A Few Hens for Eggs in the Back Yard.

After the UK's media coverage of the ‘Chicken Out' campaign by the real food guru Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the programs presented by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver showing the way our chicken is prepared, many people have become interested in the possibility of keeping a small laying flock of hens as pets with the added advantage of producing their own eggs for home consumption. Whilst it is true to say that eggs produced at home cost more than commercially produced eggs found in our supermarkets, the satisfaction of seeing healthy, happy hens scratching around their run and knowing exactly what goodness you've put into your hens is reflected in the goodness you are getting out of their eggs outweighs this slightly higher cost.

Chickens lay eggs!

My daughter is constantly telling me that she is "just going to see if there are any more eggs" even if I tell her there won't be any more now as it's getting dark she still tells me she's "just going to check anyway".

If it's eggs you want then choosing the correct breed or hybrid cross is important. For example White Leghorn or Rhode Island Red strains lay well and have a better feed efficiency than some other breeds. Out of the many hybrids that have been created to lay eggs, there are some very pretty looking birds that shouldn't disappoint in the egg laying department. An advantage of buying one of these hybrids that is often forgotten is that they usually come vaccinated since they have been produced on a commercial scale. Pure breeds are often produced in small numbers and it is simply too expensive for breeders to vaccinate as doses come in vials with a minimum of 500 or 1000 doses.

The article here asks whether your poultry should be vaccinated.

When to Chickens start to Lay?

Pullets start to lay at around 18 to 20 weeks of age and will lay a good quantity of eggs for their first 2 years if fed and managed correctly. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to feed the correct food in order to make the most of a laying flock. The number of times I have heard "my grandfather kept chickens and all he fed them was kitchen scraps!" Yes, you can feed scraps but in order for your birds to get everything they need, you should feed a balanced layers diet in pellet or mash form. Remember your grandfather wasn't fortunate enough to have the feeds we have available today and probably didn't get the number of eggs we can get from hens today. You can find more about this in this article that into a little more depth about what you should feed your chickens.

Find out more information about keeping Chickens on Poultrykeeper

If you are a new poultry keeper then there are a few other useful articles you may want to read at this point, some of which are listed in the 'related items' box to the left. There are more beginners questions answered in the Chickens>FAQ section or in our Beginners Guide to Keeping Chickens and if you can't find the answer there then why not ask us on the Poultry Forum!