eventually. Good luck. Anny

I would add the light immediately. If you hold off on the light, you will probably just sacrifice a few more weeks of production. Set your timer to come on in the morning and go ahead and give them enough to make 14 hours of total light. If you had a second rooster in with your black rooster, this may have been a source of stress for some of the hens. I am not familiar with Brahmas, but I would expect them to come into production last, after the Buffs. The Australorps should start putting out some eggs soon. Good luck.

Sorry for not getting back sooner. We wanted to give your advice a try befor reporting back. Well, we cut out the scratch all together and began increasing the light. We caught an Australorp and one of the Orpingtons leaving the nest box and found an egg each time. As I mentioned, we started out with six roosters
and culled five of them. I should have realized that the scratch was a big part of our problem. Each time I dressed one of them out, I was finding the crop just loaded with scratch even after keeping him off all food for twelve hours. Sence we stopped the scratch, we noticed they are eating much more laying feed. The last time I wrote, I said that the Australorp rooster was gentle. Not so any more. He knows now that he is the king of the roost and attacks me when my back is to him. Thats ok I can deal with that. I think this breed will be my favorite for brown eggs and am looking forward to breeding them in the spring.
Thanks Dr Bruce and Anny for all your help. It's folks like you that keeps us coming back to this site.
Ive had chickens on and off all my life but this is the first time I really paid attention to what, where and how. I guess this comes with age.
B&D

Incase anyone has been following this, The extra light and no scratch has been working. The egg production has increased

Good to hear that production is improving. I kept Black Australorps for many years and love them as brown egg layers. I did have some trouble with the roosters as they got a little older, however. Two of them became so offensive to my wife that they had to be dispatched to that great free range in the sky. I will probably stay with BA pullets if I have them in the future, and we now have a RIR X BA rooster who is an angel and regularly insists on eating barley out of my hand while he sits on my arm! He learned to eat from my hand from the Sebright bantams in the barn, who started the whole thing. This rooster was hen-raised in the barn by a BA X production Leghorn hen. I don't know if hen-raising helps make roosters nicer, but maybe some other readers have an opinion about this.

may i approach this feeding for better eggproduction from another angle. how many eggs can your family use each day,if you can sell the excess sgss, what is their value. the bread,corn, and scratch are free to minimal, layer crunbles etc. costs more. if you just enjoy a larger flock of birds, feed them cheap and use what eggs they produce, or keep a few hens and feed the best. of course, if economy really matters, eat the chickens and buy the eggs at the market. +actually, i suppose my eggs cost me over a buck each. that must be why theyntaste so good.

Our Australorp rooster seems to be the oposite. He dosen't like me at all. I have learned not to turn my back on him while I'm in the pen. My wife can go in and out all she wants. It seems as though he just dosen't like male humans.This attitude started about a week and a half ago. Thats ok, I think they are great looking birds and for that, I can put up with him. As far as the Seabrights go, my wife fell in love with them at the state fair this year and she wants some. We plan to add a small coop for some in the spring.

Robbpa:
Many years ago I worked for a commercial egg farm and learned a lot of things about what goes on. It is nothing close to having a small flock or fresh eggs. The eggs you buy in the store are probably a month old or more befor your store ever gets them. I have seen dates changed on egg boxes and the soap and water bath they go through looks like a car wash. I have several family members that want some of our eggs and I have a lot of people at my job that ask to buy them. It will never let me quit my day job but I can feed the birds for free that way. All part of the hobby I guess

Our current flock of RIRs and a few farm-hatched pullets now has over $200 to its credit in the black column in the books. That comes from selling their excess eggs at $1.25 for the past two years. Their feed isn't free, but they pay for it themselves. They have had all the layer mash, shells, and clean bedding they care to use.
I think they would prefer it this way. And besides, the eggs at the market are not quite the same. If I want to use these eggs raw, or have a sunny-side-up breakfast, I don't sweat having to call 911 for food poisoning.

Our egg production is improving dramatically! The increase in protein really did the trick. We have gone from 4-6 eggs per day to up to 19. Thanks, everyone!

Barb

I was reading the letters about adding the oyster shells to the hens feed..I have done that..and I myself had not had any problems,but a customer of mine did mention that he did smell and odor when cracking the egg? It has only happened once,so I was wondering if you had had any problems like this? Thanks

Oystershell itself, has no odor. I do not mix it in the feed, but prefer to offer it free choice in a separate feeder, I do mix grit with the oyster shell, however, about 1/4 grit. If it is mixed in their feed, you cannot tell how much they are eating. My birds eat a lot of it--their own system tells them how much. The odor in the eggs must have come from something else. CJR

Oystershell itself, has no odor. I do not mix it in the feed, but prefer to offer it free choice in a separate feeder, I do mix grit with the oyster shell, however, about 1/4 grit. If it is mixed in their feed, you cannot tell how much they are eating. My birds eat a lot of it--their own system tells them how much. The odor in the eggs must have come from something else. CJR