Backyard chicken owners are blaming commercial chicken feed for sky-high egg prices, with some claiming it’s part of a conspiracy to prevent people from producing their own eggs and forcing them to buy them at the grocery store. Bill Gates, a billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft Corp. co-founder, has also been linked to the issue. Advocates have petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the egg industry on charges of anti-competitive behavior aimed at raising prices.
Experts argue that RNA isn’t linked to chickens laying fewer eggs, and many factors can challenge a hen’s ability to lay eggs. Farmers should work with licensed poultry specialist veterinarians to identify the root causes of the issue. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and a farmer-led advocacy group have called for an investigation into potential egg price-gouging by producers. However, there is no evidence that this is the case.
A federal jury in Illinois found that several major egg producers in the U.S. conspired to price-fix eggs between 2004 and 2008. The conspiracy theory suggests that egg shortages are not due to highly contagious bird flu but because egg yolk is a secret cure for it. A federal jury in Illinois found that egg producers used various means to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase the price of products during the pandemic. This case demonstrates that the domestic market for eggs is vulnerable to manipulation and that producers can be held accountable.
A blog post on the issue claimed that there isn’t a conspiracy theory around chicken feed and reduced egg production, and the online rumor mill is at it again, claiming that feed producers are intentionally modifying their layer products to decrease egg production.
📹 The Truth About Your Eggs! Is It a Conspiracy?
Arms Family Homestead PO Box 167 Sulphur, Ok 73086 Join this channel to get access to perks: …
What is the double meaning of egg?
In Romani mythology, cracking open an egg with two yolks signifies that pregnant relatives have two babies, someone might be getting married soon, or twins. Double-yolk eggs can also symbolize fertility and positivity in the future. Some people believe that cracking open this special egg signifies positive luck and harmonious relationships with loved ones. The egg’s combination of two yolks in a single shell can bring these relationships together in a positive and harmonious way. The egg is considered a symbol of unity and wholeness, symbolizing the potential for positive change and harmony in relationships.
What is the egg rule?
The 1970 Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) mandates that all shell eggs for consumption be stored and transported under refrigeration at an ambient temperature not exceeding 45°F. All packed shell eggs must be labeled with a statement stating that refrigeration is required, and any shell eggs imported into the United States must include a certification. The FDA’s Egg Safety Rule requires transporting eggs to maintain an ambient temperature of 45°F for 36 hours after laying the eggs.
Egg products, which include whole eggs, whites, yolks, and blends, are processed and pasteurized and are available in liquid, frozen, and dried forms. Most are not available in supermarkets but are used in restaurants, hospitals, foodservice establishments, bakers, noodle makers, and other food manufacturers. Pasteurization destroys Salmonella but does not affect the eggs’ color, flavor, nutritional value, or use. Some dried egg products are pasteurized by heating in the dried form.
What does egg mean in slang?
Birth-assigned sex is often mistakenly confused with gender, and the term “egg” refers to someone who is trans but doesn’t know it yet. This glossary provides a list of key gender and sexuality terms, reflecting the current general understanding of these terms. The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center is open to suggestions for additional terms to be included in the glossary. The glossary covers topics such as Getting Started, Birth-Assigned Sex, Gender, Sexuality, Identity, Trans Community, Romantic Identity, Oppressive, Legal, Academic, and Legislation Terms, Historical Terms, and Racial Identity and Racial Justice Terms. The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center will review these terms regularly to ensure they are accurately represented.
What is egg slang for?
Twitter has introduced a new feature that allows users to mute tweets from egg accounts, indicating that users are new to the platform or inexperienced with the platform. Egg accounts can be created by users who are new to Twitter, can’t change the default icon, or want to be incognito. Some may wear their anonymity as an innocuous cloak or crouch wickedly under it in true troll form. Twitter is working to correct its weak response to trolls, but fear of trolls is widespread enough to instill a strong case of egg-phobia in some users.
What is The Egg in psychology?
The Egg Diagram is a visual representation of the human mind, illustrating the interconnectedness of various consciousness parts. Although it has limitations due to its static nature, it is still useful in illustrating the dynamic nature of the human mind. The diagram dotted lines indicate overlap between levels and movement, indicating that nothing is static. It is used to explain various psychological activities, such as the coordination of bodily functions, fundamental drives, intense emotions, dreams, and parapsychological processes. It also highlights pathological manifestations like phobias, obsessions, compulsive urges, and paranoid delusions.
What is the egg paradox?
