I dont understand it. All I feed is Tractor Supply feed and haven't had any issues . Just like to day I have 25 hens/pullets and got near 2 dozen eggs. I think there was a Karen out there starting stuff lol. Some chickens do stop laying in winter and sometimes midsummer or late summer/fall , molting or possible lousy could be any number of factors and not feeding them good. I dont know but mine are doing great on TS feed so I will keep feeding.
@@oviduran Just a little update But first I find something kinda funny and All at once there are plenty of eggs every where and Humm most didnt change feed . But boy oh boy they want gold for them eggs and chickens , My chickens still on track Still feeding TS feed and only slowed just a bit with the cold snap But its getting warmer and eggs abundant every where . Hope all good there ,
@@gailbyers6925 Gail, my hens are laying more now too, but due to the longer days. I used to get three and now about 5 a day. Very soon it will be 8 to 10 a day just like last Summer and Fall. I will also continue feeding TS feed. Thanks for the update.
@@oviduran I changed out my feed 3 months ago and put it in a freezer drawer to stop bow weavels, topped with new PP scratch grains and dumar layer pellets and didn't get an egg until last week when I saw all the vids and changed to a Feldmans brand. I actually got my 1st egg the next day after the change, and now they are all laying about normal for winter.
Tractor Supply sells many varieties. You're not saying which. It's 2 kinds and a researcher did find something related to Roundup but did not test the protein.
Mike Adams The Health Ranger tested tractor supply feed in his ISO accredited lab. He posted the results and did a video on brighteon and what concerned me was the amount of toxins especially glysophate in the producers pride brand it was twice the amount as the others. All brands had toxins and heavy metals in them. We buy local now and the plan for this year is to start growing our own feed for them. Our hens never quit laying and I don't believe he found any one thing that caused the issue many were having. But the toxin load is concerning especially since I've had cancer once already. 😞
Yes, it's true... Over 2 months zero eggs. 15 hens. Changed feed, now eggs for sale.. 😂. In fact the shells are super hard now.. I put eggs in incubator .. 30 eggs and now I have healthy 21 chicks. I live in Maine and am use to them stopping for about 6 weeks or dropping every other day..
There's a lady that sells farm fresh eggs less than half a mile from my house. We've been buying eggs from her for the last 3 years. I asked her if her chickens ever stopped laying and she said just the usual Winter slow down, but nothing out of the ordinary. She gets feed from Tractor Supply, but she also feeds her chickens kitchen scraps. We even take a bucket of our kitchen scraps to her once a week. We get 3 dozen eggs from her every week without fail. She told me she keeps between 45 to 50 hens and she always has eggs.
I've been involved in raising chicken on the family farm for 50 years. Chickens slow to stop laying eggs in the winter. Nothing that was explained seems abnormal. If I had to guess, it's protein level and source that is effecting production.
We had a problem SO BADLY here in South Carolina that local stores don't even carry Purina or Purina derivatives anymore. The ONLY place you can buy them now are at a Tractor Supply. I know off-hand several people who had experienced issues with Dumor, Purina, Nutrena, and Nature's Pride. Once switching to a local feed, everyone's issue cleared up. That, and the fact that Land O'Lakes has been doing known research with vaccinations (COVID-19 being the main one) through Feed...I would highly recommend staying away from any major brand feed.
I use nothing but Purina! For chicken,rabbit,cat dogs and horse never had a issues our dog is 16 s never had a health issue of any kind we have a cat that is 17 she still plays outside and climbs trees
Im a first time chicken owner. I fed the tracktor suppoy feed and no eggs. My hens should have been laying but no eggs with 18 hens. I read on the internet that it might be my feed, so I went to my local feed store and bought a laying pellet made in the USA. Amazing change. 5 days after switching feeds I 'm getting 8 to 11 eggs a day.
This is not a myth. It has happened to many people. And it seems to be Purina products (including Tractor Supply). These stores, however, contract with local mills. The mills make feed according to Purina's formula. So it could be a regional thing. I used Cargill feed & my girls laid well all through winter.
We switched out our TSC feed and switched over to a local feed mill mash Jan 2nd. We had 0 eggs for a good 3 months. I started doing a 3 day ferment system with the new feed and OMG the girls love it as well as our ducks. We also invested in buying whole grains, w.heat berries, flax, sunflower seeds, oats, barley, millet, Milo and split peas. I also started fermenting the whole grains as a treat for the afternoons when they are out free ranging. End of January I started growing barley and wheat to make fodder and sprouts for the girls. We now mix in a cup of whole grains to our new feed for fermenting so to cut down on the amount of buckets I had fermenting. We also raise meal worms and dry them for treats. Within the first week of Jan and the new feed system we went from 0 eggs to 7 to 9 eggs a day with 20 hens. Age of the girls is from 2 to 10 years of age. We have reduced our feed amount by 50% and the girls are doing wonderful. We keep out a feeder of dry feed for them and they don't even touch it. The girls also don't drink as much water with the new fermented feeds and just over all seem so much happier and healthy. My few customer who get eggs from me said they are the best tasting eggs ever. We also give the girls all our kitchen scraps as well and they have full access to our compost heaps when out free ranging to look for bugs and worms.
@@abdulnassertajudeen8190 I sprout the flax seeds for them. Lay on plastic dish with small drain holes and spray them a few times a day and within about 3 days they start to sprout. I feed them mostly to our few quail because they are very high in protein, but the chickens love them.
Simply put you started, feeding your birds, natural feed and stopped the unprocessed food. Well, guess what your body works the same way you will perform better with no processed bs lol. birds need more protein & calcium certain times of the year & grit at all times as they need it. Good luck with your birds I know I love my lil funkys lol
We had that same issue with the Hens kicking out the bedding from the nesting boxes we added a 4"high board across the entrance and its no longer a problem. All of the bedding stays in! 😊
I use the Purina Layena which is the maker of the tractor supply food. I didnt notice a major drop other than the typical slow down in winter. However I did decide to change feed and make my own because of the soy based protein source they use in the Purina feed. I’m doing, whole wheat oats, flaxseed, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds and oyster shell. I might even experiment with lentils or split peas instead of flaxseed
I got Brahma and Jersey Giant chickens(as well as Speckled Sussex) all heavy body meat breeds. They don't stop laying in winter time. This year, they did. It's the feed. Switched over to All Flock, made by a different company and they started laying again. A lot of trolls on here, I see.
Smash the cracked eggs in the coop for them .. they clean it up, it's additional nutrition (like it is for incubating embryos also)... But you also can feed it to a dog, it's good as a protein for them too.. just an FYI
It’s common for all chickens to stop laying during winter my hen started laying in middle of February and I’m feeding scratch grain and 20 % layer feed from tractor supply no issues
Good of you to work to find out the problem. Many of us who have been doing this for a decade or so learned these lessons as well. We now take advantage of feed sales and add oats, whole corn and sunflower seeds as well as a few other things in the winter. I still have a couple pumpkins to toss to my flock. Maybe a Christmas treat.
I know you’ve never heard me say this 😜 but I love your chickens. You and your beautiful wife are lovely people! Great job on taking care of your flock
You should insulate your next boxes at least the bottom. Your wood is so thin and exposed to the elements in winter. You need a higher kicker board at the entrance to the nest boxes to help keep the nest materials inside. You need the heat from the inside of the coop to help keep eggs from freezing. This would help. On days that the chickens won't go out of the coop you should keep the bottom door closed to outside to help keep some heat in. Warmer chickens lay more eggs. You have to decide if you want good looking chickens or more eggs as far as some of your breeds go. The other people were experiencing no eggs at all you at least were getting 3-4 eggs a day most days so I don't think your problem is the same as others. Not a good comparison. You should state your results not that it's nonsense just because you didn't get the bad feed. If you had you would change your opinion on it. So, don't knock others.
