Backyard Chickens?


2 minutes 41 seconds
I hope this plays for everyone. This is from a private chicken owner like a lot of you. She had not had eggs all winter and had been hearing and reading about others in the same plight across the US. She had discovered something interesting. She had one chicken that she says is an escape artist and who would get out a lot and was free-ranging. And it turns out that that particular chicken started laying eggs again! So she put two and two together and decided that it was the feed! So now she free ranges her chickens and they're all laying again. And the feed that she put out for them, no one is touching! I don't think she ever said what food she was using. But I have heard a lot on Telegram about Tractor Supplies feed. One comment said, I wonder what they're putting in it? And someone else said, I think it's what they're not putting in it. I would be very concerned. Don't mess with my animals! 😡

Edit: You can tell this is a hot issue. There are over 800 comments to that one video! People love their animals! And they are very concerned.
 
I can't load the video - but you seem to tell the story in writing so I'll go with that.

All chickens stop laying when they molt once a year, usually in the winter. The younger they are the more productive they are, the older they get the more sporadic they are. They are born with X number of eggs in their body to develop and lay. When those eggs are gone, they quit laying for life. (This is how chicken breeds can be predicted to be good, excellent or poor layers according to breed) Daylight hours encourage hens to lay, so lights in the coop that come on early in the morning and turn off later in the evening to mimic summer light will keep hens laying in the winter. In truth, by natures design, hens need a rest from egg production, so I don't do that.

Regarding TSC food, I've fed Dumor, Purina, Nutrena since I got my first chicks in 2016. The last few years many times I had no choice due to supply chain issues so I'd just get whatever they had. I've fed Layer feed and All Flock with calcium on the side. Never saw any difference in laying with any particular feed. They free ranged for the first few years until a bobcat discovered them, now they have about 1/4 acre paddock with electric fence to prevent predators, still huge compared to most backyard chickens. Again, by natures design, any chicken would love to free range and eat bugs and plants that are fresh instead of pellets, and if they do free range they will eat less kibble because they are getting nutrition elsewhere. Just like your horses will eat less dry hay - or none at all - if they have access to good pasture. And they are happier in the pasture! Dogs love raw meat, but it's not especially convenient. In my opinion, I doubt that Dumor (TSC brand) food is a serious culprit, unless there is a recall stating an issue. Corn mold is a very serious issue and can happen in any food that contains corn, including dog food.

My hens will turn 5, 6, and 7 years old this summer. That's some old hens for layers. I expect the same hens that laid 3 - 5 eggs a week when they were 1 and 2 years old will be laying 2 - 3 per week this year, or less. But the days are longer now and the combs are turning red, and yesterday I got my first egg since last fall - YEA!!!
 
They are born with X number of eggs in their body to develop and lay. When those eggs are gone, they quit laying for life. (
I know nothing about keeping chickens.
Watched a video the other day where they explained this, and suggested the method such as @Rits and others not supplying light in winter is the preferred method for hens to lay longer vs lights.
Once the eggs are out they are out, no more eggs.

Again, I had no idea🤷‍♂️
 

2 minutes 41 seconds
I hope this plays for everyone. This is from a private chicken owner like a lot of you. She had not had eggs all winter and had been hearing and reading about others in the same plight across the US. She had discovered something interesting. She had one chicken that she says is an escape artist and who would get out a lot and was free-ranging. And it turns out that that particular chicken started laying eggs again! So she put two and two together and decided that it was the feed! So now she free ranges her chickens and they're all laying again. And the feed that she put out for them, no one is touching! I don't think she ever said what food she was using. But I have heard a lot on Telegram about Tractor Supplies feed. One comment said, I wonder what they're putting in it? And someone else said, I think it's what they're not putting in it. I would be very concerned. Don't mess with my animals! 😡

Edit: You can tell this is a hot issue. There are over 800 comments to that one video! People love their animals! And they are very concerned.
i agree food is everything.. i tried letting mine free range and i lost a few in one day from a fox family.. so it is a big decision. to think about. yesterday we drove down into town and we had to screech the brakes on for the parade of chickens crossing the road.... someones chickens really took free range to the limits..
 
