It is Springtime – Eggcellent news!

Spring officially began on March 20^th 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.