Where can i buy egg laying chickens near me

We’ve talked about this on our blog in the past, but starting your own chicken or egg production business can be daunting. Whether you’re looking to do something small out of your backyard or you’re thinking about expanding to a large facility, there are a lot of factors to consider.

Like the age-old question of “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” you may be asking yourself a similar question. We’re here to tell you that it’s the chickens that arrive first, but you’ll have to start by choosing the best egg-laying chickens for your flock. Not all chickens produce the same amount of eggs or meat, which is why you need to research which egg-layers will be right for your backyard flock. 

Tips for Selecting Egg Laying Chickens

So you’re selecting the types of chickens you want to raise—that’s great! We have a few tips for beginners, but these are just some general guidelines anyone in the chicken business should follow.

Understand Your Goals

Before you make any decisions, be sure you understand your business goals. Do you plan to keep your business confined to your backyard? Do you just want a few egg-laying chickens for you and your family? Or maybe you’re ready for your business to grow into something more sustainable?

No matter what you choose, it’s essential to understand how many eggs you want to produce. The number of eggs you want your birds to lay over the span of a week can determine how many and what type of birds you may want or need.

Consider Your Available Space

Depending on the size of your outdoor space or chicken coop, a smaller breed of chicken may be more practical for your business. Most chickens prefer to be free-range, but if the outdoor space isn’t large enough, your birds may be uncomfortable and develop some potential health issues.

Temperament

Surprisingly enough, different breeds of chickens tend towards specific temperament characteristics. If you plan on choosing the best egg-laying chickens for your backyard flock, having birds that are calm and friendly in nature can make a big difference.

While heritage breeds tend to lay less initially, they will lay better over a longer period of time. They are also heavier and heartier birds because of their added fat reserves. Hybrids, such as the Novogen, will lay more and have better feed conversion but generally lay well for a shorter period. As well, Novogens are lighter birds.

Prolific Egg-Laying Chickens

Here at Freedom Ranger Hatchery, we pride ourselves in not only providing the best possible birds to our customers but also in sharing our years of knowledge with you. Choosing the best egg-laying chickens doesn’t have to be difficult because we have all of the birds you could need right here at our hatchery.

Here are just a few of our favorite chicken breeds for sale and why you may want to use them as egg-layers:

• Novogen Brown: This easy to manage bird is one of our favorite egg-layers. On average, they produce 320 large to extra-large brown eggs per 52 weeks of lay.
• Easter Egger: As one of the smaller egg-layers in our stock, the Easter eggers are friendly little birds. They’re great for smaller production, and they’ll give you about 280 large to extra-large colorful eggs per year.
• Barred Rock Chickens: One of the most reliable egg layers on the market, Barred Rock chickens are known for being cold hardy, prolific egg producers, as well as substantial meat birds.
• Rustic Rambler: Our Rustic Ramblers are a quiet bird on the lower-end of egg production numbers, laying about 260-280 eggs per year. A unique feature about the Rustic Rambler is that their large to extra-large eggs are dark brown in color!
  

Ready to Buy Egg-Laying Chickens?

If so, Freedom Ranger has all of these chickens for sale—and more! Our egg-layers are some of the top breeds available, so getting productive chickens from Freedom Ranger won’t be difficult. We are always selling the best!

Check out and purchase our products online, or contact us if you have any questions and would like to learn more.

At four to five months of age, all that care and nutrition starts paying off in omelets and frittatas – your chickens are all grown up and laying their first eggs. Starting at 16 weeks or with the first egg, whichever comes first, it is time to gradually transition your flock to a complete layer feed. Layer feeds typically contain 16% protein and increased levels of calcium, a key nutrient for strong egg shells.  

Picking a layer feed with high quality ingredients takes on added importance at this age, because whatever your hens eat passes through to their eggs – you eat what they eat! This is why there are several chicken feeds or supplements formulated with Omega-3s like Manna Pro Omega Egg Maker, which can be mixed in with your flock’s complete layer feed. Medicated formulas are unusual for layer feeds, but some formulations will include probiotics to help maintain chickens’ gut health and immunity. This is also the point where some chicken owners choose to move to an organic feed, which contains only non-GMO ingredients grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

At this age, you may choose to provide chicken treats or scratch grains to help keep your birds entertained. However, be sure these treats don’t discourage your hens from eating enough of their complete layer feed. Try to feed scratch grains after your pullets have already eaten their feed, and do not provide more than they can eat in about 15-20 minutes. Poultry grit should always be provided when scratch grains are fed, to ensure proper digestion.  

Make sure to keep the nesting boxes clean – most hens hate laying eggs in a dirty environment and it keeps your eggs cleaner, too. Try to collect eggs twice a day at a minimum. Not only does this keep eggs from sitting out too long or getting dirty, but it can prevent chickens from pecking at their eggs. If your flock has gotten a taste for pecking eggs, collect fresh eggs even more frequently, and put fake eggs or golf balls into the nesting boxes. After a few tries of pecking an unpeckable egg, they are less likely to try to eat their own eggs. 

Your mature chicken will likely lay 4-5 eggs per week, depending on the breed. But many factors affect how many eggs your hen will lay. Poor nutrition and extreme temperatures will reduce egg production. When summer heat is at its peak, consider adding electrolytes to your waterers to keep your chickens hydrated. Lighting also makes a huge impact. In nature, chickens only lay eggs in the spring and summer, so to encourage year-round egg production, you will need to provide supplemental light sources to trick your chickens into thinking they’re getting the 14-16 hours of sunlight summer provides. 

Chicken health is also a factor in egg production. Mites and lice are common parasites that are easily prevented. Providing a large pan full of sand in the outdoor run lets your flock give themselves dust baths that help knock these parasites loose from the skin. Respiratory illnesses are best prevented through good ventilation and strong sanitation practices, and segregating birds that show signs of illness.

Chickens that find themselves at the bottom of the flock’s pecking order often stop laying eggs, too. If a hen is getting pecked to the point of bleeding, it is critically important stop the abuse. As horrifying as it sounds, an aggressive hen can literally peck another chicken to death! Ample space, roosting locations and food help prevent pecking. So can boredom-busting toys and treats. Consider hanging a cabbage for the hens to peck at instead of each other, or install an unbreakable baby or parakeet mirror to amuse them. If your space is large enough, use straw bales to create tunnels or different levels for them to explore.  Like siblings, some hens peck at each other just because they have nothing better to do. 

What is the best chicken to buy for laying eggs?

How much does it cost to have egg

Can you buy chickens that are already laying eggs?

When should you buy egg