When I thought I wanted chickens, I read up on it a little because of the cold months especially. One of the things read was how the comb can freeze! :shock: I really worried about that part of it, but geez, MicheleM who get really cold in Canada! You must have this down to a T, huh? Can you expound on winter with chickens??
There is usually no problem with the comb unless it gets wet.. if kept in a shelter during winter months should be no problem
 
Again, by natures design, any chicken would love to free range and eat bugs and plants that are fresh instead of pellets, and if they do free range they will eat less kibble because they are getting nutrition elsewhere. Just like your horses will eat less dry hay - or none at all - if they have access to good pasture.
I can agree with that. I think the only thing that she was saying was that she hadn't gotten eggs in months and when her little escape artist was the only one starting to lay, I would be connecting the dots as she did. If that one bird is the only one laying, what is he doing differently? Not eating the feed. And I agree if she put them all out free range why would they bother with the feed. That does make sense. But I've read a lot of stuff about Tractor Supply and their feed. When so many people across the nation are facing the same issue and it gets corrected by changing the feed there's got to be some dots to connect there. Now which feed are they talking about? I'm not sure. I will have to go and find that article again. I thought Purina was one of them.
 
Just like your horses will eat less dry hay - or none at all - if they have access to good pasture. And they are happier in the pasture!
Not necessarily. I don't believe that. And I know this is not the horse thread so I'll only make this one post. But I've seen it with my own horses and with my one neighbor. I have a run-in in my pasture and in my Corral. So there are places for them to go to get away from bugs and to get out of the elements. But when my horses are out in the pasture for hours they are eager to come in! Sometimes when they see me coming to the gate, they come running! There are times I have to go and get them. But for the most part they're ready to come in. I think they would hate it if they're out there all the time. There's a lot more bugs in the grass and of course they stir them up as they walk and eat.

And I've watched my neighbors two horses out in their pasture for days on end, full of bug bites looking miserable and racing up and down the fence sometimes begging to come in. No shelter out there. No place to get out of the wind, the snow and rain and cold. Or even out of the hot sun! (We've had words!) Drives me freaking nuts. They also have a beautiful barn but the horses are only in there if there's severe weather. Like a tornado LOL Even their Corral has no run in for shelter. And the barn has an overhang but they can't get under it because the fence is just beyond the overhang. 🤦‍♀️So again, they are out in every kind of weather with no shelter. Ever. There is a friend of our group of horse friends that I totally respect and Trust. She is a very compassionate person, into holistic practices and actually started the holistic doggie Boutique place that I go for my dog food. She knows a LOT! I asked her, can you keep a horse on pasture 24/7 without a shelter? She said, Yeah. :shock: But he'll be miserable.😏 Hmph, that's what I thought. And they are.😡
 
the only thing that she was saying was that she hadn't gotten eggs in months and when her little escape artist was the only one starting to lay, I would be connecting the dots as she did.
Daylight has been getting longer and longer since Dec 21. I too also got my first egg in the past week or two. I'm seeing combs get brighter and my rooster is doing his mating dance in the past week or two. Mine always "free range" inside of electric netting and we move the coop during the warmer months. I don't know where this person lives but there really isn't much out there free ranging in terms of nutrients this time of the year. Domestic chickens have to have feed, they cannot survive on free ranging alone. I think its a coincidence, honestly. A lot of people tout how their chickens are laying through the winter, then you ask them if this is their first year laying. Yep. People don't understand that most young chickens will lay through the winter especially if they just started laying towards the end of summer/fall. They also won't molt until the next fall. Molting and growing a completely new set of feathers plus surviving the winter takes a lot of energy out of the birds. All of the nutrients they consume go towards both of those things which leads me to my second thought: a lot of people's birds are probably lacking protein in their diet during the winter months (no bugs to eat) so their birds don't have excess protein to contribute towards egg production.

