Hey Becky, We've had chickens for 15 years and every year our chickens would stop laying during the winter months. We watched your video and gave your tips a try. Now our chickens are laying so well and the egg production is out of this world. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you so much for the video. I've been raising chickens for 50 years and love your comments. One thing my Grandfather taught me about whole grains was the TIMING. (especially in cold weather) He told me NEVER let your birds go to roost for the night without a FULL CROP of WHOLE GRAINS. It takes them ALL NIGHT to digest and they keep themselves WARM during those cold nights from those whole grains. And they have ENERGY all night so they wake up ready to lay and scavenge. And, he told me to toss them a LITTLE bit of whole grains in the morning to "prime" them to go off scavenging with "attitude". (imagine yourself off on a day trek on an empty stomach, or in bed for the night with an empty belly) The modern mashes are a great main food as you say, but those whole grains are essential to keep them warm, in good health, full of ENERGY, and laying. Many backpackers, winter hikers and campers advise that the only way to stay warm all night is to eat a heavy evening meal. It "kicks in" in the middle of the night just when your energy is depleted and the night is coldest and you sleep well all night - toasty and warm. He also said that when it is time for them to moult (grow their new feathers for the year) to be SURE to feed them OATS - they make HARD, HEALTHY, SHINY FEATHERS. (This works for ALL species - whatever time they are moulting) Filling my birds crops with whole grains before bedtime and giving them a small amount as soon as they come off the roost in the morning, and giving oats at moulting has given my DECADES of happy, healthy, laying birds of all species - ducks, turkeys, geese and chickens. AND - while you DEMONSTRATED this element, you didn't mention it. I think it is SO important to add LOVE. CLEARLY you are doing that when you toss the bread and grains to your flock. Caring for our flocks CANNOT be a CHORE. It has to be a symbiotic labor of LOVE. You are as HAPPY to see them as they are to see you. HAPPINESS is ESSENTIAL. It's affirming to see you do the same things with your flock that I was taught to do with mine by my Grandfather. Thanks for being cheerful in your videos - and POLITE. Best wishes to you and yours.
In the winter I always add oats & corn to my feed along with oyster shell, aragonite or crushed used & dried egg shells for calcium. Oats really help keep their bodies warm. In the summer I don’t push the oats. Also lots of clean water. During the day my chickens free range & put themselves to bed in coup; I just lock the door with a latch to keep other critters out during night. Unlatch it in the morning. Their health is superb, feathers bright & they lay everyday. I also give them mealworms/dried fly larvae for treats & greens from my garden. And….lots of lovin’! 👍❣️
how much to give to a single chicken ? in what proportion you mix oats, corn, oyster shell, aragonite ? please share, I'm thinking to buy few chickens.. 🙏
Hi, I’m 13 and after begging for years I finally got CHICKENS! any way today was the biggest moment of my chickens owner life. My untamable well summer chicken ATE OUT MY HAND. ( my bantam moderngames always eat out my hand) And then another thing happened, my little chicken ( Vera wing) jumped on my shoulder all of a sudden then my other little chicken am and sat on my knee!!! 👍🏻🤩🙏🏻😂🐓😬
This is actually so crazy... I LOVE how she ditched her old life for a new one in the outdoors, building her own home herself!! That's my DREAM one day! And same as my father's, I hope he can do it one day. It just makes so much more sense to save up your money and start an almost self-sustainable life like this! WOW!
Plus Becky I LOVE how you make me feel like I could totally run a Farm. Like that feeling of freedom that overcomes you for a second is so liberating and motivating.
I think you're right, good nutrition is key. My girls lay all year too, 6 hen, 6 eggs a day every day, unless one goes broody. My hens get chicken food, they steal dog food, if you walk outside with a banana, say goodbye to your banana because a hen will fly at your face and bite it. They get all our leftovers from cutting vegetables and fruits, they love watermelon. Stale bread, heck I've seen my husband give them leftover pasta and I tell him not too but he just says, why not they love it! The only time we stopped getting eggs was after a really nasty storm. I think they were all a bit traumatized but eventually started laying again.
