Laying Hens 101

Reading the books , "The Omnivor's Delimma" by Michael Pollan and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver inspired me to raise laying hens.  My objective was to provide nutritious eggs for our family from healthy happy hens.  

Several different colors and breeds of chickens.

Choosing a Good Egg

I learned through online research that it is very difficult to know if the eggs you purchase are from a farm that practices animal welfare.  The labels "cage free" and "free range" have such vague requirements that unless you know the farmer, you have no guarantee that the chickens were raised in a humane environment or if they actually spend any time outdoors.

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Eggs gathered in a handy egg basket.

A great reference that defines the terms used to describe eggs can be found here .

In 2007 Mother Earth News sponsored a study comparing the nutritional value of eggs from pastured or free range chickens to eggs produced on factory farms.  They found that eggs from chickens that spent time outside eating grass and scratching for worms and insects had;

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene



Industrial definitions aside, most homesteaders use the term "free range" to describe chickens who are allowed to roam freely outside.  "Pastured" hens are confined to a piece of land that is fenced in.

Free ranging in early spring.

Chicken Whisperer?

Above and beyond the nutritional benefit of eating eggs from organically fed pastured chickens, making the choice to raise your own laying hens has these benefits;

• You know that your hens are treated humanly and enjoy a life where they can be chickens; spending time outside scratching for worms and taking dust baths in the sun.  

• Your supporting organic agriculture when you purchase organic feed. 

• Your vegetable scraps and the weeds pulled from your gardens are given a beneficial purpose when used as food to supplement your chicken's diet. 

 

Weeding is more enjoyable when you make your hens happy.

• Chicken manure can be added to your compost pile and eventually used to enrich the soil in your vegetable garden.

Knowing very little about raising hens I needed to do some research before our chicken adventure could begin.  The first fact I learned is that chickens are bred for specific purposes; some for eggs and others for meat.  A few heavy breeds can be used for both eggs and meat but they are not the norm.

Egg Laying Breeds

There are a wide variety of egg laying breeds to choose from and they are often categorized by the color of eggs they lay; white, brown, and bluish green.

The color of the egg shell does not impact the nutritional value of the egg, but it is fun to have different colored eggs in your egg carton.

Ready for Easter - no dye needed!

You can also choose breeds based on the size.  You may want a smaller hen due to space restrictions or just because they eat less food.  Smaller breeds also start laying sooner than larger breeds that need extra time to finish growing. Some large breeds have a calmer demeanor and some like the Buff Orpington, make good "broody hens" if you want to raise your own chicks.

The ruffled feathers of our broody Buff Orpington scream, "don't mess with me!".

Brown egg layers that we have enjoyed include Gold Link, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, and Black Australorp.  Americana or Amaraucanas chickens lay blue and green eggs. California White and White Leghorn are two varieties that lay white eggs.

Raising Chicks

Baby chicks can be purchased at local feed mills or online.  When you order chickens you will get them when they are just one day old.  To survive chicks need to be kept warm and out of drafts when they are small.

A thermometer helps you get the temperature just right.

Here are some supplies you will want to have before bringing home your new chicks;

Feeders (two sizes)
Waterers (two to three sizes)
Heat lamps
Brooder (enclosure) - We used a salvaged wooden box.
Wood shavings or newspaper
Thermometer
Feed (grower)
Water (preferably without chlorine or fluoride)



A few hours before the chicks arrive turn on the lights to warm the brooder to around 95 degrees.  For the first week you will keep the temperature between 90 and 95 degrees.  The first year a thermometer is handy, but after you get used to having chicks you can rely on them to "tell" you if they are too hot or too cold.

Chicks crowding together under a heat lamp will indicate that they are too cold. If they scatter and congregate at the perimeter of the brooder the lights are too hot.  Ideally chicks should be evenly distributed throughout the brooder.  The heat from lamps can be adjusted by moving them up or down. Situating the brooder in a draft free building will provide the best results.

