Back in late spring, I quadrupled the number of sentient beings I’m responsible for when I picked up four chicks at the local farm store and installed them in my dining room in a brooder. Those four harbingers of mayhem now reside in a fancy backyard coop, and about three weeks ago, stopped freeloading by presenting me with a few adorably colored eggs each day. My little chicks are now full grown ladies and so a bunch of changes and considerations had to be made. Once your chickens start laying (and this should be happening about now if you got spring chickens), here are the things you want to think about.
Marsala and Kiev, lounging Credit: Amanda Blum
Your chicken celebrates life cycles, too
Up until 20 weeks, chicks are considered to be in the grower/starter stage. Once they start laying, or at 20 weeks (this usually coincides) they graduate to the layer stage. Chickens generally stay in that phase for three years, and while production will begin to drop off at the end of that time, some chickens do continue laying well into their later years, although it will be far less frequently. According to Sean Warner, CEO of Grubbly Farms—which sells products for backyard poultry—there’s actually a growing population of older chickens that he calls “elder chickens," meaning they no longer produce eggs, but are being kept as pets. As Sean pointed out, most COVID chickens (the chicks everyone bought during a lockdown boom on backyard poultry) are now elder chickens.
Their food needs to change
Up until this point, your chickens have been chowing down on starter feed and chick grit. At 20 weeks, regardless of whether your chickens are laying or not, you should switch to layer feed, according to Warner. “Your chickens might be late in development if they’re not getting all their nutritional needs met”, he explained. Chicken feed comes in either starter feed or layer feed, and they have different nutritional content. Your laying birds are going to need more calcium, as well as the right amount of protein and carbohydrates.
The first week of eggs, which come in a huge variety in sizes, color and shape. Credit: Amanda Blum
The importance of grit and oyster shells
When my chicks were a few weeks old, I began adding "chick grit" to their food. Grit plays an essential role in helping chickens break down and digest their feed. When your chickens become layers, they graduate to regular grit, which contains larger particles. Equally important is the addition of oyster shells or another source of high-level calcium for your laying chickens. I was surprised by how enthusiastic my birds were for their new snack—and it had an almost immediate effect on egg quality, too.
Chickens are smart eaters
From what I’d read, chickens need about a pound of oyster shells a month, so I was almost offended by the rudeness of my feathered guests when they pounded five pounds of oyster shells in a few weeks. However, Warner explained something fascinating about chickens I didn’t know: They are fabulous self-regulators. They eat what they need. If the chickens are eating that much crushed oyster, they need the calcium (remember, eggs are 96% calcium). The food-shaming in my coop ceased immediately (I swear). It’s an all-you-can-eat oyster-shell fest these days.
By the way, your eggs can also be helpful in understanding if the chickens have calcium issues. Eggs that are oblong, misshapen or spotted can be signs of egg binding or blockage, both results of too much or not enough calcium.
The other fascinating tidbit Warner offered was that chickens can’t taste their food, so they’re fully visual eaters. They want to eat something that looks appealing, so recognition helps. This is part of why some people choose crumbles instead of pellets for their feed. Pellets tend to be easier for coop owners to manage, but crumbles are more attractive to chickens, and if you have chickens with smaller beaks, they're easier for them to consume.
How important are supplements for backyard birds?
I naively believed I’d be buying some chicken feed and calling it a day when I acquired these chickens, and am now often confronted when shopping online for feed with supplements and additional inputs I should consider for my chickens. I asked Warner what was actually considered “essential” for your backyard flock. While Grubbly Farms sells both a probiotic and a vitamin supplement for water, Warner explained that these are best used preventatively during times of impending stress: change of seasons, when introducing new birds, or when moving. You should consider boosting your birds immune system for a few weeks leading up to these events, rather than using these supplements year round. While, of course, you can use these supplements all the time, they wouldn’t be considered “essential.” Birds experience events like molting as they move into winter, and at these times, the additional nutrition in supplements—like biotin, which helps with moisture retention—can be beneficial. Probiotics and vitamins can help prevent flock problems like “pasty butt,” a common coop problem. Additional supplements like “mixed herbs” are likely less helpful. Warner felt similarly about products like “coop conditioner,” meant to offset coop smells. Warner offered, “If you are buying quality food, there’s no need, they’re not offering as large a benefit.”
Snacks are important
Warner also talked about the utility of snacks for your birds. If you’re interested in quality of life, chickens need enrichment, so pecking blocks, seeds or snacks like Grubblies—which have proteins, fats, thiamine and lysine—should be part of their diet. Warner had a good point, too. Since chickens self-regulate intake of nutrients, the calcium in treats like Grubblies mean your chickens will consume less oyster shell. Since I have already invested in a swing and a xylophone for my flock, it was a real no-brainer that I’d be adding snacks. The chickens seem appreciative based on how often they now knock at the back door.
How to get omega-enriched eggs
All it takes to get omega-enriched eggs is supplementing your chickens' diet. There are specific mixes like Grubbly Farm’s Omega topper to do so: They include ingredients like flax seed, dried carrots to boost the omega 3s and omega 6s in your birds, which they pass onto the eggs.
Winter preparations go beyond food
As your chicken is exposed to less light during the winter, they lay fewer eggs (chickens need 14-16 hours of light a day for egg production). Farmers sometime use artificial light to boost egg supply through the winter, but common thought these days is that ethically, it’s a bad idea. Your chickens need the winter to rest. Warner agreed with this assessment, but also pointed out that a far bigger problem with artificial lighting is the safety issue of having an electric device near your chickens and flammable bedding. (This was disappointing to me, since my chickens have a fan they like to fluff in front of in summer, and I had planned to move in some sun beds for the winter.)
To settle in for winter, your chickens need to be able to huddle in their bedding, which means ensuring there’s enough of it, and it’s clean. You absolutely need to ensure your chickens have access to water regardless of temperature, so if the temp will drop below 30F, you’ll need a plan B. Warner suggested keeping a ping pong ball in your water—the wind will blow it around and prevent the top layer from freezing.
Keeping your chickens well-fed is good for you, too
As adorable as my tiny dinosaurs are, I deeply resisted becoming attached to them. One could turn out to be a rooster (which are not allowed in city limits), plus I have occasional raccoons in my yard and a Doberman who is three brain cells away from figuring out that chickens = chicken nuggets. But as the summer has worn on, I have been unable to resist how charming Korma, Kiev, Marsala and Cacciatore are. They free roam the backyard during the day, pecking at my back door; are very excited to see me; and tolerate a lot of chicken hugs. Yes, I do benefit from the eggs, but mostly I arrange them into beautiful ombre six packs and give them away. The eggs are delicious, to be sure, but the joy I've gotten from my flock has been immeasurable for my mental health, which is why I suspect there are as many "elder birds" as Warner purports. I can easily see myself aging alongside these four idiots—hopefully someone will buy me a swing and xylophone.
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