Becky, Thank you for sharing this information. After watching this video a few months ago I purchased a bag of whole corn along with my normal layer mix. I was totally amazed when my birds began laying within a week of beginning to feed extra whole corn. I've only kept chickens since retiring five years ago and they have never laid in the winter. So refreshing to get real info instead of the all too common 'click bait'...Again, Thanks.
Becky, you're awesome and my girlfriend and I are at the point where we are now packing up our city lives and we have a 32ft trailer on 2 acres and this is how we are starting our homesteading lifestyle. We will be semi off-grid, using some electricity in the beginning. You are an inspiration to us and I commend you on what you have accomplished thus far.....you rock!!! We are subbed. Thanks for your awesome, down to earth approach to your v logging. Kudos to you girl!!!!
Idk how I ended up here. I was watching parodys of music videos and I somehow ended up watching a video on how to get eggs year round. lol i guess it's good to know if I ever get chickens
I am getting my first Buff Orpington s 8 of them!!! They are a year and a half being given to me!! I am so excited! Your videos you up load are so much help!!
Thanks Becky! Our chickens just started laying in winter. They love the oats and bread you suggested, but when they wouldn't eat the whole corn, we simply cooked the hard corn we got from the feed supply store. We also feed organic layer pellets and a flock block with various nutrition. But they didn't start laying again until the oats and whole corn. Interesting! Thanks for your channel.
Love your intro, just found your channel and subbed right away! I am getting my new baby chicks in about 6 weeks and I am so excited... Thank you for all of the great information :)
I’m in south Texas where it’s very hot and humid. I feed crushed ice to my girls early afternoon and they love it. I keep apples, cucumbers and celery cut up in the frig to feed to them as well. Oh and I freeze the skin I cut off of pineapple and give to them - love it! I’m a first year mamma to hens and I love them. Enjoy your videos and I formation you share.
I also have kept milk goats and given some of the milk from the morning to the chickens, still warm. I had to put it in a dark bowl or they couldn't see the milk in it. They loved it. During the winters in Minnesota, a little extra sunflower seeds (unhulled) and just a bit of ground meat with fat (no pork) seemed to help them along too. I would also open up a pumpkin or some other squash from time to time and let them clean that up as well. I am currently checking into sprouting grass-like seeds and giving that to them for fresh green stuff.
Wow, I see that you received a response from as far away as Afghanistan! That is so awesome! I am in the USA and I just wanted to thank you for all of your no BS information on so many topics. Clearly, the world is benefiting from your knowledge and experience. Thank you so much Becky!
Good morning Becky, I checked out this video and really like what you do. I have aquired a coop and seven hens three weeks ago. In 21 days they have layed 62 eggs. I am hapoy so far, still have a lot to learn. Anyway I subscribed to your channel to be a part of your community. Thank you for sharing this video, as I get time will slowly work my way through your videos.
Thank you, Becky. I love straightforward, cheap feeding tips like yours. It frustrates me when I see people suggesting special kinds of mixture of feeds, or not to do this or that. I understand about clean surroundings as that is basic either with yourself or with the animals we care for. Again, thanks and you are awesome!
Hi! Its funny to see your comment on this video. I have learned so much from both Roots & Refuge and Becky's Homestead. We learned so much that we got 6 Buff Orphington chickens 2 months ago. We adore them ❤
Those chickens are absolutely healthy and happy, can't wait to have chickens of my own. Thanks for the helpful tips!! You have the lifestyle I'm working on achieving!!
I started following these instructions after seeing your Video and within a week or 2 we started getting at least 5 eggs a day from 12 hens (just started laying) today we got 9 eggs.
You forgot the greens. They need stuff like kale, swiss chard, spinach, and collard greens every day during the growing season. This provides much needed calcium in addition to other power nutrients. You will never have a chicken laying a soft-shelled egg if you feed her greens.
omg i need to do that!! sell everything and build my own home and have tons of animals ^_^ that would be so cool! thanks for the videos . you got a new subscriber :)
I have been raising chickens for 40+ years, am a licensed Poultry Technician and trained in Livestock Feeds and Feeding. The comment about cracked corn is incorrect. Cracked corn is not processed corn but rather whole kernel corn that has passed through a roller mill to “crack” the seed coat. This is essential for monogastric (pigs & horses) and ruminants (cows & goats) as they cannot break down the seed coat. Cracking corn for poultry increases rate of gain for production birds and helps layers get a larger portion in the free range system due to the increased volume. Cracked corn retains all the nutrients and oils as whole kernel just in a smaller size.
