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Free range eggs, 30 odd hens?


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Ok, I've been asked to provide 24 ish eggs per day for a local campsite between April and November. They want free range and party coloured eggs and are willing to pay a premium.

I have plenty of room and would ideally like to move them regularly as part of my land clearance system. 

I am thinking electric mesh perimeter for day time with a heras fencing chicken fort protected by more electric around the coop. Also planning to fit an auto door to the coop.

I would also like to produce some meat birds for the same market.

The farm is covered in scrub and full of foxes so it's going to be a challenge keeping them alive. 

All and any advice gratefully recieved 
 

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Always found it easy to sell surplus eggs,,so get about 40 id say, plus artificial light in the coop will keep the numbers up when the days begin to shorten, then get the majority put into a poultry sale when the camp site shuts and keep a few back for your own eggs and to breed replacements, hybrids lay the best but dont breed true so you need to buy in fresh pullets every time you need replacements

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A mate of mine keeps a few chickens for eggs and a few for eating in a small orchard. I have had few eating birds of him and they taste great. His eating chickens are Cornish Cobb and they can get big in a short time, I had one of him think it was 10lb and he recons he has had them over 15lb. 

Cheers Arry

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46 minutes ago, Pirate 9000 said:

Problem with ex battery birds is they are burnt out and will not give you reliable supply of eggs better to buy point of lay pullets.

I've not had that experience with ex batts. I've had years of eggs out of so called ex layers. I also find they are very disease resistant compared to pure breeds. Hope I've not jinxed myself now lol

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The chicken guard auto door works great, well worth the money, but ffs keep on top of the timing...... just lost my six after 18 months of no fox problems. I just let the timing slip a bit too early before fully light....atb

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On 11/12/2019 at 16:53, Tyla said:

Cheers gents. I want to go the ex battery route for the layers but will buy in meat birds I think

Not sure about battery hens but the couple of free range egg farms I’ve been on will let you have them for next to nothing. They get rid of there hens at around 72 to 76 weeks of age so will have plenty of laying life left in them for you. May take a couple of weeks get there’s feathers back.  Just get a few extra to be sure

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On 11/12/2019 at 13:20, Tyla said:

Ok, I've been asked to provide 24 ish eggs per day for a local campsite between April and November. They want free range and party coloured eggs and are willing to pay a premium.

I have plenty of room and would ideally like to move them regularly as part of my land clearance system. 

I am thinking electric mesh perimeter for day time with a heras fencing chicken fort protected by more electric around the coop. Also planning to fit an auto door to the coop.

I would also like to produce some meat birds for the same market.

"The farm is covered in scrub and full of foxes so it's going to be a challenge keeping them alive." 

"All and any advice gratefully received" 
 

Yeah invite me over?

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I keep a good few birds, all mine are in side poultry net electric, and go inside field shelters at night that I’ve put doors on and built roll away nest boxes inside.

 

ive got a mixed flock, different breeds, some folk like the small bantam size eggs, some like the double yolkers, but when you see the eggs in a box all mixed colours they do look good.

i also have some ex batts, I love them, but they can be unreliable layers, and pretty stupid as well, they are the ones who always go over the fence and get taken by foxes, they take no time at all to acclimatise from the cage, and soon feather up as well.

 

keep on top of the fence, during the summer when the grass grows it soon shorts the fence out.

 

in the last 5 years I’ve never had a Fox in my pen although we are rife with them here, until this year when I neglected the fence, didn’t take long before the fence had no power and a Fox just went straight over it, killed about 30 birds in total.

i also use electric door openers now, first year of using them and they are very good, I spent a bit more and have the ones that work on time and light, both parameters have to be right to operate, so I don’t need to worry about changing the times and the daylight times change.

as much as I love the ex batts, I probably won’t bother with any more, I will keep getting pol I think, and breed a few of my own as well.

you can get a pol hybrid pullet that has had all the vaccinations for a fiver, and that’s 300plus more eggs than an ex batt in the first yr alone, finances alone dictate that’s the better option. Why feed something that may or may not lay well, that has had the best taken out of it, they don’t get rid of them at 18mnths for no reason.

My meat birds are usually  Cornish cobb, anything from 2-6kg in no time at all,  just watch they don’t grow too quick and go off their legs.

i keep a light Sussex cock in with a lot of my hens, and every now and again I let one of the Bantams sit on a clutch so I’ve always got new birds coming through each yr, I just let the old stock die off naturally as I’m no mercenary.

 

i would also suggest getting a few ducks, best thing I ever done and nearly all my Xmas birds are duck instead of turkey now.

 

If you need any help or info, just give me a shout mate,  I’ve also a few pol birds here if you want a few to get you started.

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33 minutes ago, Rabid said:

I keep a good few birds, all mine are in side poultry net electric, and go inside field shelters at night that I’ve put doors on and built roll away nest boxes inside.

 

ive got a mixed flock, different breeds, some folk like the small bantam size eggs, some like the double yolkers, but when you see the eggs in a box all mixed colours they do look good.

i also have some ex batts, I love them, but they can be unreliable layers, and pretty stupid as well, they are the ones who always go over the fence and get taken by foxes, they take no time at all to acclimatise from the cage, and soon feather up as well.

 

keep on top of the fence, during the summer when the grass grows it soon shorts the fence out.

 

in the last 5 years I’ve never had a Fox in my pen although we are rife with them here, until this year when I neglected the fence, didn’t take long before the fence had no power and a Fox just went straight over it, killed about 30 birds in total.

i also use electric door openers now, first year of using them and they are very good, I spent a bit more and have the ones that work on time and light, both parameters have to be right to operate, so I don’t need to worry about changing the times and the daylight times change.

as much as I love the ex batts, I probably won’t bother with any more, I will keep getting pol I think, and breed a few of my own as well.

you can get a pol hybrid pullet that has had all the vaccinations for a fiver, and that’s 300plus more eggs than an ex batt in the first yr alone, finances alone dictate that’s the better option. Why feed something that may or may not lay well, that has had the best taken out of it, they don’t get rid of them at 18mnths for no reason.

My meat birds are usually  Cornish cobb, anything from 2-6kg in no time at all,  just watch they don’t grow too quick and go off their legs.

i keep a light Sussex cock in with a lot of my hens, and every now and again I let one of the Bantams sit on a clutch so I’ve always got new birds coming through each yr, I just let the old stock die off naturally as I’m no mercenary.

 

i would also suggest getting a few ducks, best thing I ever done and nearly all my Xmas birds are duck instead of turkey now.

 

If you need any help or info, just give me a shout mate,  I’ve also a few pol birds here if you want a few to get you started.

Cheers Rob, a ton of info there thank you. I will deffo be in touch ?

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