Spring
officially began on March 20th and there are numerous signs of it
all around. My favorite sign of spring
is that the hens begin laying eggs again.
One day we go out and pick up 5 eggs, the next day, 24 eggs, and the
next day 54 eggs! That tells us that spring has sprung...
Benjamin's wire basket full of eggs |
During
the dreary fall/winter, egg production becomes few and far between. With about 65 hens, we barely have enough
eggs to provide our family.
Why
is this? The egg case in the grocery
store looks always stocked up, regardless of the season. Here’s the answer: Store-bought eggs are kept in an artificial environment,
an egg factory, if you will. The
temperature is kept at a constant setting, their food rations are kept at a
constant amount and quality, and the lighting in the hen factory warehouse is
constant.
In
real life, in a pastured setting, things aren’t that ordered and routine. Pastured poultry are subject to the cyclical
nature of the seasons. Due to the
seasonal changes, their egg production drops way off. As the days get shorter, there is not enough
daylight for a bird to produce an egg.
Eggsperts (experts) tell us that it takes at least 14 hour of daylight
for a hen to produce an egg. We could
run electricity to the hen house and simulate daylight, but we figure that the
hens, like us, need a break sometime.
Allowing this time of rest for the hens, will extend their usable lives,
since a hen has a finite amount of eggs inside of her. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with lighting
your hen house, we just want to give our girls a little rest.
Springtime Eggs |
Next,
another thing that changes in springtime is an abundance of insects, worms, and
other critters that were dormant during the winter. Why is that important? Because that is food for the hens. Our hens roam around on 3 acres, foraging,
searching, and hunting for any tasty morsel they can find. They’ll scratch, jump, peck for protein. A hen needs a certain amount of calories each
day. Although we supplement their feed
in the fall/winter (each hen requires ¼ pound of 17% protein feed each day), this
extra nutrition provided “for free” by the Creator each spring, gives them the
needed boost to begin churning out eggs again.
Finally,
and this is somewhat related to nutrition, another thing I notice about spring
is the hens’ demand for oyster shells. I
keep a container of oyster shells in the hen house. When they come in from the pasture to lay
their eggs in one of the nesting boxes, the oyster shell container is right
there handy for them. During winter
months, when they aren’t laying many eggs, I hardly have to fill the
container. In springtime, however, I
continually fill it almost every other day.
You see, laying eggs quickly depletes the hens’ store of calcium. They must replenish that calcium and that’s
where the oyster shells come in.
We’re
enjoying springtime and its many beautiful sights, weather, and benefits – one
of them being the hens’ egg-laying extravagance.
Fresh Eggs and blooming bougainvillea |
We'll have plenty to eat now and a few to sell, too! Let us know if you need any pastured eggs.
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