Didn't see him "knocking others" Just stated his own results and Hypothesis based on the results. You sure do a lot of "shoulding" in other people's business.
My quail stopped laying around the same time. My mentor, who has chickens, and several videos, showed me to add fly larva, mealworms, and cooked beans to the feed. It helped kick things up again. Just fyi.
my chickens will not eat those pellets... only scratch corn with a 1 part grain... which makes them egg laying machines...but... they do free range down here in SC.
I have 2 ISO-browns 2 road island reds 2 austrolorpes. Besides their normal feed, they get a good dose of cabbage, collard greens, occasionally some cooked rice or barley. I averaged 4-6 per day all winter long. My coop is very well insulated with supplemental heat and straw in the nesting area. I believe your girls are using all of their energy to stay warm instead of producing.
The more I find people who know how to look after their birds the more I am convinced I was arguing with novices last year. They simply do not care that they aren’t supplying their birds with an adequate diet. Three Cheers to all of us.
I actually think there is some truth to this conspiracy. There are three particular nutritional components that have a huge impact on a hen's ability to lay, and these same nutritional components also have a huge impact on the development of growing chicks. These very important nutritional components are protein, lysine, and methionine. A hen typically needs a MINIMUM of 16% protein, 0.70% lysine, and 0.30% methionine to lay well. Well, it turns out that Tractor Supply has been cutting corners lately. In early 2022, DuMOR 20% Chick Starter Crumble contained 1.0% lysine and 0.50% methionine. In early 2023, the same formula now only has 0.90% lysine and 0.30% methionine. While it may not seem like a big difference, it really is. There have been multiple reports of people noticing that DuMOR and other Tractor Supply brands have cut down on their protein, lysine, and methionine levels, but no one is paying attention to it because "hurr durr they put poison in the food."
I've been burned on their extra charge for "sexing" which did not include either sexing OR getting the right breed. Two batches of chicks, sexed, all roosters. NOT ONE hen. isa browns? Perhaps sticking to autosex breeds with them is the way to go. we mix most of our own feed, we don't have many chickens and prefer to vary ingredients by season. I sure hopes this works for you, your hens look plump and healthy, and not very bothered by the cold. 35 below??? I'd set up a cheap camping tent in the living room. ❤ Best of luck! Close together, insulated, that's nice. YES! we use fakes. Helps them understand here you want them left If I understand it; the problem as mislabling at the factory, not toxic feed. A few people got the wrong feed. My general opinion is they should've only processed food, but I do INCLUDE it. They need to also get seeds,weeds and bugs.
Just an FYI.. all the videos that I have seen about the Tractor Supply feed issue is talking about the "Producers Pride" product and not the "Dumor" feed that you claim you are already using. If this is true then you don't have that issue because you are not using the "Producer's Pride" product. A few suggestions: You might want to try using "Nesting Mats" in your nesting boxes. You are not making it very conducive for your hens to lay in your nesting boxes by not keeping any real nesting material in your boxes and I really don't like wood shavings as nesting material. Either put hay in them or get the nesting mats. Since it seems you are in a very cold climate, you might want to try wrapping or insulating your coop. If it's too cold, a lot of breeds of chickens will stop laying. Your eggs should not be freezing in a few hours. Your coop is way too cold. If your egg production picks up when the weather warms up, then you'll know for sure your hens are not being kept warm enough. You could also try putting a heat lamp inside your coop but I think insulating it is a better way to go. One last thing.. look into getting "Greenhouse Heat Mats". Put these under your Nesting boxes and put piece of plastic over them (so the chickens don't scratch up the heat mats) and then put your nesting material on top. These Greenhouse heat mats should keep your nesting boxes warm enough so that your eggs won't freeze up. Also, they will make the nesting boxes warmer and your chickens will want to go in and lay their eggs. You can also put a thermostat switch on the power supply (extension cord) so that if your temps get above freezing the heat mats will be shut off automatically.
I think your egg production is pretty good for as cold as it is in your winter time. I live in sc. We have super mild winter comparatively. The TSC feed debate is real. I manage a feed store and we had tons of people come in after this went all over social media. I used to buy TSC feed...all my chickens slowed or stopped in Nov. Every year. Since i have started using Tucker milling feed and natural grains...my girls are still laying it is almost Christmas! Now they will pick it up this spring. I would recommend adding some fat to your chickens diet. They need alot of energy this time of year to combat the cold. I enjoyed the egg/feed experiment🎉
I used that Dumor brand for a couple of years when I first started raising backyard chickens for personal eggs 4 years ago. I noticed that their poop were watery and stinky, the egg shell were very thin and cracked easily, not to mention the slow egg production. I’ve switched to the Purina brand and what a difference, solid not smelly poop and harder eggs with increased production.
I had both Australoprs and Isa's. Mine laid like crazy all winter long. i did give them 2 cans of tuna every 3 days. 2 cans just to make sure each hen got some. 5 birds could empty a can in 10 to 15 seconds, lol.
Chris, my Isa's are laying machines but not my Australorps during the short winter days. However, they all recently started laying like crazy again, as the days get longer. What state are you from? Wondering if living in a warmer state makes a difference. Thanks.
Egg production won’t change in winter but I would feed more grains, crumbles, mixed in with your pellets I also keep a separate feeder just for oyster/ and grit birds have to have it to digest there pellets,grains
If you start seeing a difference you can bump their protein up to low 20's (20 to 24%). Try using game bird starter feed for a couple weeks, you should get the results. However, they do slow down in winter and I personally would not mess with it unless I am in a pinch for eggs or it is starting to warm outside and the days are getting longer but still not seeing an increase in production. Then I would give them a boost in protein to kind of "restart" their system.
I use tractor supply cracked corn,my chicken started slowing down on eggs,so I put a 40w light in the coop,on a timer and it comes on 6am every morning, I have 5 hens and get 3 eggs daily, before I put in light they slowed down to 1 egg daily, so I know it's light.not feed
Try heating the water, I’ve used tractor supply and southern states and had no noticeable difference when I had to switch. I’d say the biggest change I had was adding a water heater, doubled winter egg production.
I have had similar results in Texas although we deal with heat more than cold here. My leghorns completely stopped laying eggs and I was using the dumar crumbles from TS...I switched to Kalmbach Feeds All Natural 17% Protein Layer Crumbles and they started laying again as normal after a week of the new food. Makes no sense to me.
Every time I change their feed, they stop laying for about a week, then they start laying. We put them on Purina because the feed store was out of their regular feed. I expected them to stop laying for a week due to the feed switch. They were laying 1-2 eggs. When we took them off the Purina, they started laying eggs the way they were before we put them on Purina. You need to keep doing the experiment for longer than a week.
We were buying that exact feed from Tractor Supply. We have 2 yr old Golden Sexlinks and 2 yr old White Leg Horns. We were getting some eggs from the sexlinks since they have been mature but not as many as our previous flock when we were feeding IFA feed. We figured it was just this batch of chickens. We could not get the leg horns to lay at all and they were the same age as the Golden Sexlinks. In November we started seeing a significant drop off of egg production and figured it was just winter drop off. In December we decided to go back to the IFA feed. About a week later we were getting as many eggs as we were all summer and the leghorns started laying for the first time. We have more egg production in the winter than we have had ever. I now believe there is an issue with the Tractor Supply Feed and I will only be feeding IFA feed now. We did a batch of 26 Cornish Cross using the Tractor Supply Feed and they seemed to do just fine.
I had an issue. I actually tested it on two different coops (different feeds in each coop). It was night & day. Not sure why this guy didn’t see an issue, and I have heard others that didn’t have an issue, but I definitely saw a HUGE difference.
