As for a backyard “expert,” you’re stuck with me. The Wyandotte laying hen is both popular with backyard poultry keepers, as well as those chicken gurus who partake in the competitive world of poultry shows.Our expert on family-farm-scale organic egg production is Joel Goede (pronounced “GAY-dee”), a long-time Organic Valley egg farmer from Genoa, Wisconsin. The following are the most common causes of a drop in egg production in backyard flocks with. A drop in egg production can be one of the first signs of a problem in our flocks and just as we pay attention to our chickens’ droppings to monitor their health, so too should we pay attention to the hens’ daily egg count for signs of trouble.
Egg Production: 300+ Eggs Average Annually. Set the timer to go off in the early morning, extending the hours of light.Best chicken breeds for eggs. As a result, many backyard chicken keepers have a light on a timer in the coop. Chickens need approximately 14 to 16 hours of light to stimulate egg production.
Plan on anywhere from $100 to $500, depending mostly on the quality and roominess of your henhouse and the size of your run (fenced-in area connected to the henhouse).Believe it or not, you can order chicks through the mail in small quantities, at about $3.50 per chirper. Since most cities limit the number of hens you can keep (and most prohibit rabble-rousing roosters altogether), start-up costs are low. Remember, there’s truth in the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” If you choose to put different breeds in the same coop, he strongly recommends paying attention to the birds’ temperaments to make sure they will get along.Your backyard chicken hobby won’t require a large investment. Do you want lots of eggs? Colorful eggs? Big eggs, or small? Are you in a cold or warm climate? Once you can answer these questions, there are many excellent sources online where you can narrow down the varieties you want. But as a hobbyist, you have options galore, from the Australorp and Golden Comet, to the Sussex and the good old Rhode Island Red, and many, many more breeds.Joel advises that you do some research before you decide. Organic Valley farmers typically choose Bovans Browns, Lohmann Browns and Highline Browns if you want reliability and mellow chickens, you could choose these breeds as well.
A small tray for chick feed, another for water, and wood shavings as bedding, and you’re in business. A “brooding box” can be as simple as a large cardboard box or storage bin with a securely suspended, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved heat lamp to provide enough warmth. Once you receive your chicks, you’ll be surrogate mother hen and will need to keep them warm for about four weeks.
During the molt, chickens stop laying eggs for three months, reserving their energy for growing new feathers. Each year, they’ll “molt”—drop and re-grow their feathers, as all birds do every year. The first year will be the most productive, but backyard chickens will lay eggs for a good four to five years, just in ever-decreasing quantities.
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