The chicken or the egg causality dilemma is a philosophical question that arises from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. This dilemma is a metaphoric adjective describing situations where it is unclear which event should be considered the cause and which the effect. Plutarch posed the question as a philosophical matter in his essay “The Symposiacs” in the 1st century CE.
The question represents an ancient folk paradox addressing the problem of origins and first cause. Aristotle concluded that this was an infinite sequence with no true origin, while Plutarch highlighted it as bearing on a “great and weighty problem (whether the world had a beginning)”.
By the end of the 16th century, the well-known question seemed to have been settled in the Christian world, based on the origin story of the Bible. However, later enlightenment philosophers began to question this solution, with Carlo Dati publishing an erudite satire on the subject in the mid-17th century.
What is the world egg myth?
The cosmic egg myth, originating from Pangu, relates the creation of heaven and earth as a formless egg. After 18, 000 years, the egg opens and unfolds, with the light part rising to become heaven and the heavy part sinking to become earth. A version from Zhejiang Province suggests that Pangu shatters the egg, causing heaven and earth to form by the same process.
In Dogon mythology from Burkina Faso, the creator-god Amma takes the form of an egg, divided into four sections representing the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth. Amma fails to create the Earth on her first attempt, but plants a seed in herself that forms two placentas containing twins. One twin, Ogo, breaks out and attempts to create a universe. Amma creates the Earth from a part of Ogo’s placenta.
Ogo’s twin, Nommo, is killed by Amma, and parts of his body are scattered across the world to give it order. Nommo creates four spirits, the ancestors of the Dogon people, and sends them into an ark to populate the world.
What is the meaning behind the egg?
The tradition of dyeing and decorating Easter eggs is ancient and has been practiced in both Eastern Orthodox and Western churches since the Middle Ages. The church prohibited eating eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week. The egg became a symbol of the Resurrection, symbolizing new life emerging from the eggshell. In Orthodox tradition, eggs are painted red to symbolize Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. The egg-coloring tradition has continued in modern secular nations, such as the White House Easter Egg Roll in the United States since 1878.
What is the myth of the egg in Finland?
In Finnish mythology, the Kalevala national epic tells the story of the world being created from the fragments of an egg. The goddess of the air, Ilmatar, longed for a son and conceived Väinämöinen, the child of the wind. The cosmic egg, world egg, or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in cosmogonies of many cultures and civilizations, including Proto-Indo-European mythology. The egg hatches and either gives rise to the universe itself or a primordial being who creates it.
The egg is sometimes lain on the primordial waters of Earth. The upper half of the egg becomes heaven, while the lower half becomes Earth. The motif likely stems from the egg’s ability to offer nourishment and give rise to new life. The term “cosmic egg” is also used in the modern study of cosmology in the context of emergent Universe scenarios. Various versions of the cosmic egg myth are related to the creator, Pangu, who created heaven and earth in a formless state. After 18, 000 years, the light part of the egg rose to become heaven, and the heavy part sank to become earth.
What is the egg theory of humans?
The theory posits that the universe was created as a sort of cosmic egg for humanity, and that each individual is a reincarnation of every human who has ever lived. It is proposed that the soul contains memories and experiences accumulated throughout an individual’s lifetime.
What is the egg theory explained?
The Egg Theory, coined by Andy Weir, suggests that the true purpose of human life is to exist, internalize every emotion, and experience the time allotted to us. This theory suggests that every human being is a reincarnation of themselves, with their soul containing every memory, lesson, and experience from past lives. The human mind is too small to truly encompass the entirety of who we are.
Every time we talk to another person, we are actually speaking to another version of ourselves. Every time we help someone out, we are helping another version of ourselves. Every time we exploit or victimize someone else, we are bringing ourselves pain. There are infinitely many versions of ourselves until we accumulate every experience, emotion, trauma, and success. Only then can we become the fullest, most immaculate version of ourselves.
The point of the Egg Theory is that the purpose of human souls is to learn and absorb the knowledge and wisdom achieved after each life. Once we have embodied every human experience, we can transcend physical life and guide the next soul through each of their reincarnations.