Dumor and Producers Pride are made by Purina. I believe Layeena may also be a Purina feed. If so, your test is really a little questionable. Can you find feed not made by Purina? Something from a co-op or a local feed mill. Good video otherwise!😎
Richard, the new feed I used is made by Cargill and not Purina. But at this point it doesn't matter since my chickens started laying twice the eggs now due to the longer days. This is normal for chickens in winter.
Well my CORNISH CROSS hens until October were laying eggs. Then none until about 2 weeks ago I have been feeding them feed from a little hometown feed store and some Tractor Supply feed during this time frame. This winter came in earlier and colder. I saw no difference at all about any of the feed just a cooler winter.
You are the first person I am aware of that uses Cornish Cross chickens as layers, but you are proof that it can be done. I intend to purchase a few Cornish Cross this Spring but as meat chickens. Raise them for 8 weeks and then try my hand for the first time with the meat chicken process.
@@oviduran When they lay good you get a very large egg eather white or soft pink about 1 every day and a half. A raccoon killed my rooster and a hen so I am waiting for another rooster to start a new meat flock. But are very good eggs also. Thanks.
It's true. I thought it was my chickens. They have layed no eggs this last three months during summer, while eating producers pride seed mix and the cheapest laying crumbles
Very interesting video, knowing that egg prices went up about 50% recently because of the bird flu. Does anyone know if there is a different ingredient in the feed than last year?
There have been rumors of different ingredients but absolutely no evidence of it. However, I changed feed and had no effect. Now we know that chickens lay less eggs in the winter due to other factors and there is nothing wrong with Tractor Supply chicken feed.
Our ladies love to lay on our grill and they roll off. We take the cracked eggs and throw them in the yard and make sure they bust. They can’t get enough of it. But have never had a problem with them eating eggs we don’t give them.
Hi there, came across your video and watched it. Not familiar with your location but assuming colder climate in Ny since you mentioned Ballston Spa Agway. We do not feed TSC as it is inferior feed. But one thing we noticed living in SD is winter time (colder and also longer) requires higher protein. We switch to 21-22% protein feed in winter and our chickens slow down but not near as much. On 16% protein feed they don’t do nearly as well overall with respect to laying and feathers. So not sure what’s up with TSC feed but rather we felt higher protein helped and then switching back to 16% in spring. Metabolically it is needed in winter but in spring they do not need that high protein. We have noticed much healthier and well laying chickens
From Ohio. It gets cold here. 16% always worked before(Dumar Hen Laying Pellets). This year for 2 months, no eggs at all. Unusual, since I raise big bodied birds(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex). These birds are noted for winter laying. Changed feed and am getting 50-60 eggs a week from them(last two weeks, 60, 24 hens).
When it starts to freeze and gets down below zero, even before then, if you have a packing blanket, open your hood, put the blanket on your engine and shut the hood, you'll have a much easier time starting your vehicle😊
Birds need 12/14 hours of light to stimulate them to lay. I have a coop light that gets turned on at 5am off at 7pm. I have 16 ladies and average 10/12 eggs a day. 4 of those birds are 2,3 an4 yrs old. 12 are new laying pullets from spring hatch. I feed Nutrena.
I changed the feed. My hens started laying again. I have big bodied birds, so cold don't affect them. Brahma, Jersey Giants and Speckled Sussex, all are good winter layers. They all quit laying for 2 months on TSC hen feed. First time I ever experienced such. There's something wrong with their feed now.
So when you change feed chickens will sometimes stop producing eggs for a little bit and then pick back up again.. I would trythis experiment again in a couple weeks. And then switch back to dumor and see if they stop producing. There will be no excuse for lack of production (after the initial week or so of getting used to the new feed again) being that it will be light out longer by then.
Ovi if they membrane is in tact even though pecked hole it’s ok to eat - we have many times and also cracked is ok if membrane intact - we just keep them in the fridge.
If you add a light. Give them 16 hours of light. Just use the light to makeup the daylight difference. I lost piglet litters due to the TS feed made in the same factory. Chickens slow down in the winter without the added light. We had over 3,000 Azure hens.....
maybe, maybe not... but something did and thousands of peeps, all of us saying the same, they chickens stoped laying for three months in steqd of the reg 3 weeks.... btw the only ones that stopped that long, was the ones on store bought feed, and not just tractor supply from what i can see, but mostly btw you are still feeding tractor supply corn so that skews it, and it took months to slow down and stop... gonna have to do it again, and this time with out any contaminated grains. if that is what they are... your test only looked at it being accidental, not intentional not saying right wrong or otherwise, just pointing out a major flaw in your theroy debunking great vid... keep em coming please
About half the tractor supply had new feed that had to much clay and not enough fish meal. Basically you were feeding dirt to your hens. I changed feed and added meat and game bird feed . And they laid eggs . Well except for the one moulting
give them a little cracked corn when the temps drop. Also, give them a little cracked oyster shells. What you are looking for, is a nutritional problem. But also note, Purina makes the Tractor Supply Feed, and thus, there are 60 locations around the country where it's made. So, any reporting problem, might not be in your area. Producers Pride from a Texas TS, is doing great for our chickens.
Hens do slow down and take a break here and there! Especially in the winter months. We feed Tractor Supply's brand Feed yes our hens slowed down they now are back up and laying normally.
Both of your bags of food have the same problem. My black Austrolorp laid eggs straight through the winter and stopped in April when tractor supply ran out of Flock party.
Thanks. I’ve covered that topic many times in my videos. It doesn’t matter what I add to each box, straw or pine shavings, some chickens will kick it out within two days. But I have another trick up my sleeve for a future video. Stay tuned.
@@oviduran I didn’t see the other videos but I will from now on. My wife is the chicken chief and she tied me in to watch! Yeah they do seem to have their own opinion when it comes to their comfort level🙂
I have never had a problem with Tractor Supply feed. Tractor Supply Feed is made by Purina. Chickens molt in fall and early winter and sometimes will stop laying. I use 17% flock raiser because I raise chickens for meat and have roosters. Layer feed has calcium which can cause issues for males . I put out oyster shell for the hens and grit for all of them.
It's the lack of light that slows thier laying. It's seasonal. Add a light and warch the egg production increase. It's not the feed, although it's possible extremely cheap feed may contribute. But it's the lack of light.
Hi Ovi, Thanks for posting these videos. I think the greatest factor is Temperature less eggs when its colder. Now my question would be and please remember I know "nada " about chickens , would adding another rooster to the flock increase egg production?
No, chickens will lay eggs without a rooster. The rooster only fertilizes the egg. Also, chickens lay less eggs when there is less daylight, not the temperature outside. But as the days get longer I will be seeing more eggs.
@@russrasmussen9514 thanks for your reply, yes I learned that from Ovi 10 months ago. knew nothing about chickens except eating them lol. happy holidays
Advice. As humans we want abundance and consistency often. However, you need to let your chickens rest their reproductive systems too. It’s healthier for them and reduces stress for a better bird.
I'm just wondering why Tractor Supply is not investigating this themselves and now that it's been this long I don't know that I trust them also who makes the feed and who's the owner of the business if you know their history about them it can help also we have to remember there was the chicken flu and then a chicken plant burn down and now the chickens aren't Lane oh yeah what about all the food plant that burnt down is this all a coincidence ?
Idk about this test. The hens are young and it hasn’t been long enough I don’t think the way you did the test would have had any differences based on time and age and how short it was in my humble opinion
I use TSC producers pride…I have 5 2.5 year old hens, 1 buff orp and 4 isa brown. I use tsc producers pride 16% feed, all my chickens molted in August and fully re feathered by October. 1 buff and 1 isa brown are still laying just about every day…other 3 isa browns…look health but haven’t laided an egg since August molt… puzzled why only 2 are laying all winter long…all are same ….age, coop, feed, look health and happy…it’s not the feed…I currently get 11.5 hrs of daylight…gonna try a led bulb for extra 3 hrs a day to see if egg production picks up…any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks Frank 20:14
I have 3 Isa Browns and all are laying an egg almost every day. It's a great breed of chicken. All are about 10 months old and none have molted yet. As for my other chickens they have slowed or stopped laying eggs, but I know it will increase as the daylight hours increases. I decided not to use a light and let most of them take a break for the winter. As the Spring arrives all will do better.
If I were an egg machine, I wouldn't be producing eggs when it feels like -35'F. Your heated water trough must be high quality. So you won't be rooting for the Chiefs, I gather. Well conducted test.
I use organic feed and I had no issues of loss of eggs. Purina owns 90 percent of all feed so buying another commercial feed mostly coming from the purina feed in the end nothing would be changed. Organic feed numbers over all did not change per the same amount of time. Thus was done by a testing Do you need to delve father into changing your feed from one purina to another.
You got the wrong chicken, then. My girls are big bodied chickens and cold doesn't bother them. Some eggs may freeze and crack before I get to them, though. It's the feed. Mine entirely quit laying for 2 months. Changed feed to a different maker and started to get 50-60 eggs a week from 24 hens(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex)...
Other chicken owners have had a different outcome. Same experiment. Different batch? Also, some say Dumouri s OK but cheaper Producers Pride is not, both Purina both TSC. And of course in winter diminishment of eggs .
We always use tractor supply feed in the winter time I was lucky to get 1 egg a day now I get 17 eggs a day I have jersey gaints and they lay 4 eggs if I am lucky
Nutrina is a Tractor Supply feed. It didn’t change because it’s the same. I’m sorry this happened to you. Please try this again with a feed from your local mill. I’m going to bet that your hens start to produce more.
Not the same. Nutrena is made by Cargill and it's not a Tractor Supply feed. Two different corporations. The reason my hens produce less eggs in the winter is less daylight. Once the days get longer they will lay more eggs.
Squirteltribe did an excellent video on who produces some of this feed and the large egg producers. One opened a very large cage free setup in November. She kind of ties it all in together.
@@mariekelly7325 my chickens have more than doubled egg production now that the days are getting longer. Check out my newest video. It was never the feed.
You know at like 20 below maybe you should get some penguins? Lol how cool that be sorry I love penguins. It would be cool. Lil Tux’s running around lol
You should put a thicker layer of straw in your nest boxes. They'll kick some out, just keep adding. The eggs need more cushion to prevent cracking! Lol
I feed my flock of 20 layers Producers Pride (made by Purina in Joplin MO) I get it from Tractor Supply.... I get 17 to 19 eggs a day from 10 month old birds; leghorns, barred rock and golden sexlinks .... I think folks are miss-managing their flock when they don't get eggs.... {wonders why folks don't list chicken age, breed and coop conditions when complaining about feed}
I got Jersey Giants, Brahma( not a year old yet) and 3 year old Speckled Sussex. All old time meat birds with heavy frames. ALL stopped laying for two months on TSC hen feed(first time ever). Switched feed and now getting 50-60 eggs a week(24 hens). I think Scott, you're a troll.
Apples to Oranges ... temperatures count. You stated during new feed counts the temps plummeted, significantly. Chickens didn't see the light of day. Not conclusive - record temps also if you ever decide to "test" again.
Not all breeds are going to lay in the winter unless you give them artificial light. I have had chickens for 8yrs and quit using artificial light in the winter years ago and my chickens quit laying in October and start back up in the beginning of March. This is the natural way and forcing egg laying in the winter is hard on the birds. I have much healthier birds now that I let them stop laying in the winter and I get about 600 eggs from March- September (most of the eggs are laid in April- July) from 15 hens that are 7-8yrs old and not even laying breeds.
I've never used artificial lighting. I have always used heavy old time breeds that naturally lay during the winter months. ALL of mine quit laying for 2 months until I switched feed. Then they started laying again. I get 50- 60 eggs a week from 24 hens(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex). In fact, when I had White Rocks, I never gave them extra light neither, nor Rhode Island Red...
@@gregzeigler3850 I used to have some hens that laid eggs in the winter for their first year but not very many. That is why I tried the lights and that helped but I lost birds every winter so I stopped. They were just backyard mutt chickens so no telling what the breeds were. I have not used TS feed for years since I have a local feed store about 6 blocks from my home now but I will say my summer egg production is much higher for the 'Jungle Fowl' chickens since the switch to the feed store food. I have not noticed a change in the tiny bantams egg production, it has always been good. My birds surprised me and started laying the last week of Feb. I have gotten 10 dozen this month so far but not much in this last week due to the monsoon season LOL. That is something else that stops my egg production too, continuously being cloudy and rainy. Production has dropped to about 3 eggs a day but should pick up when we get some sunny days for a bit.
All I can tell you is my personal experience. My hens stopped laying pretty much. I switched feed and it returned to normal. Just my personal experience.
I dont understand it. All I feed is Tractor Supply feed and haven't had any issues . Just like to day I have 25 hens/pullets and got near 2 dozen eggs. I think there was a Karen out there starting stuff lol. Some chickens do stop laying in winter and sometimes midsummer or late summer/fall , molting or possible lousy could be any number of factors and not feeding them good. I dont know but mine are doing great on TS feed so I will keep feeding.
I will continue doing the same.
@@oviduran Just a little update But first I find something kinda funny and All at once there are plenty of eggs every where and Humm most didnt change feed . But boy oh boy they want gold for them eggs and chickens , My chickens still on track Still feeding TS feed and only slowed just a bit with the cold snap But its getting warmer and eggs abundant every where . Hope all good there ,
@@gailbyers6925 Gail, my hens are laying more now too, but due to the longer days. I used to get three and now about 5 a day. Very soon it will be 8 to 10 a day just like last Summer and Fall. I will also continue feeding TS feed. Thanks for the update.
@@oviduran I changed out my feed 3 months ago and put it in a freezer drawer to stop bow weavels, topped with new PP scratch grains and dumar layer pellets and didn't get an egg until last week when I saw all the vids and changed to a Feldmans brand. I actually got my 1st egg the next day after the change, and now they are all laying about normal for winter.
Tractor Supply sells many varieties. You're not saying which. It's 2 kinds and a researcher did find something related to Roundup but did not test the protein.
Mike Adams The Health Ranger tested tractor supply feed in his ISO accredited lab. He posted the results and did a video on brighteon and what concerned me was the amount of toxins especially glysophate in the producers pride brand it was twice the amount as the others. All brands had toxins and heavy metals in them. We buy local now and the plan for this year is to start growing our own feed for them. Our hens never quit laying and I don't believe he found any one thing that caused the issue many were having. But the toxin load is concerning especially since I've had cancer once already. 😞
Yes, it's true... Over 2 months zero eggs. 15 hens. Changed feed, now eggs for sale.. 😂. In fact the shells are super hard now.. I put eggs in incubator .. 30 eggs and now I have healthy 21 chicks. I live in Maine and am use to them stopping for about 6 weeks or dropping every other day..
There's a lady that sells farm fresh eggs less than half a mile from my house. We've been buying eggs from her for the last 3 years. I asked her if her chickens ever stopped laying and she said just the usual Winter slow down, but nothing out of the ordinary. She gets feed from Tractor Supply, but she also feeds her chickens kitchen scraps. We even take a bucket of our kitchen scraps to her once a week. We get 3 dozen eggs from her every week without fail. She told me she keeps between 45 to 50 hens and she always has eggs.
I've been involved in raising chicken on the family farm for 50 years. Chickens slow to stop laying eggs in the winter. Nothing that was explained seems abnormal. If I had to guess, it's protein level and source that is effecting production.