After you have everything in place, gently lift each chick from the box they came in and set them gently on the wood shavings.  (Some people suggest lining the brooder with newspaper so the birds do not eat the wood shavings. We have not had a problem with this, but take this advice into consideration when you set up your brooder).  These small bundles of fluff will start eating and drinking on their own as soon as they are put into their enclosure.  This is a good time to count the chicks to make sure you were given the number you ordered.

Count the chicks as you gently place them in the brooder.

Make sure the brooder is at a comfortable temperature for the chicks.  You will need to check their food and water supplies twice a day.  Chicks should have a constant supply of food and clean water during the first few weeks.

As the chickens get bigger, the level of heat can be slowly reduced until they are comfortable at room temperature.

Adding Hens to an Existing Flock

Chickens have a "pecking order" or hierarchy.  Dominate chickens will be the first to eat and will keep the others in line by pecking at them.  This pecking order is established among the flock and is disrupted when new chickens are added or part of the existing flock is removed. 

Since hens only lay eggs for three years some people get new chicks each year to make sure they have an ongoing egg supply.  You need to be strategic when introducing new chickens to a flock. Here are some tips;

• Keep the baby chicks in a separate enclosure until they are about 4 months old. 

• Add them to the flock under the cover of darkness, setting them on the roosts with the older chickens.  

• If you have multiple pastures, make sure two or more are open so the new hens have plenty of room to get away from aggressive older hens who want to hurt them. If you allow your chickens to free range the younger hens will use the space to steer clear of the established flock.

•  Use two feeders as the flock may try to prevent the new hens from eating at the feeder.  The extra feeder provides better access to food for the new hens.

The newbies will stick together in their own group and eventually will be accepted in the flock.

Survival Behavior

Chickens have developed instincts to protect themselves from danger. Hens will run for shelter when they sense a moving shadow over head.  Most predators hunt at dawn or dusk.  Chickens naturally find their way into a shelter and group together on a roost when the sun starts to fade and wait until day break to venture outside.

Chickens use trees as cover to hide from predatory birds.

Egg Laying

Most breeds begin laying when they are 6 to 8 months old and lay about 6 eggs per week.  At first the eggs will be very small, but will continue to get bigger as the hens grow older.

Eggs in a nest box.

Chickens lay eggs for about 3 years.  It is important to have an exit strategy before you bring home your baby chicks.  Think about what you will do after they are no longer laying eggs.  

In some cities, backyard chickens are being surrendered to animal shelters when they stop laying.  A responsible person should be prepared to keep the chickens for the duration of their life, find them a new home, or butcher them and make soup.  The meat of a 3 year old chicken is tough and sparse, but rich and nutritious.  Cooking your old hens in a pressure cooker will make the meat more tender.  The bones can be simmered to make bone broth.

Notice the lack of feathers on her back - she is molting.

Hens will quit laying while molting.  You will know they are molting by the large number of feathers you will find in the coop and pasture.

  

The chickens are molting!

The hours of sunlight in the day also has a major impact on the number of eggs a hen will lay, with short days resulting in fewer eggs.  A light in the coop, programmed to turn on a few hours before day break or after sun set, can provide supplemental day light and increase the number of eggs during the October - February time period.  I use one of the lights from the brooder and put it on a timer so it turns on at 6 pm and off at 9 pm.  Some people suggest adding light at the beginning of the day.

To Rooster or Not to Rooster

Roosters are not necessary for egg production, but if you decide to have rooster, you only need one.  Two rooster in a flock will fight for dominance.  

Roosters are beautiful.

Rooster can be rough on hens, pecking feathers out of their heads and damaging the hen's back with their talons as they breed them.

The rooster keeping watch as the flock free ranges.

A good rooster will watch over the flock and alert the hens if he senses danger.

Some towns and cities have ordinances prohibiting owning a rooster so be sure to check with your local government before bringing home a rooster.  We are lead to believe that roosters only crow in the morning, but my experience has shown that they crow all day long. 

Back yard chickens are becoming more and more popular as people begin to understand the nutritional, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of having their own small flock. Check out my Designing a Chicken Coop post for chicken coop considerations.

Our hen house.