The Bovine Bugle

One young hen leads the way

We had a nice surprise the other day when we found the first egg laid by one of the young hens we started this spring. These hens are about 4 months old, and we wondered when we might see the first egg from them. The hens may start laying as early as 15 weeks of age, so our hens are doing very well.

We changed them from the "grower" grain to the "layer" grain several weeks ago to get them ready to produce eggs. The grower grain gives them the right nutrients to grow in size and stature. A good-sized, healthy hen will lay better than a hen who didn't grow to proper size due to lack of nutrition. The layer grain is, of course, the ration that provides the hen with those extra nutrients needed to produce large, hard-shelled eggs.

Son Noah wanted to know why the egg we found in the young hens' layer box was smaller than the eggs from the older hens. I tried to explain to him that when the young hens start laying, their bodies are just getting used to producing eggs and so the eggs are smaller. But, I told him, it wouldn't be long before the young hens' eggs would be as large as the eggs from the older hens.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont