Keeping Layers for the Family Egg Supply 2.510
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Keeping Layers for the Family Egg Supply Fact Sheet No. 2.510 Livestock Series/Health Howard Enos* (3/20) Quick Facts Many farm, small acreage and Getting Started Properly managed, a some urban families are finding it small laying flock A family of four needs 16 to 20 profitable to keep a few chickens to requires little labor layers to keep them supplied with produce fresh eggs for home use. and assures a family eggs. It takes about four or five Properly managed, a small flock of a supply of fresh hens to furnish one person with two requires little labor and assures the eggs. to four eggs per day. Of course, Many urban, city and family of having an egg supply most there will be times when the flock county codes allow of the year. will produce more, or times when for small flock eggs aren’t needed. production. Check Depending on local ordinances, a with local governing family could produce enough eggs One way to start a flock is to ordinances to see to supply themselves as well as what regulations need purchase chicks either by mail or at some local community members. to be followed before a local farm and ranch supply store. Before selling to others check with starting small flocks. A small group of 50 chicks or less the State’s Department of Agriculture Waste products from can be brooded under a single heat to see laws and regulations the kitchen may be lamp. Some people will want to buy used to supplement a governing egg production and sales. straight-run chicks (about half will be hen’s regular diet or Recent changes in laws in Colorado of each sex) and grow the cockerels as a treat, as long as it allow for small flock producers to be (males) for meat. Others may prefer is not overfed. exempt from an egg license if you to buy pullet chicks. Chick sexing is Eggs should be sell less than 40 cases a year or only about 95% accurate so if you produced as clean as 1200 dozen. See possible. Store dry are ordering many chicks be https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/agi and in a refrigerator prepared for a couple surprises. nspection/egg-producers for more to keep them fresh. Cockerels (males) are not needed information. for egg production. It usually is best to start the brood in the spring after With the decrease of small flocks the weather begins to warm. (For in rural areas and the increased more information on brooding and demand for locally produced food *Howard Enos, CSU Extension rearing chicks, see Fact Sheet there might be a demand for eggs in Associate Professor, Poultry 2.509, Brooding and rearing chicks Science: your area. Revised 2020, Robin Young, for the family flock.) Archuleta County Director; Travis Hoesli, Grand County Director; Todd Hagenbuch, Routt County Director; Sharon Bokan, Small Acreage Coordinator Boulder County Extension extension.colostate.edu 1 © Colorado State University Extension. 01/74. Revised 3/20. To simplify care for the flock. Another possibility is to purchase To keep birds from gardens and yard. stared pullets. They usually are sold at To prevent eggs from being laid in odd 20 to 22 weeks of age and are ready to nesting areas about the farm or yard. lay. Sources of started pullets can be To prevent losses from predators. obtained through a hatchery. To prevent disease spread from wild birds and animals. A person may be able to buy a few layers from a local poultry dealer. Such Cages pullets may have been laying for a short The small colony cage makes an time or they may be older birds that are excellent shelter for a small flock. Place it still in good laying condition. Starting with in any outbuilding around the farmstead mature birds has the advantage of where it will fit most appropriately. eliminating the time, equipment and work Droppings can accumulate on the floor or involved in brooding and rearing. provide a tray for them under the cage. Equip the cage with a feeder and waterer. If a family is primarily interested in eggs, select a breed or strain of birds Since confined birds cannot scavenge bred for high egg production. The White for themselves, they naturally require a Leghorn type of hybrid or strain cross is complete ration and regular attention. In preferred. For people interested in meat some situations, it is necessary to de-beak quality as well as egg production, the caged birds to prevent cannibalism. choice may be certain crossbreeds, Rhode Island Reds or other heavy breeds. Each light breed bird needs from 2.5 to In Colorado, you may also need to 3 square feet of floor space. Heavy breeds consider breeds that adapt well to need from 3 to 3.5 square feet per layer. elevation and cooler temperatures. If egg If the building selected for the colony cage color is important to you identify breeds is drafty, line the walls with plastic during with tan, brown, or blue/green shells to the winter months. Use lathe strips to suit your desires. fasten the plastic securely to the walls. Housing Flies sometimes become a problem with poultry flocks. To combat this problem, Providing adequate housing for a small use only those insecticides recommended flock is not a problem on most farms. for use in and around poultry houses. Facilities that could be remodeled easily and used probably are available already. Small acreage and urban dwellers will need to build a coop and run. Urban backyard coops will need to meet set- backs and building codes for that municipality. Flock confinement is recommended for the following reasons: Free Ranging Coop The term ‘Free Range’ has many Many farms still have a 10 feet by 12 interpretations, but typically refers to feet brooder house that can be used to allowing chickens to be outdoors at least house the home flock. Such a house will part of the day. In urban areas, this can take care of 40 to 60 confined layers very mean a large run or, if you are not nicely. Small acreage and urban dwellers concerned about the care of your gardens, will often need to build a new coop and the entire yard. In more rural areas, it run for their flock. Partitioning off an end could mean allowing chickens to roam of another building can also be an option where they want and closing them indoors but consider the uses of the building as at night. ‘Pasture raised’ chickens may be well. For example, you would not want to in a fenced-in area and allowed to range house chickens in the same building you during the day but spend the night in a process foods in or store chemicals mobile chicken coop that is moved around because of health and safety the pasture as conditions warrant. considerations. The brooder house should be will lit and comfortable for the Bear in mind that free ranging is a way to flock. It should have plenty of fresh air, allow chickens to display natural behaviors, but not drafts. Insulate the ceiling of the which will include rooting and digging, house or pen to make it cooler in the roosting in trees, and will lead to finding summer and warmer in the winter. excrement in any place they have access to. If your desire is to keep areas of your The equipment needed includes: property tidy, prevent chickens from Nests - one individual nest for each entering into those areas. four to five hens. Feeder – one hen-size hanging-type Free range birds need indoor protection feeder is adequate for 25 to 30 birds. for inclement weather, nighttime, and to Waterer – preferably automatic. Many escape predators. Make sure a coop that types of waterers are available. meets the above standards is accessible to Lights – one 60-watt bulb or all free-ranged birds at all times. equivalent for each 200 square feet of floor space. Use lights to provide a 14- Feeding hour day from September through Twenty-five light breed hens in good early March. The purpose of lights is production will eat 6 to 7 pounds of feed to stimulate egg production. per day. This feed may be supplied as a Roosts are not necessary but advised. complete 16-percent protein all mash or as If they are provided, they should be a 20-percent protein mash plus whole spaced about 12 inches apart. grain. The latter system is most practical on farms where a good supply of homegrown grains is hand-fed in late afternoon in the ration of 60 parts mash to 40 parts grain. Urban flocks, or those raised on a small bird is not difficult to spot in a small flock. acreage, should be fed a complete layer Do not waste feed on a bird that is out of ration available at most farm and ranch condition and not likely to develop into a supply stores. Such feed is a mixture profitable layer. of various grains that have been processed into either a pellet or crumble. Dispose of all dead birds by burying Automatic or free-choice feeders can be deep in the ground or burning in an used with the ration to decrease labor. incinerator. Always check with local codes and ordinance to make sure burying Hens need supplements for digestive deceased animals is not prohibited or health and for egg quality. Provide a small requires a permit. Colorado State hopper divided into two sections for the University Avian Diagnostics Center hens to provide these supplements.