summer chicken feed

As the summer has progressed, the chickens' diet -- mostly grated mangel-wurzels and clabbered milk -- was proving inadequate to keep them laying at the 60-75% that is our goal. Reason? We speculate that perhaps such a bulky diet -- both elements include a great deal of water -- made it impossible for the birds to take in as much food energy as they needed for egg-making. Fortunately the wheat harvest has begun, and we can again buy wheat locally.

We are not satisfied, however, to continue to run more hens than the farm will feed, so a heavy culling us underway. We are keeping four tractors of ten layers each: one of RIReds, one of Australorps, one of Wyandottes, and a mixed group. Charting their rate of lay should help us determine which group is doing best under our regime. So far, the Reds are in the lead -- hardly surprising.