Copy of The 6 Best Ways To Boost Egg Production During Winter

Jaynie Norman • Jan 05, 2022

Egg Production

Ashley Hetrick Off The Grid News, Ideas for Off The Grid Living

1. Plenty of Good Light

Chickens need at least 14 hours of daylight in a day to trigger their internal clocks to lay. By supplementing light, as is done in commercial production houses, you can trick a chicken’s internal clock to think it’s spring so that they keep laying all winter long. Be sure to turn your light off at night when you go to bed to give them rest, but even a few extra hours of light in the evening can make a huge difference in production.

2. Nutritious Food

In the winter months, chickens are using a lot of the calories they get from food for warmth. In order to lay eggs and stay warm at the same time, they need more protein than they normally would during the summer. Add in the fact that they don’t have ready access to bugs or grass in the winter, and you’ll need to supplement their food to keep them happy, entertained and productive throughout the winter months.

Generic egg-laying feed generally contains 16 percent protein, while in the winter to increase egg production you’ll want to aim for 18 to 20 percent. A small amount of high protein scratch feed every day or every other day will get the ladies up and moving and provide them extra calories. Homesteaders have reported that once given adequate light, adding in scratch feeding doubled their daily egg production.

3. Liquid Water

Egg production takes a lot of water, both in the metabolic process for the chicken and in the egg itself. In order to keep laying, chickens will need a ready source of fresh, liquid water. While they can technically survive on an ample supply of fluffy snow, they won’t lay with that as their only water source. Chickens will eat snow to survive, but it’s not in their best interest. In warmer climates, keep the water liquid by bringing in fresh warm water every day and placing it up above the ground by 6-8 inches. In colder climates, heated water sources can help but might be impractical for those living off-grid. Try bringing them small amounts of warm water several times a day if possible, and giving them at least one wet meal a day by soaking some of their food in water or milk.

4. Sprouted Green Fodder

Growing your own small scale animal fodder has increased in popularity in recent years, and for good reason. When seed grains are sprouted, they shed their protective enzymes and convert otherwise inedible starches to sugar. Feeding your chickens fresh sprouted fodder will not only endear them to you, but it also will provide nutrients they’re otherwise lacking outside of the growing season.

To sprout barley seeds, pop a few holes into an aluminum baking tray (or plastic tote) and spread an even thin layer of barley seeds. Water them daily, ensuring that the extra water drains out the holes (to prevent mold and mildew). Place them in a warm sunny spot, indoors, until the grains have grown a thick lawn, about four to five inches high. At that point, you can peel out hunks of fresh barley “sod” for your chickens each day. Lacking fresh green fodder, try throwing them a chunk of alfalfa hay each day, which will provide many of the same results, though be slightly less appealing to the birds.

5. The Right Breed

While heritage breeds may be attractive if you’re looking for dual-purpose birds worth culling out for the dinner table, in truth the best egg production comes from modern compact bodied commercial hybrid birds. There are many breeds that are available to the home farmer that tend to be more productive than others, including Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns. For a good general list of productive breeds, read “The Eight Best Egg Laying Breeds of Backyard Chickens.”

6. Stagger Bird Ages

Egg production peaks in most breeds of chicken somewhere between six and 18 months of age. At 18 to 24 months, chickens will naturally take a break from laying to molt and replenish their feathers. They’ll come back to laying at a slightly lower rate for another year or two, and then egg production will drop off dramatically as the chicken ages. To keep a consistent supply of eggs, you’ll need birds of staggered ages to ensure that some are in their peak laying period while others are taking time off to molt. For most breeds of chicken, they’re ready for egg laying retirement at the age of three. While they’ll often keep laying one to two eggs a week throughout their lifespan (often six to eight years), you’ll be feeding them the same ration for 1-2 eggs a week as you feed your younger ladies for 5-6 per week.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Jaynie Norman