We had a problem SO BADLY here in South Carolina that local stores don't even carry Purina or Purina derivatives anymore. The ONLY place you can buy them now are at a Tractor Supply. I know off-hand several people who had experienced issues with Dumor, Purina, Nutrena, and Nature's Pride. Once switching to a local feed, everyone's issue cleared up. That, and the fact that Land O'Lakes has been doing known research with vaccinations (COVID-19 being the main one) through Feed...I would highly recommend staying away from any major brand feed.
Thanks for sharing that tid bit. I live in sc also..I hadnt thought about vax experiment with feed. I'll have to say im.not surprised...
Mom and pop. Feed and seed..local co op..grain elevator
I use nothing but Purina! For chicken,rabbit,cat dogs and horse never had a issues our dog is 16 s never had a health issue of any kind we have a cat that is 17 she still plays outside and climbs trees
I live in sc Aiken and buy nutrena from tractor supply no issue my chickens
Im a first time chicken owner. I fed the tracktor suppoy feed and no eggs. My hens should have been laying but no eggs with 18 hens. I read on the internet that it might be my feed, so I went to my local feed store and bought a laying pellet made in the USA. Amazing change. 5 days after switching feeds I 'm getting 8 to 11 eggs a day.
This is not a myth. It has happened to many people. And it seems to be Purina products (including Tractor Supply). These stores, however, contract with local mills. The mills make feed according to Purina's formula. So it could be a regional thing. I used Cargill feed & my girls laid well all through winter.
yup more and more stories like theses
Purina nearly killed my cat. Poison.
We switched out our TSC feed and switched over to a local feed mill mash Jan 2nd. We had 0 eggs for a good 3 months. I started doing a 3 day ferment system with the new feed and OMG the girls love it as well as our ducks. We also invested in buying whole grains, w.heat berries, flax, sunflower seeds, oats, barley, millet, Milo and split peas. I also started fermenting the whole grains as a treat for the afternoons when they are out free ranging. End of January I started growing barley and wheat to make fodder and sprouts for the girls. We now mix in a cup of whole grains to our new feed for fermenting so to cut down on the amount of buckets I had fermenting. We also raise meal worms and dry them for treats. Within the first week of Jan and the new feed system we went from 0 eggs to 7 to 9 eggs a day with 20 hens. Age of the girls is from 2 to 10 years of age. We have reduced our feed amount by 50% and the girls are doing wonderful. We keep out a feeder of dry feed for them and they don't even touch it. The girls also don't drink as much water with the new fermented feeds and just over all seem so much happier and healthy. My few customer who get eggs from me said they are the best tasting eggs ever. We also give the girls all our kitchen scraps as well and they have full access to our compost heaps when out free ranging to look for bugs and worms.
But do chickens eat flaxseeds? Isn't the coat hard for them to digest?
@@abdulnassertajudeen8190 I sprout the flax seeds for them. Lay on plastic dish with small drain holes and spray them a few times a day and within about 3 days they start to sprout. I feed them mostly to our few quail because they are very high in protein, but the chickens love them.
So the days got longer though right
@@karenfrankland7763 fantastic idea
Simply put you started, feeding your birds, natural feed and stopped the unprocessed food. Well, guess what your body works the same way you will perform better with no processed bs lol. birds need more protein & calcium certain times of the year & grit at all times as they need it. Good luck with your birds I know I love my lil funkys lol
We had that same issue with the Hens kicking out the bedding from the nesting boxes we added a 4"high board across the entrance and its no longer a problem. All of the bedding stays in! 😊
I use the Purina Layena which is the maker of the tractor supply food. I didnt notice a major drop other than the typical slow down in winter. However I did decide to change feed and make my own because of the soy based protein source they use in the Purina feed. I’m doing, whole wheat oats, flaxseed, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds and oyster shell. I might even experiment with lentils or split peas instead of flaxseed
I got Brahma and Jersey Giant chickens(as well as Speckled Sussex) all heavy body meat breeds. They don't stop laying in winter time. This year, they did. It's the feed. Switched over to All Flock, made by a different company and they started laying again. A lot of trolls on here, I see.
Smash the cracked eggs in the coop for them .. they clean it up, it's additional nutrition (like it is for incubating embryos also)... But you also can feed it to a dog, it's good as a protein for them too.. just an FYI
It’s common for all chickens to stop laying during winter my hen started laying in middle of February and I’m feeding scratch grain and 20 % layer feed from tractor supply no issues
Great comparison, thank you for sharing. All the best.
I get a puertorican feel from you! Out in that snow! Nice chickens and nice setup. Thanks for the video
Love the content. I use New country organics and i soak and ferment the feed to keep costs down and a healthier flock.
Great tip!
Mixed black sun flower seeds with omega oil from tractor supply
Too many homesteaders have stopped TS and within days they were getting eggs (more than 3-4). I trust them. They are sound people.
Good of you to work to find out the problem. Many of us who have been doing this for a decade or so learned these lessons as well. We now take advantage of feed sales and add oats, whole corn and sunflower seeds as well as a few other things in the winter. I still have a couple pumpkins to toss to my flock. Maybe a Christmas treat.
I know you’ve never heard me say this 😜 but I love your chickens. You and your beautiful wife are lovely people! Great job on taking care of your flock
Thank you so much!
You should insulate your next boxes at least the bottom. Your wood is so thin and exposed to the elements in winter. You need a higher kicker board at the entrance to the nest boxes to help keep the nest materials inside. You need the heat from the inside of the coop to help keep eggs from freezing. This would help. On days that the chickens won't go out of the coop you should keep the bottom door closed to outside to help keep some heat in. Warmer chickens lay more eggs. You have to decide if you want good looking chickens or more eggs as far as some of your breeds go. The other people were experiencing no eggs at all you at least were getting 3-4 eggs a day most days so I don't think your problem is the same as others. Not a good comparison. You should state your results not that it's nonsense just because you didn't get the bad feed. If you had you would change your opinion on it. So, don't knock others.
Didn't see him "knocking others" Just stated his own results and Hypothesis based on the results. You sure do a lot of "shoulding" in other people's business.
@@mdewald58 You weren't listening.
My quail stopped laying around the same time. My mentor, who has chickens, and several videos, showed me to add fly larva, mealworms, and cooked beans to the feed. It helped kick things up again. Just fyi.
my chickens will not eat those pellets... only scratch corn with a 1 part grain... which makes them egg laying machines...but... they do free range down here in SC.
I have 2 ISO-browns 2 road island reds 2 austrolorpes. Besides their normal feed, they get a good dose of cabbage, collard greens, occasionally some cooked rice or barley. I averaged 4-6 per day all winter long. My coop is very well insulated with supplemental heat and straw in the nesting area. I believe your girls are using all of their energy to stay warm instead of producing.
The more I find people who know how to look after their birds the more I am convinced I was arguing with novices last year. They simply do not care that they aren’t supplying their birds with an adequate diet. Three Cheers to all of us.
I actually think there is some truth to this conspiracy. There are three particular nutritional components that have a huge impact on a hen's ability to lay, and these same nutritional components also have a huge impact on the development of growing chicks. These very important nutritional components are protein, lysine, and methionine. A hen typically needs a MINIMUM of 16% protein, 0.70% lysine, and 0.30% methionine to lay well. Well, it turns out that Tractor Supply has been cutting corners lately. In early 2022, DuMOR 20% Chick Starter Crumble contained 1.0% lysine and 0.50% methionine. In early 2023, the same formula now only has 0.90% lysine and 0.30% methionine. While it may not seem like a big difference, it really is. There have been multiple reports of people noticing that DuMOR and other Tractor Supply brands have cut down on their protein, lysine, and methionine levels, but no one is paying attention to it because "hurr durr they put poison in the food."
