Get to Know Your Chicken

Collecting Eggs

Hens eggs

Hens tend to lay a regular egg a day for the first cycle of laying, which lasts generally from Spring to Autumn. Thereafter they tend to moult and go off lay as the days shorten.

After 35 – 40 weeks of age egg production will naturally decline. Most people in commercial enterprises would only keep hens for one year. The hens will continue to lay for a second year but not as regularly, however the eggs will be larger. A healthy bird may continue laying for several years.

Eggs should be collected twice daily and stored at a temperature of 10-12 degrees Celcius.

We have put together an an approximate guide to the costs of feeding one hen per year and what each egg will cost a potential customer depending on the price of the feed you have purchased. Find out more now.

Meat for the Table

Raising chicken for the table can be done on a free range basis. However, if slaughter is to be undertaken on the premises, inexperienced poultry keepers must ensure that they obtain training in humane methods. If you feel unable to carry out the slaughter while avoiding unnecessary suffering, you must enlist the help of someone who can. The Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) has published a guide to poultry slaughter, outlining the methods available and the legal requirements.