Keeping the Flock Fresh

We need a steady supply of eggs from our backyard coop Doing it successfully takes planning and requires tough decisions

 

Each spring we buy five or six baby female chicks from a nearby farm store The tiny birds had been hatched just a few days earlier at Hoover’s Hatchery and quickly delivered to the store Soon our tiny peepers are happily housed in our brooder

 

Why six new chicks?

 

We like to have about 12 laying chickens to lay enough eggs for us, and we like to give many to friends and neighbors To keep the flock fresh, we replace about half

Downsizing A Flock

From time to time, we’ve had to downsize our flock It’s emotional Saying goodbye to the feathery friends who have generously given us eggs is hard An empty coop, lacking the bubbly chicken energy is a sad place Downsizing or eliminating a flock can be distressing and tricky

 

Why Downside a Flock

 

People downsize a flock for many reasons Here are a few we have had to use

 

  • We’re moving and can’t have chickens in our new home
  • Our hens are getting old and aren’t laying many eggs We need to replace them with younger ones
  • We bought chicks when egg

Saying Goodbye

As I weeded a patch of string beans one July morning, sadness overcame me

The plants were loaded with beans, but the silence got to me

 

My garden adjoins our chicken run Whenever I’m planting, weeding, or harvesting, our 14 hens are my companions They watch me from just beyond the fence and encourage my work with cheerful, expectant clucking The hens joyfully feast whenever I toss tasty weeds or vegetable thinnings over the fence  But, on that July morning no perky hens kept me company

Whenever we bring a pail of kitchen scraps

Time to Say Goodbye

Anyone who has kept a backyard flock eventually faces a dilemma As hens age their egg laying slows Eventually it nearly stops There’s a point where the girls eat expensive feed yet hardly lay an egg How does a flock owner decide when to get rid of aging hens and what to do with them?

 

A Laying Scenario

A young pullet starts laying when she is 18 to 24 weeks old If she’s of a productive breed she’ll soon lay like fury It takes about 26 hours for an egg to form, so every once in a while, she’ll take a