I've been burned on their extra charge for "sexing" which did not include either sexing OR getting the right breed. Two batches of chicks, sexed, all roosters. NOT ONE hen. isa browns? Perhaps sticking to autosex breeds with them is the way to go. we mix most of our own feed, we don't have many chickens and prefer to vary ingredients by season. I sure hopes this works for you, your hens look plump and healthy, and not very bothered by the cold. 35 below??? I'd set up a cheap camping tent in the living room. ❤ Best of luck! Close together, insulated, that's nice. YES! we use fakes. Helps them understand here you want them left If I understand it; the problem as mislabling at the factory, not toxic feed. A few people got the wrong feed. My general opinion is they should've only processed food, but I do INCLUDE it. They need to also get seeds,weeds and bugs.
Just an FYI.. all the videos that I have seen about the Tractor Supply feed issue is talking about the "Producers Pride" product and not the "Dumor" feed that you claim you are already using. If this is true then you don't have that issue because you are not using the "Producer's Pride" product.
A few suggestions:
You might want to try using "Nesting Mats" in your nesting boxes. You are not making it very conducive for your hens to lay in your nesting boxes by not keeping any real nesting material in your boxes and I really don't like wood shavings as nesting material. Either put hay in them or get the nesting mats.
Since it seems you are in a very cold climate, you might want to try wrapping or insulating your coop. If it's too cold, a lot of breeds of chickens will stop laying. Your eggs should not be freezing in a few hours. Your coop is way too cold. If your egg production picks up when the weather warms up, then you'll know for sure your hens are not being kept warm enough. You could also try putting a heat lamp inside your coop but I think insulating it is a better way to go.
One last thing.. look into getting "Greenhouse Heat Mats". Put these under your Nesting boxes and put piece of plastic over them (so the chickens don't scratch up the heat mats) and then put your nesting material on top. These Greenhouse heat mats should keep your nesting boxes warm enough so that your eggs won't freeze up. Also, they will make the nesting boxes warmer and your chickens will want to go in and lay their eggs. You can also put a thermostat switch on the power supply (extension cord) so that if your temps get above freezing the heat mats will be shut off automatically.
Took the words out of my mouth!
I think your egg production is pretty good for as cold as it is in your winter time. I live in sc. We have super mild winter comparatively. The TSC feed debate is real. I manage a feed store and we had tons of people come in after this went all over social media. I used to buy TSC feed...all my chickens slowed or stopped in Nov. Every year. Since i have started using Tucker milling feed and natural grains...my girls are still laying it is almost Christmas! Now they will pick it up this spring.
I would recommend adding some fat to your chickens diet. They need alot of energy this time of year to combat the cold.
I enjoyed the egg/feed experiment🎉
I used that Dumor brand for a couple of years when I first started raising backyard chickens for personal eggs 4 years ago. I noticed that their poop were watery and stinky, the egg shell were very thin and cracked easily, not to mention the slow egg production. I’ve switched to the Purina brand and what a difference, solid not smelly poop and harder eggs with increased production.
That’s bc of temperatures most likely imo. Being too hot or eggs cooking too fast changes the chemistry of all this process
Dumor is made by Purina
I had both Australoprs and Isa's. Mine laid like crazy all winter long. i did give them 2 cans of tuna every 3 days. 2 cans just to make sure each hen got some. 5 birds could empty a can in 10 to 15 seconds, lol.
Chris, my Isa's are laying machines but not my Australorps during the short winter days. However, they all recently started laying like crazy again, as the days get longer. What state are you from? Wondering if living in a warmer state makes a difference. Thanks.
@@oviduran i live in NE Indiana.
@@DrtERotinBasstrd It's about the same weather. I live in Saratoga County in upstate NY.
Tuna in water or in oil??
I would imagine in water.
@georgeingridirwin6180 yes it's packaged in water
Egg production won’t change in winter but I would feed more grains, crumbles, mixed in with your pellets I also keep a separate feeder just for oyster/ and grit birds have to have it to digest there pellets,grains
If you start seeing a difference you can bump their protein up to low 20's (20 to 24%). Try using game bird starter feed for a couple weeks, you should get the results. However, they do slow down in winter and I personally would not mess with it unless I am in a pinch for eggs or it is starting to warm outside and the days are getting longer but still not seeing an increase in production. Then I would give them a boost in protein to kind of "restart" their system.
If you put a light into your coop on a timer, you can add "daylight" hours back to summertime amounts and increase your production.
It will increase production now but it will shorten the years they lay
I use tractor supply cracked corn,my chicken started slowing down on eggs,so I put a 40w light in the coop,on a timer and it comes on 6am every morning, I have 5 hens and get 3 eggs daily, before I put in light they slowed down to 1 egg daily, so I know it's light.not feed
Try heating the water, I’ve used tractor supply and southern states and had no noticeable difference when I had to switch. I’d say the biggest change I had was adding a water heater, doubled winter egg production.
I have had similar results in Texas although we deal with heat more than cold here. My leghorns completely stopped laying eggs and I was using the dumar crumbles from TS...I switched to Kalmbach Feeds All Natural 17% Protein Layer Crumbles and they started laying again as normal after a week of the new food. Makes no sense to me.
Every time I change their feed, they stop laying for about a week, then they start laying. We put them on Purina because the feed store was out of their regular feed. I expected them to stop laying for a week due to the feed switch. They were laying 1-2 eggs. When we took them off the Purina, they started laying eggs the way they were before we put them on Purina. You need to keep doing the experiment for longer than a week.
ID LIKE TO KNOW IF ITS CHANGED NOW? A week WASNT LONG ENOUGH
I’d take into account the price of the feed and distance to go and get it. BTW I’m in beautiful Rincon PR. Lovely temperature too.
Up your corn a little and go to 22% feed in the winter and install light in coop with timer to extend daylight.
We were buying that exact feed from Tractor Supply. We have 2 yr old Golden Sexlinks and 2 yr old White Leg Horns. We were getting some eggs from the sexlinks since they have been mature but not as many as our previous flock when we were feeding IFA feed. We figured it was just this batch of chickens. We could not get the leg horns to lay at all and they were the same age as the Golden Sexlinks. In November we started seeing a significant drop off of egg production and figured it was just winter drop off. In December we decided to go back to the IFA feed. About a week later we were getting as many eggs as we were all summer and the leghorns started laying for the first time. We have more egg production in the winter than we have had ever. I now believe there is an issue with the Tractor Supply Feed and I will only be feeding IFA feed now. We did a batch of 26 Cornish Cross using the Tractor Supply Feed and they seemed to do just fine.
I had an issue. I actually tested it on two different coops (different feeds in each coop). It was night & day. Not sure why this guy didn’t see an issue, and I have heard others that didn’t have an issue, but I definitely saw a HUGE difference.
Give them black oil (small)sunflower seed’s. Fat to stay warm. Beautiful chicken’s❤
Dumor and Producers Pride are made by Purina. I believe Layeena may also be a Purina feed. If so, your test is really a little questionable. Can you find feed not made by Purina? Something from a co-op or a local feed mill. Good video otherwise!😎
Richard, the new feed I used is made by Cargill and not Purina. But at this point it doesn't matter since my chickens started laying twice the eggs now due to the longer days. This is normal for chickens in winter.
I use Producer's Pride for my flock of 20 and they lay about 18-20 a day during wamer months and lay about 12-13 in Winter.
Well my CORNISH CROSS hens until October were laying eggs. Then none until about 2 weeks ago I have been feeding them feed from a little hometown feed store and some Tractor Supply feed during this time frame. This winter came in earlier and colder. I saw no difference at all about any of the feed just a cooler winter.
You are the first person I am aware of that uses Cornish Cross chickens as layers, but you are proof that it can be done. I intend to purchase a few Cornish Cross this Spring but as meat chickens. Raise them for 8 weeks and then try my hand for the first time with the meat chicken process.
@@oviduran When they lay good you get a very large egg eather white or soft pink about 1 every day and a half. A raccoon killed my rooster and a hen so I am waiting for another rooster to start a new meat flock. But are very good eggs also. Thanks.