Bill would label livestock rivals as ‘imitation’ or ‘lab-grown’ meat

By Jaynie Norman • 01 Feb, 2024

By Chuck Abbott Successful Farming With U.S. approval of cultivated chicken grown in fermentation vats, farm-state lawmakers filed companion bills in the House and Senate on Tuesday to require alternative proteins, such as plant-based foods, to carry the words “imitation” or “lab-grown” on their labels. Sponsors said they wanted to prevent confusion in the supermarket between “real farm-raised meat” and its rivals. Plant-based meats accounted for 2.5% of retail packaged meat sales in 2022, according to the Good Food Institute, a think tank and network of organizations “working to accelerate alternative protein innovation.” Only a trickle of cultivated chicken is on the U.S. market at present. Upside Foods said last September it would build a commercial-scale plant to produce cell-cultured meat products in suburban Chicago. The USDA is working on label regulations for cultivated meat. In the interim, it decided Upside Foods and Good Meat, which were cleared last summer by USDA to sell cultivated meat to consumers, would label their products as cell-cultivated chicken. “The American consumer deserves to know what they are eating and feeding their family,” said sponsor Rep. Mark Alford, Missouri Republican. “It’s only fair that all products are labeled fairly.” Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said, “Distinguishing between a black-bean burger and an actual beef burger shouldn’t be hard.” Under the legislation, foods made with plant protein and that are sold with a name associated with products from a food-bearing animal or that are created to taste or look like them would be required to carry the word “imitation” on the label or a word to show the source of the protein. “Meatless chicken tenders” would be one possibility, according to a summary of the bill. Similarly, labels for cultivated meat would include “cell-cultured” or “lab-grown” immediately adjacent to the name of the food. The bill was backed by the largest groups speaking for cattle, hog, sheep, and chicken producers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Livestock producers have argued for years for restrictive labels to prevent alternative proteins from using names associated with animals. A one-page summary of the bill is available here . To read the text of the legislation, click here .

Prevention and Treatment of Tick Bites

By Jaynie Norman • 23 May, 2023

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Livestock and Animal Antibiotic Changes are Coming Soon

By Jaynie Norman • 12 Jan, 2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in June 2021 that all medically important antimicrobials for food-producing animals and pets will move from over-the-counter (OTC) to prescription (Rx) effective June 2023 . A prescription is already required for most antibiotics delivered to livestock, and the remaining three categories of injectable antibiotics available over-the-counter will soon be joining the list of medically important antimicrobials that require a veterinarian’s prescription. To add to the stress of raising livestock, now things will change again which is going to influence the ag industry overall. I hope that this list of medications will give people a chance to read it and become familiar with the situation before the change comes in June of 2023. Changes Coming are as follow: In 2018, the FDA established a 5 year plan for supporting antimicrobial supervision by veterinarians. The plans purpose to address antimicrobial resistance using only medically necessary drugs as necessary to prevent, treat and control disease. It has to be determined by a licensed veterinarian if it is necessary, but you won’t have to order the prescriptions from the vet directly. You will, however, need to establish a Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) if certain animals are not examined regularly. Popular Products Will Require Prescriptions Following a recent penicillin shortage, soon producers will get hit with this change that once again impacts access to antibiotic therapy for animals. When you’ve used them for so long as OTC meds to treat pneumonia or shipping fever in your livestock, Now, the change will be to establish the relationship with your veterinarian to get the prescriptions for these meds. Here is the list by active ingredients. The following are some products that will be seeing label changes to prescription-only status: Oxytetracyclines Injectables: Liquamycin LA-200, Noromycin 300 LA, Bio-Mycin 200, Agrimycin 200, etc. Boluses: Terramycin Scours Tablets, OXY 500 Calf Boluses Penicillins (Penicillin G procaine, penicillin G benzathine) Injectables: Penicillin Injectable, Dura-Pen, Pro-Pen-G, Combi-Pen 48, etc. Intramammary tubes: Masti-Clear, Go-dry, Albadry Plus Sulfa-based antibiotics (Sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine) Injectables: Di-Methox 40%, SulfMed 40% Boluses: Albon, Sustain III Cattle & Calf Boluses, Supra Sulfa III Cattle & Calf Boluses Tylosin Injectables: Tylan 50, Tylan 200 Cephapirin, cephapirin benzathine Intramammary tubes: ToDAY and ToMORROW Additionally, several swine medications fall under the new guidance: Lincomycin Injectables: Lincomix 100, Lincomix 300, LincoMed 100, LincoMed 300 Gentamicin Injectables: Garasol, Gentamicin Piglet Injection ToDay Mastitis Treatment for Lactating C ows