75 birds (15M and 60F) is only during full production in the summer. That's 50+ eggs per day. It's also a goddamn sex-fest in there with those numbers.
It's not as crowded as it sounds. There's usually a group playing in their sandbox and another group chilling by the water cooler.
OK, Im just askin shit here cause this is pretty amazing, what if no feed was commercially available?
Adult birds will eat any commercial chicken/duck feed. Literally anything. Calcium is important for layers, so if you only had shitty feed, you'd have to grind up their shells and mix it into their food. The 28% protein is only important under 6-8 weeks.
If somehow feed became like toilet paper in early 2020, I'd let them graze in the yard. Maybe build a low and wide net enclosure out of that super cheap nylon deer fencing? I guess I could start a cricket farm.
Well I work with deer and have no idea what cheap deer fencing is, so basically you would have to have like a movable chicken tractor only much closer to the ground?
How do you pick your breeding stock?
Weight and demeanor. I'll cull any assholes so they don't pass along those genes. All my hatching eggs are weighed before incubation. All adults are weighed and any giant freaks are kept too as long as they don't show leg problems.
In one year of a strict program, you'll see consistently heavier birds and larger eggs. I will eventually have a post with some numbers and reasonable expectations.
Hoooo, brah, I'm learning so much. Thank you for sharing g your knowledge.
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