Like @Ravenbird said, nature has it designed for them to take a break during the winter. Their wild ancestors only lay once a year. It takes anywhere from 5-9 months to grow a chick to laying age which costs $$$ to feed them and nurture them while receiving nothing in return :D , and they are my pets. I prefer to let mine live longer and lay longer so they get a break. There has been a huge influx of newer chicken keepers in the past 4 years so lots of uneducated opinions floating around.

But when my horses are out in the pasture for hours they are eager to come in!
Oh my gosh, Hunter would have lived in the pasture if he could as long as there was shelter to occasionally use for breaks. He always had to wear a grazing muzzle and/or only out for limited hours in the springtime for that reason. :D
 
I talked with my apprentice yesterday, he lives in Barstow (the desert) and his chickens are about 2.5 years old.

***Side note here, yes it’s the desert but it does still get cold in winter. Not cold like some of you folks but it freezes on occasion****

They free range, get table scraps and he gives them a few types of worms a few times a week.
His chickens are producing through winter, no lights.
He’s confused by their production but thankful.
He knows next to nothing about chickens either😂
His mom does and told him they wouldn’t produce much in winter.
So they are both surprised🤷‍♂️
 
I have had chickens for 30 years ish? Give or take? You can find grain elevators to mix layer feed for you, organic would be harder to find. I have an outside pen with a wire top that they can go out in year round. The inside heat light allows me to keep that little door open, and gives them a bit more daylight. I feed Du-Mor layer crumbles from TSC, and they love scratch grains in their outside pen when there isn’t much snow. I call “chick a bid” when I throw out the grain, so they learn to come when I call. They seldom go out of the pen because of hawks and predators here. I have 6 hens and a rooster now. I get maybe 3 eggs every 2 to 3 days and they are probably 3-5 yrs old. Your breed of chicken will make a lot of difference in laying habits and winter tolerance. Luck plays a role. I just enjoy the silly birds.😄
 
Your breed of chicken will make a lot of difference in laying habits and winter tolerance.
VERY true! Our second order of chicks I wanted different breeds "just to see" how they took to the hot summers & cold winters we have.

For those of you who don't know, wattles & combs are a cooling mechanism - Those breeds with high large combs do better in hot climates. All the breeds suitable for desert climates will have larger combs & longer wattles. The breeds developed for cold climates will often have a "pea comb" - just a nub or tiny comb. This prevents the freezing damage that can happen and normally the colder climates have milder summers so they don't need them so much for cooling.

My observations since owning chickens (only since 2016, so not really that long), is that the biggest combs did indeed get some frost bite one winter when we had several nights at about 5 below zero F. - just on the tips, the rooster was the worst and of course he had the largest comb. But no long lasting damage. The pea-comb hens had no damage at all. In the summer on the hottest days the pea-comb hens were the first to start panting over the heat.

My best layer was an Ancona. A flighty little hen, but her first year laid 6 - 7 days a week for 8 weeks in a row! I thought she would die of exhaustion, but she was insanely energetic. She loved to free range and was hard to get in the coop at night, always staying out until the last moment of dusk. She was one of several that the bobcat got before I finally got the fence completely bobcat-proof. She is a type that would do well in the desert, slim build and long floppy comb, but she did fine in the winters here. The egg was medium size and white, but there were so many of them it made up for size!
 
ISA is a new cross-breed and extremely good layer - but pretty short lived, only 2 - 3 years. Laying is evidently very hard on a chicken! I remember reading about them last year when I was thinking about getting chicks this spring, but don't remember enough, just that they were good layers & had a short life span. My memory seems to be on the downhill slide, but now I'm curious again and will look them up (again). :rofl:

Actually they would be a good idea for someone like me who doesn't like to off the chickens just because they are done laying... :anonymous :
 
I think ISA browns are what they use in commercial too. Designed for one purpose. I always see people rescue battery chickens and it's ISA browns. To see them see the sun, grass and dust bathe for the first time...always makes me cry. 😢
 
Not necessarily. I don't believe that. And I know this is not the horse thread so I'll only make this one post. But I've seen it with my own horses and with my one neighbor. I have a run-in in my pasture and in my Corral. So there are places for them to go to get away from bugs and to get out of the elements. But when my horses are out in the pasture for hours they are eager to come in! Sometimes when they see me coming to the gate, they come running! There are times I have to go and get them. But for the most part they're ready to come in. I think they would hate it if they're out there all the time. There's a lot more bugs in the grass and of course they stir them up as they walk and eat.

