May 31

May 31
1 white, 1 brown + 1 brown cannibalized
May 30
1 white, 3 brown, 1 green.

Chicks arrived on May 28. Bought 50# organic chick start.
May 31 Bought 50# organic scratch, bale of wood shaving bedding.

Chicks will be in brooder until June 18 or so.

It appears that production is coming back. between May 5 and 30 egg production varied from 0 to 2 eggs per day. The 5 egg day followed by a 3 egg day suggests that production is back.

One Rhode Island Red died - she had been having difficulty moving prior to her death.

May 5

1 green

May 4

1 brown, 2 green

May 3
1 brown

May 2

1 brown

May 1
1 green

April 30
1 brown, 1 green

April 29
no eggs

April 28

1 brown, 1 green

April 27

1 Brown, 1 white cannibalized
Sunday 1 brown, 1 green
Saturday 1 brown
Friday 1 brown
Thursday no eggs
Wednesday 2 green
Tuesday 1 brown, 1 white
Monday no eggs
Sunday 1 brown, 1 green
W: 0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1
B: 2,0,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,0,0,1,1,1
G: 1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,0,2,0,0,1,0

April 16

1 white, 1 brown

W: 0,0,0,0,0,1
B: 2,0,1,1,1,1
G: 1,0,1,0,1,0

April 15

1 brown, 1 green

April 14
1 brown

W: 0,0,0,0,0
B: 2,0,1,1,1
G: 1,0,1,0,1

April 13

1 brown, 1 green

W: 0,0,0
B: 2,0,1
G: 1,0,1

April 12

no eggs

W: 0,0
B: 2,0
G: 1,0

April 11

2 brown, 1 green

W: 0
B: 2
G: 1

have been getting 0-2 eggs a day since end of March. Time to start daily recording.

Chick order is in - ship date Memorial Day.
4 Buff Orpington (B)
3 Americauna (G)
2 White Leghorn (W)
6 meat birds
1 free exotic
 

April 1

1 brown, 1 green

March 31

1 white, 1 brown

March 29

1 brown, 1 green

about 15 eggs in March, although there were escapees up until March 27. Some white, brown, green.

Ordered chicks for delivery May 27.

March 1

Bought 4# flax seed, 50# lay pellets, 50# scratch $36.13

Hens are laying again. Found a clutch of 7 green eggs outside chicken yard. 3 brown eggs in February. 2 brown, 1 green today.

January 31

My hens will be in the stew pot next fall. Production this winter is abysmal. Really - 1 egg in all of January from 8 laying hens is ridiculous. I expect the added daylight to bring production up to 3-6 eggs a day by summer. I'm getting chicks this spring that should be producing by fall and through the winter.

This is a poorly performing flock - my flock was producing about 2 dozen eggs a week back in 2010 - granted there were 4 more hens in the flock, but 1 egg in January 2015 vs 90 in January 2011?

2011 - 13 hens, 9 aged 1 year, 2 aged 3 years, 2 aged 9 years
2015 - 8 hens, 2 aged 3 years, 6 aged 2+ years

Look like culling birds after second season is the way to go. There are other factors of course, the breed mix is different (the 9 year old silver laced Wyandottes were still producing big brown eggs!)

January 24

One of the Barred Rock hens wasn't in the coop overnight. She died, no evidence of predation though.

No egg production in January.

Jan 4

Bought 50# lay pellets 3# flax seed, 50# scratch $34.84

Total of 3 brown eggs for all of December.

Nights have been cold the past week - below freezing a couple of times. Diurnal cycle was at its low about 2 weeks ago - production should start coming back by end of January.

I'm planning on getting some additional layers this spring, plus some meat birds - delivery around May 4. Get 3 americauna (green), 3 Buff Oprington (brown), 2 red start sex links (dark brown), 2 leghorns (white) and 7 meat birds.

Summer Flock:
Americauna: 1 old, 3 chicks
Barred Rock: 3 2 old
Rhode Island Red: 3 old
Buff Orpington: 3 chicks
Red Star: 2 chicks
Ancona: 1 old
Leghorn: 2 chicks

Cull 2 old Americauna for stew in next 4 months. cull 1 Rhode island red, 1 barred rock for stew late in year (after new brown production starts).

End of year 2015 flock:
4 green (1 old, 3 pullets)
8 brown (3 old, 5 pullets)
3 white (1 old, 2 pullets)

Should be getting 6 - 10 eggs a day from pullets starting in October. The old birds will be going into molt around then. Older birds for stew starting in November - all 5 hens culled in 2016. Replace with 4 brown layers, meat birds, possibly 2 Ancona and 2 Americauna in spring 2016.

November 23

2 brown

There was a single cannibalized brown in previous week. The 3,7,21 day running record doesn't seem worth while given the low production.

November 16

No eggs
W: 0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
B: 0,1,0,1,1,0,1,0,2,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,0
G: 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

3 day: 0 W, 1 B, 0 G
7 day: 0 W, 2 B, 0 G
21 day: 1 W, 9 B, 0 G

November 15
1 brown cannibalized

W: 1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
B: 0,0,1,0,1,1,0,1,0,2,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1
G: 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

3 day: 0 W, 2 B, 0 G
7 day: 0 W, 2 B, 0 G
21 day: 2 W, 9 B, 0 G

November 14

no eggs
Bought 50# lay pellets, 2# flax seed, 25# scratch $27.36

W: 0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
B: 1,0,0,1,0,1,1,0,1,0,2,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0
G: 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

3 day: 0 W, 1 B, 0 G
7 day: 0 W, 2 B, 0 G
21 day: 2 W, 9 B, 0 G

Raccoon electrocuted itself trying to get into the coop over night. It was biting the wire when it died.