new chickens,feed question

[wulf]

So, protein for the eggs (and some calcium for the shells?)... but, with the days getting shorter, it may be the wrong time of year to expect the new girls to produce much anyway.

Wulf

[Thurston Garden]

Wulf - congrats on getting your hens!

Hens need 15+ hours of daylight to stimulate them to lay eggs. They don't need to be awake, but the light hitting their heads stimulates the necessary hormones. Some people light their houses via a timer - you can buy timed lights - google roosterbooster....

As Red says, it's possible you won't get eggs until, probably March when the days lengthen to give 15 hours. You can check if your POL hens are sexually mature - pick them up and cradle one under your arm with her facing behind you. above (if I remember rightly!) the vent (where the egg comes out) there's two bone joints like knuckles on your hand. If you can get two fingers between the knuckles then the hens are mature enough to lay eggs. If not, they are a bit too young and need to grow on. Often POL birds are sold too young - 21 weeks is the norm. Even then they may take a little time to settle in, and with the shortening daylight, might not lay until the spring.

Some breeds are better at laying through the winter. My Black Rocks are still laying (about 5 years old) and I hope they will spit the odd egg out over the winter without lights.

[red]

all my older girls have stopped laying.. im only getting eggs from the two hybrids (well its what they are bred for ) and a hen i raised this year. the rest are on strike.. some are moulting

[Ron and Jean]

We don't use oyster shell. Instead we have a dish that lives in the oven and gets filled with egg shell. Once the oven has been used and the shell roasted we put them in a mortar and pestle and feed the shell crumbs daily. This solved the paper shell problem we were having.

[Magpie]

The reason why it is suggested you don't suppliment the layers mash with anything, is that the mash is formulated to give the hens the right ratio of everything they need - protein, carbs, etc. So if you feed them anything else, you are messing up that ratio, and diluting or over-doing some areas. A good-quality pellet or mash should provide everything they need.

Having said that, my chooks have free-range layer's pellets ad-lib, kitchen scraps (not illegal here!) and access to free-ranging every second day. I think quality of life comes before egg production, and I like to see them out eating grass and bugs.