I have raised chickens for over 30 years without a single doctorate in Chicken management or any other special education or training. They aren't that difficult but you have to get out of the books in into the coop. Each chicken has individualized nutritional needs. I feed a 16% layer feed and additional chicken scratch from the local feed mill. It is made up of 50% crack corn and probably 50% sunflower seeds with some oyster shell tossed in for calcium and stronger shells. This treat keeps them moving and keeps them warm. My hens love it especially here in Minnesota where the extra protein gets them through the long, cold winter and keeps them laying eggs along with additional artificial light.
You make a lot of sense. When she made the comment, I kinda' cringed so I researched it and turns out you are correct. Oh well. It's just a youtube video. It's all in good fun
I live in Alberta Canada and the winters can be super cold, in these climates it is best to have breeds of chickens with a smaller comb. They do way better, and lay better in cold weather, especially when I feed them raw fish guts and heads.
Our chickens hadnt laid eggs in over a year, after research and watching this video we changed our feed to everything in this video and not joking within the same week yes one week pur chickens were back to laying beautiful big eggs...thank you Becky! It had been so long since we had our hens laying. This feed routine does work and DE! Try it.
I like the whole corn idea. I hope to grow enough next year so I don't have to buy. As to "Can they swallow whole corn?", I've seen a hen swallow a whole mouse!
One Woman & Two Acres I dont think so dogs beget dogs and cats beget cats and humans beget humans and chickens always have chickens. Never is history has it been any different. Never let any body lie to you any other way because it is just a lie and that is all it is. you can breed up dogs any way you want and no matter how big or small it is or what color it is or long or short hair it has it is still just a dog.
they can walk around with their mouth open shovelling in everything in sight... i grew a mountain of corn in my back yard, didn't last but 5 minutes... the real reason we fence in our chickens is that we don't want the whole landscape turned to desert
I thought it was a bit obnoxious lol Life is what you make it. You can live a "consumerist" lifestyle and still be happy, healthy, and have free time. I don't like it when people try to glorify homesteading and sufficiency as if it is the only and best way to live.
best ideas was moving far away from the city life lol , now being in Missouri out in the country with thousands of acres of forest all around my home, i build my own home also 4 yrs ago, log cabin style i built all my cabinets, flooring, walls ceiling all wood...so your right getting away was the best plan ever...now im getting ready for my 50 Buffs and 6 road island reds coming in April...can't wait to get started...I enjoy your videos and grea helpful ideas and hints....talk to ya soon...cheers
I noticed this myself. I have been buying frozen corn and feeding it to my birds. They LOVE it and when they get it, they lay so much better. Definitely buying some whole corn for them today so they can keep on laying. Thanks
Not to disagree with the lady but I feed my chickens laying pellets, kitchen leftovers, and garden weeds and greens. They still stopped laying during fall while molting. After hanging a light in the chicken yard I started getting eggs year round with no changes in diet. As far as laying, my hens lay for years before they finally stop and usually they're pretty old by then.
@@Jess-vo7hj The shortening of the daytime in winter often triggers the egg laying slowdown. Many people put an artificial light source to extend the "daylight" for 14 hours/day this tricks them into thinking it is summer and they start laying again. Winter laying is also somewhat breed dependent as some breeds will just lay in winter with or without a light source.
Hi Becky. I feed my chicks St. Augustine grass, Passion flowers, Hibiscus flowers, clover, Sunflower hearts, watermelon and, of course, corn, scratch & showbird feed. I also reward them with Earth worms, mealworms & flying insects (they love the little green grasshoppers). They're also free-range & are healthy, happy birds. Is there anything else I can delight them with or I should perhaps limit them to?