It's true. I thought it was my chickens. They have layed no eggs this last three months during summer, while eating producers pride seed mix and the cheapest laying crumbles
My issue with is with TSC producer's pride chicken feed with mold being in it so I'll stick with co-op from now on
MOLD YOU SAY IN FEED FROM TSC? 2022 I BOUGHT DEER FEED AT TSC BELLEVILLE ONTARIO AND I GOT UP NORTH TO HUNT AND IT WAS ALL MOLDY AND IT RUINED MY TRIP
Same thing happened to me with cat food. Dry kind. It was moldy when i opened the last bag Omg
Very interesting video, knowing that egg prices went up about 50% recently because of the bird flu. Does anyone know if there is a different ingredient in the feed than last year?
There have been rumors of different ingredients but absolutely no evidence of it. However, I changed feed and had no effect. Now we know that chickens lay less eggs in the winter due to other factors and there is nothing wrong with Tractor Supply chicken feed.
@Ovi Duran Other's say the opposite!!!
@@8_x_9. I know, I've heard them but they offer no proof. I just proved what they are saying is False.
Don't throw the frozen or pecked eggs away. Cook them and feed them to your chickens. They'll love them!!
No need to cook them. They eat eggs shell and all
@@chriswritt729 you dont want them to become egg eaters by giving raw eggs.
Why not cook them and eat them yourself? They're only less then a day old.
@@OhYeah-me1cgHoles/cracked shells let in salmonilla from their poop.
Our ladies love to lay on our grill and they roll off. We take the cracked eggs and throw them in the yard and make sure they bust. They can’t get enough of it. But have never had a problem with them eating eggs we don’t give them.
Hi there, came across your video and watched it. Not familiar with your location but assuming colder climate in Ny since you mentioned Ballston Spa Agway. We do not feed TSC as it is inferior feed. But one thing we noticed living in SD is winter time (colder and also longer) requires higher protein. We switch to 21-22% protein feed in winter and our chickens slow down but not near as much. On 16% protein feed they don’t do nearly as well overall with respect to laying and feathers. So not sure what’s up with TSC feed but rather we felt higher protein helped and then switching back to 16% in spring. Metabolically it is needed in winter but in spring they do not need that high protein. We have noticed much healthier and well laying chickens
From Ohio. It gets cold here. 16% always worked before(Dumar Hen Laying Pellets). This year for 2 months, no eggs at all. Unusual, since I raise big bodied birds(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex). These birds are noted for winter laying. Changed feed and am getting 50-60 eggs a week from them(last two weeks, 60, 24 hens).
When it starts to freeze and gets down below zero, even before then, if you have a packing blanket, open your hood, put the blanket on your engine and shut the hood, you'll have a much easier time starting your vehicle😊
I put grass clippings in my nesting boxes. 💕NonnaGrace 🐓
It's not false for others, but it is for you.
Birds need 12/14 hours of light to stimulate them to lay. I have a coop light that gets turned on at 5am off at 7pm. I have 16 ladies and average 10/12 eggs a day. 4 of those birds are 2,3 an4 yrs old. 12 are new laying pullets from spring hatch. I feed Nutrena.
their not getting sufficient Light. Turn the light's on in the hen house at 4 in the morning. a nice bright one. put in a small stove .
You can use the cracked eggs when they thaw for baking
I was using producers pride and starting getting none. I started making homemade feed and started getting 10 eggs per day! To each his own
I changed the feed. My hens started laying again. I have big bodied birds, so cold don't affect them. Brahma, Jersey Giants and Speckled Sussex, all are good winter layers. They all quit laying for 2 months on TSC hen feed. First time I ever experienced such. There's something wrong with their feed now.
How do you make homemade feed? New to chickens here and have only 3.
I agree. With you.💕NonnaGrace 🐓
If the eggs freeze can you still scramble it and feed it back to the chickens?
So when you change feed chickens will sometimes stop producing eggs for a little bit and then pick back up again.. I would trythis experiment again in a couple weeks. And then switch back to dumor and see if they stop producing. There will be no excuse for lack of production (after the initial week or so of getting used to the new feed again) being that it will be light out longer by then.
Ovi if they membrane is in tact even though pecked hole it’s ok to eat - we have many times and also cracked is ok if membrane intact - we just keep them in the fridge.
If you add a light. Give them 16 hours of light. Just use the light to makeup the daylight difference. I lost piglet litters due to the TS feed made in the same factory. Chickens slow down in the winter without the added light. We had over 3,000 Azure hens.....
maybe, maybe not... but something did and thousands of peeps, all of us saying the same, they chickens stoped laying for three months in steqd of the reg 3 weeks.... btw the only ones that stopped that long, was the ones on store bought feed, and not just tractor supply from what i can see, but mostly
btw you are still feeding tractor supply corn so that skews it, and it took months to slow down and stop... gonna have to do it again, and this time with out any contaminated grains. if that is what they are... your test only looked at it being accidental, not intentional
not saying right wrong or otherwise, just pointing out a major flaw in your theroy debunking
great vid... keep em coming please
Nice sweatshirt Ovi. Let's go Flyers. Fly Flyers Fly. Saludos a todos los fanáticos de los Indios de Mayaguez.
Thanks but they are the Philadelphia Eagles.
?Como? !NYR! ?Recuerda Ud. Bobby Clark y Schultz y Los Broad Street Bullies?
About half the tractor supply had new feed that had to much clay and not enough fish meal. Basically you were feeding dirt to your hens. I changed feed and added meat and game bird feed . And they laid eggs . Well except for the one moulting
give them a little cracked corn when the temps drop. Also, give them a little cracked oyster shells. What you are looking for, is a nutritional problem. But also note, Purina makes the Tractor Supply Feed, and thus, there are 60 locations around the country where it's made. So, any reporting problem, might not be in your area. Producers Pride from a Texas TS, is doing great for our chickens.
Hens do slow down and take a break here and there! Especially in the winter months. We feed Tractor Supply's brand Feed yes our hens slowed down they now are back up and laying normally.
Immediately subscribed because of that pick up
It’s a 1952 Chevy 3100 1/2 ton. I will start working on it soon (on video) and will put it on the road this summer. I’ve had it since 1999.
Acá en mi casa yo les doy Cilantro y a ellas les encanta y aumenta su productividad; ÉXITO 👍🏼
Both of your bags of food have the same problem. My black Austrolorp laid eggs straight through the winter and stopped in April when tractor supply ran out of Flock party.
I feed my light brahmas dumor from tractor supply, from 8 hens I've got 5-7 eggs a day all winter
Ovi I think your egg boxes need more bedding. They do not like to sit in a hard box especially when it’s cold. Give it a shot.
Thanks. I’ve covered that topic many times in my videos. It doesn’t matter what I add to each box, straw or pine shavings, some chickens will kick it out within two days. But I have another trick up my sleeve for a future video. Stay tuned.
@@oviduran I didn’t see the other videos but I will from now on. My wife is the chicken chief and she tied me in to watch! Yeah they do seem to have their own opinion when it comes to their comfort level🙂
@@oviduran mine are the same.
I have never had a problem with Tractor Supply feed. Tractor Supply Feed is made by Purina. Chickens molt in fall and early winter and sometimes will stop laying. I use 17% flock raiser because I raise chickens for meat and have roosters. Layer feed has calcium which can cause issues for males . I put out oyster shell for the hens and grit for all of them.
It's the lack of light that slows thier laying. It's seasonal. Add a light and warch the egg production increase. It's not the feed, although it's possible extremely cheap feed may contribute. But it's the lack of light.
Hi Ovi, Thanks for posting these videos. I think the greatest factor is Temperature less eggs when its colder. Now my question would be and please remember I know "nada " about chickens , would adding another rooster to the flock increase egg production?
