POULTRY
How to maximise your egg yield
A
re you getting the most
out of your chickens?
Most smallholdings
have a few chooks scrabbling
around in the yard, yet many
will be there in conditions
that do not encourage, or
maximise, the birds' laying
potential.
The age at which a pullet
begins to lay varies according
Get the most out of your plot
chickens and you!ll never have
to buy an egg again
which will be relished by the
hens. Inland, while shell-grit
used to be commercially
available many years ago,
crushed oyster shells do the
to the breed, the health of the cases.
same job. Next time you dine
bird, diet, lighting conditions, In the meantime you can be
out, start with a portion of
stress and temperatures.
providing the ideal conditions oysters and ask you waiter to
On average most pullets lay at to encourage them to reach
bring the emptied shells as a
18 to 20 weeks, but she can
their point of lay.
“take-away”. Dry them well
be up to a year old in some
Feed is, of course, most
before crushing them.
important. Do not feed layer
Naturally there must be a
feed until they are at least 18 constant supply of clean
weeks old. Use a good quality water available.
commercial brand, rather
Provide attractive nesting
than trying to mix your own.
boxes, one for every four to
Limit the supplementary
five layers. Ensure that your
treats, even healthy ones.
nest boxes are in a dark, quiet
Make supplementary calcium corner of the coop, where the
available separately, as the
hens will feel safe. It's also a
individual hen's requirements good idea to have the boxes
vary and they will take
raised a few centimetres off
sufficient for their own needs. the floor.
Smallholders who live at the
When your hens show signs
seaside have it easy: A visit to of being ready to lay, place a
the beach allows them to
fake egg in the nest box,
collect bucketfuls of shell-grit
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