2011 Egg Production in the Chicken McMansion

February 28, 2011 | BC

[Bean Counter]

April stats!

JAN 2011 128 Eggs 4.129/Day A.E.: 62.37 G 7983 G. Total 281.592 Oz. 17.6 lbs.

FEB 2011 133 eggs 4.75/Day A.E.: 62.21 G 8274 G. Total 291.857 Oz. 18.24 lbs.

MAR 2011 142 eggs 4.58/Day A.E.:63.43G 9007G. Total 317.713 Oz. 19.86 lbs

APR 2011 149 eggs 4.97/Day A.E.:63.57G 9472G. Total 334.115 Oz. 20.88 lbs

YEAR TO DATE

552 eggs; 46 Dozen; 34.736 Kilos; 76.58 Pounds (so far)

Interesting notes...

** 21 eggs that weighed over 70 grams (14%)

** Highest 1 day production weight ever this month; 6 eggs that weighed 398 Grams. We have never exceeded 400...

Warm weather is coming on now, and the eggs just keep getting bigger and better....

Cheers!!

[ForMyChildren]

I’m sitting outside before the family wakes, enjoying my first (and prob only) cigar of the year, admiring the garden coming to life. What a delight! There’s a pair of fly catchers nesting nearby, and, bless their hearts, they’ve adopted the garden as their hunting preserve this year.

Thank you for the chicken talk. Very enjoyable. We plan to build a coop sometime soon. Maybe 4-6 layers to start. Would you mind posting a photo and perhaps a few details of your coop? The only other coop nearby I’ve visited is very impressive, which it should be with a budget of $8,000!!

We’d previously dismissed the idea of chickens for insect control, but your approach with wire is intriguing. I can see it working well for tomatoes, cukes, and maybe the melons. I’m having trouble visualizing how to keep them away from the bush beans and peas without installing alot of wire fencing down each row, though, which might make picking a bother.

We’ve also been thinking of quail, raised for eggs and especially meat, and for insect control in the garden. Install perimeter fencing, then figure out some netting over the top? Their reach is shorter than hens and we don’t think they’d scratch up the roots. We’re curious if anyone else has done this?

Happy gardening!
Alpharetta, Ga.

[Bean Counter]

Gladly! Here are a couple of pictures from last year; I haven't had a chance to take any this year, but little has changed.





In addition, here is a link to a thread that I created at Backyard Chickens dot com. I( detailed how I built my coop in detail, and with pictures. There are several threads covering a number of coop topics, and they are all listed at the beginning of this one:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3443243#p3443243

I don't know why that won't hotlink, but you can copy and paste that URL and get there from here....

In total, I spent about $2000 on our coop over a period of several months. I paid cash for all materials so there is not credit card interest, and I built it to last a good long while. This is partially a demonstration project to show people how relatively easy it is to grow a significant portion of your own food in your back yard. The chickens provide us eggs and the best fertilizer around to feed the garden.

This is also a significant part of our own personal emergency preparedness plan for WTSHTF...

[ForMyChildren]

Wow! Very nice. Can’t wait to study it tonight. Thank you.

[Bean Counter]

Egg stats for May are in!

JAN 2011 128 Eggs 4.129/Day A.E.: 62.37 G 7983 G. Total 281.592 Oz. 17.6 lbs.

FEB 2011 133 eggs 4.75/Day A.E.: 62.21 G 8274 G. Total 291.857 Oz. 18.24 lbs.

MAR 2011 142 eggs 4.58/Day A.E.:63.43G 9007G. Total 317.713 Oz. 19.86 lbs

APR 2011 149 eggs 4.97/Day A.E.:63.57G 9472G. Total 334.115 Oz. 20.88 lbs

MAY 2011 148 eggs 4.93/Day A.E.:68.62G 10,156G. Total 358.243 Oz. 22.39 lbs

YEAR TO DATE

700 eggs; 58.33 Dozen; 44.892 Kilos; 98.97 Pounds (so far)

NOTES

** 28 eggs weighed 70 grams or better; 18.92%

** The weather has been abysmal with higher than normal rain and lower than normal temperatures all month.

[Bean Counter]

July is over and I realized I have not updated this thread in 2 months...how time flies when you are having fun!

JAN 2011 128 Eggs 4.129/Day A.E.: 62.37 G 7983 G. Total 281.592 Oz. 17.6 lbs.

FEB 2011 133 eggs 4.75/Day A.E.: 62.21 G 8274 G. Total 291.857 Oz. 18.24 lbs.

MAR 2011 142 eggs 4.58/Day A.E.:63.43G 9007G. Total 317.713 Oz. 19.86 lbs

APR 2011 149 eggs 4.97/Day A.E.:63.57G 9472G. Total 334.115 Oz. 20.88 lbs

MAY 2011 148 eggs 4.93/Day A.E.:68.62G 10,156G. Total 358.243 Oz. 22.39 lbs

JUNE 2011 132 eggs 4.40/Day A.E.:63.303G 8,356G. Total 294.749 Oz. 18.42 lbs

JULY 2011 133 eggs 4.29/Day A.E.:63.94G 8,504G. Total 299.970 Oz. 18.75 lbs

YEAR TO DATE

965 eggs; 80.42 Dozen; 61.752 Kilos; 136.14 Pounds (so far)

NOTES

One of my Jersey Giants is in full molt, and broody to boot, so only five hens have been laying for all of July and part of late June. The weather only recently started warming up, and I think egg production has been down this Spring specifically because of the weather.

But we still have over 80 Dozen eggs out of our coop so far this year!! That is just flippin’ amazing, and I wonder at how productive these hens really are...

With food prices continuing to rise and the economy teetering on the edge of TEOTWAWKI, investing in a few laying hens can be one of the smartest bartering decisions you will ever make. We reliably get 4-5 eggs every single day, and that is the basis for a whole lot of horse trading should things come to that...food for thought.

Cheers!