No, chickens will lay eggs without a rooster. The rooster only fertilizes the egg. Also, chickens lay less eggs when there is less daylight, not the temperature outside. But as the days get longer I will be seeing more eggs.
@@oviduran thanks for your reply, told you so, I knew nothing about chickens except eating chicken lol! all makes sense. love the videos.
Roosters have nothing to do with egg production
@@russrasmussen9514 thanks for your reply, yes I learned that from Ovi 10 months ago. knew nothing about chickens except eating them lol. happy holidays
I use naturalwise and give them BSF and my girls never stopped laying
T.S FOOD GUUD! Switch food was no better 8 hens 5to7 eggs every day and I have a silkie
.Winter time but I give them lots of protein.
Advice. As humans we want abundance and consistency often. However, you need to let your chickens rest their reproductive systems too. It’s healthier for them and reduces stress for a better bird.
That's bunk since when do chickens need a rest 😂
@@russrasmussen9514 look Foghorn Leghorn aka Chicken Pimp.
“Y’all chicken heads betta have my eggs or else!”
😂😂😂
My chickens stopped laying when I was feeding them Tractor Supply feed,I switched brands and now I get my usual amount of eggs as before
The chicken is a Amauricana. They look like they have a beard. It’s real fluffy under their beak. The also come in lot’s of color variation’s.
I'm just wondering why Tractor Supply is not investigating this themselves and now that it's been this long I don't know that I trust them also who makes the feed and who's the owner of the business if you know their history about them it can help also we have to remember there was the chicken flu and then a chicken plant burn down and now the chickens aren't Lane oh yeah what about all the food plant that burnt down is this all a coincidence ?
Purina's the owner of that feed Co and they are item red by Nestlé
Its about cheaper food ...cheaper ingredients. Companies only care about their bottom line..
Put more shavings in the boxes for them and keep the eggs warmer.
how cold Celcius can Chickens stay outside fulltime?
Idk about this test. The hens are young and it hasn’t been long enough I don’t think the way you did the test would have had any differences based on time and age and how short it was in my humble opinion
I use TSC producers pride…I have 5 2.5 year old hens, 1 buff orp and 4 isa brown. I use tsc producers pride 16% feed, all my chickens molted in August and fully re feathered by October. 1 buff and 1 isa brown are still laying just about every day…other 3 isa browns…look health but haven’t laided an egg since August molt… puzzled why only 2 are laying all winter long…all are same ….age, coop, feed, look health and happy…it’s not the feed…I currently get 11.5 hrs of daylight…gonna try a led bulb for extra 3 hrs a day to see if egg production picks up…any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks
Frank 20:14
I have 3 Isa Browns and all are laying an egg almost every day. It's a great breed of chicken. All are about 10 months old and none have molted yet. As for my other chickens they have slowed or stopped laying eggs, but I know it will increase as the daylight hours increases. I decided not to use a light and let most of them take a break for the winter. As the Spring arrives all will do better.
@@oviduran 👍
If I were an egg machine, I wouldn't be producing eggs when it feels like -35'F. Your heated water trough must be high quality. So you won't be rooting for the Chiefs, I gather. Well conducted test.
Is it warm enough for them
I use organic feed and I had no issues of loss of eggs. Purina owns 90 percent of all feed so buying another commercial feed mostly coming from the purina feed in the end nothing would be changed. Organic feed numbers over all did not change per the same amount of time. Thus was done by a testing Do you need to delve father into changing your feed from one purina to another.
You got the wrong chicken, then. My girls are big bodied chickens and cold doesn't bother them. Some eggs may freeze and crack before I get to them, though. It's the feed. Mine entirely quit laying for 2 months. Changed feed to a different maker and started to get 50-60 eggs a week from 24 hens(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex)...
@@gregzeigler3850 anyone associated with NYG is OK in my book.
Other chicken owners have had a different outcome. Same experiment. Different batch? Also, some say Dumouri s OK but cheaper Producers Pride is not, both Purina both TSC. And of course in winter diminishment of eggs .
scramble the broken eggs and feed them to the chickens it is great protein
I think it's the vitamins that are added.
We always use tractor supply feed in the winter time I was lucky to get 1 egg a day now I get 17 eggs a day I have jersey gaints and they lay 4 eggs if I am lucky
Nutrina is a Tractor Supply feed. It didn’t change because it’s the same. I’m sorry this happened to you. Please try this again with a feed from your local mill. I’m going to bet that your hens start to produce more.
Not the same. Nutrena is made by Cargill and it's not a Tractor Supply feed. Two different corporations. The reason my hens produce less eggs in the winter is less daylight. Once the days get longer they will lay more eggs.
Squirteltribe did an excellent video on who produces some of this feed and the large egg producers. One opened a very large cage free setup in November. She kind of ties it all in together.
Cargill owns Purina and Nutrena. The search for this is easy.
@@mariekelly7325 my chickens have more than doubled egg production now that the days are getting longer. Check out my newest video. It was never the feed.
You know at like 20 below maybe you should get some penguins? Lol how cool that be sorry I love penguins. It would be cool. Lil Tux’s running around lol
You should put a thicker layer of straw in your nest boxes. They'll kick some out, just keep adding. The eggs need more cushion to prevent cracking! Lol
I feed my flock of 20 layers Producers Pride (made by Purina in Joplin MO) I get it from Tractor Supply.... I get 17 to 19 eggs a day from 10 month old birds; leghorns, barred rock and golden sexlinks .... I think folks are miss-managing their flock when they don't get eggs.... {wonders why folks don't list chicken age, breed and coop conditions when complaining about feed}
I got Jersey Giants, Brahma( not a year old yet) and 3 year old Speckled Sussex. All old time meat birds with heavy frames. ALL stopped laying for two months on TSC hen feed(first time ever). Switched feed and now getting 50-60 eggs a week(24 hens). I think Scott, you're a troll.
Apples to Oranges ... temperatures count. You stated during new feed counts the temps plummeted, significantly. Chickens didn't see the light of day. Not conclusive - record temps also if you ever decide to "test" again.
Not all breeds are going to lay in the winter unless you give them artificial light. I have had chickens for 8yrs and quit using artificial light in the winter years ago and my chickens quit laying in October and start back up in the beginning of March.
This is the natural way and forcing egg laying in the winter is hard on the birds. I have much healthier birds now that I let them stop laying in the winter and I get about 600 eggs from March- September (most of the eggs are laid in April- July) from 15 hens that are 7-8yrs old and not even laying breeds.
I've never used artificial lighting. I have always used heavy old time breeds that naturally lay during the winter months. ALL of mine quit laying for 2 months until I switched feed. Then they started laying again. I get 50- 60 eggs a week from 24 hens(Jersey Giants, Brahma and Speckled Sussex). In fact, when I had White Rocks, I never gave them extra light neither, nor Rhode Island Red...
@@gregzeigler3850 I used to have some hens that laid eggs in the winter for their first year but not very many. That is why I tried the lights and that helped but I lost birds every winter so I stopped. They were just backyard mutt chickens so no telling what the breeds were.
I have not used TS feed for years since I have a local feed store about 6 blocks from my home now but I will say my summer egg production is much higher for the 'Jungle Fowl' chickens since the switch to the feed store food.
I have not noticed a change in the tiny bantams egg production, it has always been good.
My birds surprised me and started laying the last week of Feb. I have gotten 10 dozen this month so far but not much in this last week due to the monsoon season LOL. That is something else that stops my egg production too, continuously being cloudy and rainy. Production has dropped to about 3 eggs a day but should pick up when we get some sunny days for a bit.
Try crumble instead of pellets?
All I can tell you is my personal experience. My hens stopped laying pretty much. I switched feed and it returned to normal. Just my personal experience.
Nutrena was one of the feeds that also had an issue.
They are a land o lakes brand which is Purina