My wife and I started keeping chickens 3yrs ago. We started getting eggs the 1st yr then it went down to almost nothing we were searching the web for different ideas when I stumbled upon your video! We started about 9 months ago to feed them the mash and cracked corn and I told my wife you said whole corn she said the feed store said theres no difference well there was no difference with the egg production either we tried this for 3 months nothing then I convinced my wife to try the whole corn and BOOM! now they are laying one egg a day each we have 25 hens one rooster. Also lately through winter the same production! Thank you so much Becky! Amazing! Anyone and I've read some of the comments which actually swayed me at first who says it doesn't work or isn't true is either lying or jealous. God bless you!
It is genetic for chickens to lay well for a while and gradually taper off. They then go into what is called a moult, loosing a bunch of feathers and stopping egg production. After the moult period they will then start laying again. Cracked corn and whole corn are equal in nutritional value to animals that eat it. No different than taking a hammer and breaking up the whole kernels into cracked pieces. All the oil and starch are still there, just in smaller pieces. I am an animal nutritionist. believe me!
+Frederick Dunn Beats me the conversations folks get in.... like if a hen isn't shooting out an egg every day at 8:00 am they are going to put them in front of a firing squad.
Becky, do you feed them non gmo corn and bread made without gmo wheat? Also, do you give them marigolds, which are high in lutein, which comes from the egg yolk and also from spinach.
Chickens are very easy to raise. I started raising them 2 years ago and recently a neighbor dog attacked the fenced in chicken coop and destroyed all my flock. After winter is over I have to start fresh again but I look forward to it. Love fresh eggs and Rhode Island Reds are very friendly with children.
Forgive me if I counted wrong, but I saw 11 chickens and four slices of bread. That seemed like a lot to me, so I checked with www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bread-for-chickens.1209551/ , which is full of chicken raisers, and they seemed to agree that 6 chickens and one slice is a lot. White bread shouldn’t be fed to chickens, and if if you do, it should be a occasional treat, not a part of their normal food.
@@TheFrightBox yes, but she has alot of space, sand as grit etc and possibly some fly through insects... So I think how you house them could be key also. She did give alot of value talking about the fat content in whole corn.... I'm wondering if that is also valid when sprouting corn or soaking it to ferment....there's actually alot you can feed chickens, (the list is huge) and I agree with her it's always good to have some base food they can go to that's nutritionally valuable if they ever need it.
Damn Becky , you got it going on don't you girl ? I often dream of a homestead life style , and would love to do it . Unfortunately due to circumstance beyond my control I cant . love you're videos though, thanks of posting them they are very informative .
Do you ever miss your old career? Do you still do it part time? Aren't you concerned with making enough money to get by? I would love a video on budgeting monthly and yearly expenses. That would be wonderful...
I found the best method for keeping my egg production high. I only have 24 hens now, but for years had 100 or more, and the best way to keep that production up is with a few broodies. Each Spring I let enough broodies hatch and raise replacement hens. I figure I want close to 25% of my flock to be replaced each year, so I need about 50% to be hatched out. With 24 hens now 12 chicks should do it. Momma can raise them in the Spring, and they can all eat cheaply running around the farm on bug patrol all summer, but by fall, when the new hens are laying, I should have about six young roosters to fry, and six four year old hens for chicken noodles. It never goes exactly to plan, sometimes it's time to stew the old rooster, or spare an awesome broody, and seldom is it exactly six pullets and six roosters, and a few extra chicks still comes out to a few extra meals, but you get the idea. Even though some hens can lay many eggs after they are four years old, every one of them them that you "save" a few more years is exactly equal to the number of pullets that don't start a prime time egg laying career if you are at your capacity. If you're expanding your flock, that's another story that can be addressed with keeping older chickens and/or more broodies.
I respect what this lady is doing, I really do, but there isn't much science behind her "facts". It's just "I think". All laying mash does is give them extra calcium and nutrients to make sure their bones don't become brittle from egg laying. Don't get me wrong, it's very important for laying hens to have long, healthy lives (either that or oyster shell). Hens stop or reduce laying in the winter due to hormones in their bodies (due to lack of daylight) that are telling them that it is no longer "laying season". Only breeds which have this trait selectively bred out of them continue laying through winter.