And I've watched my neighbors two horses out in their pasture for days on end, full of bug bites looking miserable and racing up and down the fence sometimes begging to come in. No shelter out there. No place to get out of the wind, the snow and rain and cold. Or even out of the hot sun! (We've had words!) Drives me freaking nuts. They also have a beautiful barn but the horses are only in there if there's severe weather. Like a tornado LOL Even their Corral has no run in for shelter. And the barn has an overhang but they can't get under it because the fence is just beyond the overhang. 🤦‍♀️So again, they are out in every kind of weather with no shelter. Ever. There is a friend of our group of horse friends that I totally respect and Trust. She is a very compassionate person, into holistic practices and actually started the holistic doggie Boutique place that I go for my dog food. She knows a LOT! I asked her, can you keep a horse on pasture 24/7 without a shelter? She said, Yeah. :shock: But he'll be miserable.😏 Hmph, that's what I thought. And they are.😡
I absolutely agree with you.. why have horses if you won't provide shelter from the elements.. i heard over over well they are horses.. in my opinion horses are extremely fragile animals.. big and strong and fragile.. it breaks my heart when i see horses standing in the rain.. bitter cold.. bugs and sun bearing down on them.. thank you my buddy for caring for your horses the way they should be cared for.. They need exercise..good food and shelter... or don't have them
 
I absolutely agree with you.. why have horses if you won't provide shelter from the elements.. i heard over over well they are horses.. in my opinion horses are extremely fragile animals.. big and strong and fragile.. it breaks my heart when i see horses standing in the rain.. bitter cold.. bugs and sun bearing down on them.. thank you my buddy for caring for your horses the way they should be cared for.. They need exercise..good food and shelter... or don't have them
Exactly! Big and strong and fragile. I've had a few words with my neighbor. :rolleyes: Not angry. More like trying to educate. She doesn't want to hear it. 🤦‍♀️I don't understand her thinking. I've actually tried to block them off with evergreens so I don't see and get upset. I can tell so many stories. SMH I hate to be a b**** but it just bothers the s*** out of me.I just don't talk to them anymore to help save my sanity. But I always worry. Sigh.

Sorry :ot:
 
Exactly! Big and strong and fragile. I've had a few words with my neighbor. :rolleyes: Not angry. More like trying to educate. She doesn't want to hear it. 🤦‍♀️I don't understand her thinking. I've actually tried to block them off with evergreens so I don't see and get upset. I can tell so many stories. SMH I hate to be a b**** but it just bothers the s*** out of me.I just don't talk to them anymore to help save my sanity. But I always worry. Sigh.

Sorry :ot:
I did the same thing with neighbors dogs.. watched how they were always outside.. no matter what weather.. i just couldn't stand it and put trees up to hide my view.. they passed now so the pain of watching them and wondering is over.... we often thought the person should try it sometime and see how they would endure....
 

From what I'm reading it sounds like it boils down to Purina brand. The comments are coming in hot and heavy from people with experience with this food. Many saying their goats and chickens were dying. Even dogs and cats! I will never feed anything associated with Purina. There's always going to be someone to say they fed Purina with good results. Just like someone who may have smoked all their life and never got cancer or emphysema. I believe there's always somebody who might have a better immune system or something. But when the cons out number the pros, I listen. And most of the comments that I have been reading all say they either died on Purina or got better when they switched. 🤷‍♀️ Do what you want.
 

Back
Top