Becky, I hope you see this. I procured everything but the crimped oats, to feed my 1 hen and she won't touch any of it. I have followed your directions and she just walks away. I have a medium sized urban backyard, very lush, no herbicide or pesticide use. Iris, my hen, must be getting food as she's still cluckin', but it amazes me that she doesn't eat almost anything I offer her. The only things from the kitchen she will eat, and picky about these too, are scrambled egg, squash, wet cat/dog food leftovers, and a couple bites of cherry tomato. Seriously, I don't know how she survives with just eating occasionally what I listed above. I am so envious when I read of people who toss their kitchen scraps to their hens and they eat them!! We have plenty of ants and flies, but she doesn't eat those. I have discovered an occasional grub when planting and given those to her, which she loves. I have bought lg mealworms to give her, which she loves, but come on, we're talking $$ here. I have also tried and tried to supplement her calcium as her shells are extremely soft or completely collapsed at times. She won't touch oyster shell, crushed egg shells(from healthier chickens) and if I put finely ground shell in her scrambled egg, she takes a bite and walks away. I worry about her, tho she appears perky, but always looking for the next thing to eat. I am worn out. Any advice, dear woman? I LOVE your videos and you are so inspiring!! Thank you!
I am assuming that you are feeding non gmo corn and layer mash. Would you mind telling us where you purchase and what brand of feed you are using? Thanks everso!
There is a lot more to it than just their feed. Breed will determine how often they lay as well as, yes, the # of hours of light/day. Hens do not lay when they are molting. Some hens, generally heavier breeds, will stop laying if it gets too hot for them. I have a variety of breeds of differing ages. The most consistent layers appear to be the leghorns. My smaller breeds seem to stop laying as the days get shorter (I do not use artificial lighting). The older the bird, the less reliable their lay rate. I offer layer feed 24/7, normally free range, try to provide fresh veggies in the summer with a little scratch, and bump up the scratch in the winter. Sorry, I see no difference between cracked corn and whole corn except that their digestive system will have to work harder to process the whole corn. Not saying don't feed it, just don't see any nutritional difference.
I use flax seed and and cannabis leafs...They have never produced better..They then have to fin for themselves and we have lots of bugs and worms they eat..My chickens are pretty old also so I am happy with them but awesome job Becky Thanks for what you do Linda Little Bear
RogueSpirit1966 Hemp seeds (unsterilized) are so packed with nutrition, that the chickens would benefit from them greatly; just as a human's health is benefited with hemp seed in their diet.
laying is triggered by daylight hrs not matter what you feed them, it's why they stop laying during the shorter days and start laying in spring when the days start to lengthen - they like all other bird life wish to raise chicks, it's also why they light poultry sheds - to keep them laying over the shorter days of winter, having commercial hybrids helps you get eggs all year, but it's not normal for them.
Agreed. If you want your chickens to lay year round, light your coop to give them at least 14 hour of daylight. I personally don't agree with that - it's kind of like the commercial chicken farms do, but that's how you get your chickens to lay year round. If they don't get enough sunlight, their pituitary gland isn't stimulated to trigger the ovaries to release a yolk.
chickens should be allowed to free-range for better eggs, as free-ranged eggs contains a balanced amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.Thus we get a good amount of good cholestrol and lowers bad one.So chickens should a diet contains more grasses.
Frederick Dunn in another video she points out that she also feed them alfalfa. How could you free range without exposing the chickens to predators? She gives these hands more space then I've seen in most coops built or designs
Frederick Dunn I live in an area with bald eagles and some hawks and while I don't have a homestead yet I'm in the learning stage and saving up. I was just wondering if it was possible to protect from predators if you were free ranging?
Frederick Dunn OK, thanks so much. I wanted to give them a lot of space because I think it's healthy. But I wasn't sure about free range with our eagles and falcons around.
I had over 50 hens and NEVER gave them wheat bread, corn or oats. They got laying mash, weeds in the summer and light in the winter. Out of all my neighbors I had egg production all year 'round, and they didn't.
Can you possibly tell me how you keep your chickens? As in if they are free range, etc because I was wondering the best way in which to feed my future hens. I plan to have them in a stationary coop and run with a roof so, therefore, they'll be the same ground throughout their whole lives. Would your method of feeding work for my situation?