📹 S11 E9: The Great Egg Conspiracy (or not)
The internet is blowing up with comedi-HENS… pricey-egg memes and egg-gangster reels, so today we’re diving into my thoughts …
We have bought our chicken feed from Tractor Supply for several years. In October our chickens all stopped laying eggs. At that time I noticed that the feed was darker in color but didn’t think to much more about it. Three weeks ago my wife found several people on forums talking about TSC feed and no egg production. We switched to a different company and within 3 days we were getting eggs again
I’ve raised chickens for 40 years and never had them stop laying like this year. I’ve fed TS for many of those years. My coop has no window so I keep a grow light bulb on a timer in there year around. Number of daily hours of light doesn’t change. I also bought a late batch of chicks this year that should’ve started laying in early Dec. (no molting involved). I changed feeds before all this “conspiracy” because (by accident) I found Rural King considerably cheaper. Within a week of switching feed my chickens started laying‼️‼️
You hit the nail right on the head Sir. My wife and I have been feeding TS Pride 16% chicken layer ( made by Purina and Land O’ Lakes owns Purina) and our chickens stopped laying. We changed to a different brand and now laying again. Then there is the same roundabout with Nutrena. Corporate America just cutting corners to keep profits up. We live in Maine and our production slows down a little in the winter but I keep them warm so we don’t miss out on much. Keep up the great work and enjoy your ducks.
We have an entire flock of 24 Buff Orpington hens. We went from 22 eggs a day to anywhere from 8 to 12 when it’s really cold. Once in awhile we’ll still get 15 to 18. We feed a mix of layer crumble, cracked corn, oyster shell, and black oil sunflower seeds. Our hens are turned out into about 2 acres during the day and locked up in the barn at night.
My new hens had been lay 14 to 16 a day until I had surgery on my hand. I can’t go to the coop due to high risk to infection. Until my Granddaughter came to help, I had not added kefir to their ts feed. I have been mixing my feed. I use scratch, Layer feed, black oil sunflower seeds, plus kefir. My hens love it. I also give them veggies scraps too. When the hens only had layer feed, they gave me 12 or less. Noah rocked! And obeyed!!
My flock hasn’t laid in months until about 2 weeks ago. Age, sunlight, and molt are factors in egg productivity. They usually slow down from Fall molt which can take months and by the time they come out of that it’s winter with less daylight. Just part of raising your own flock, you have your highs and lows of egg production. The older a hen gets the less eggs she will produce. I sell eggs to coworkers and have to explain this to them when the production is low or non existent at the time.
Thank you Daniel! Finally someone using common sense to figure out this lack of egg thing. I have though all along that there was no big conspiracy. In fact when my neighbor and I were discussing it we both agreed that someone was simply trying to find a way to cut cost making the feed. We have been very fortunate to have purchased eggs on the cheap for years. A couple eggs, 2 slices of bacon and a piece of toast makes for a inexpensive and filling meal. Even at $5.00 for a dozen eggs it’s a cheap meal. Really enjoy your articles.
I think you said it correctly. The quality of feed isn’t the same. They are cutting corners. Our chickens completely stopped laying late September and only a couple molted in fall. We started supplementing more than usual making sure the protein levels were higher. They started laying regularly again. I didn’t want to push them to lay eggs but I certainly wanted to make sure they were getting needed nutrition. My birds are happy again now that we’ve fixed the problem and so are we.
My chickens slowed down over the winter just like they did last year. We had enough eggs to get by none to give away. I sometimes feed them food from TSC mostly use food from the local co-op. Lower egg production in the winter is normal. As the days get longer I’m seeing numbers go up. With 9 hens – I get from 2 to 5 a day. Averaging a dozen a week now. I had to smile when I saw the goose egg. I have 5 American Buff geese and 1 laid her first egg today. The geese are 8 months old!
Hi guys, I have a very controlled small laying hen set up. My local feed store went out of business it was 18 to 20 percent protein mix.. So in the fall I picked up some chicken feed from TS it was 16 percent.My chickens also were gave a good crack seed mix and fresh water daily. My few chickens are well kept and fed well. They are only 2 years old. They had started slowing down on production this winter but we’re still producing. They also went through a molting period which can stop egg production or slow it down. I stopped the TS feed and Got a high protein feed from a different company. This higher mix helped the molting and got them back to production in a fairly fast time.. They seemed like the highest protein feeds better and their production has started to improve. I can’t say it was the TS feed that stopped production. But the changes I made with other feeds has put them back on track for production.
I appreciate your comments on the chickens. I quite TSC feeds several years ago because of the pricing. My chickens this year slowed way down, a few days with no eggs. I agee its seasonal, they go through melting, some are older, and the shorter day. It all adds up to less eggs than spring and summer. So many story’s, opinions and theory abound in these trying times. Scare tactics abound. We are all searching for the truth. Please stay middle of the road, but be truly vigilant.
We are almost to the Canadian border we are so far north in northern North Dakota, and our hens have continued to lay all winter although not every hen is laying. We get temps down into -20s and they continue to lay. I personally think chicken breeds and age of chicken along with good nutrition is what gets you eggs year round. We get our feed mixed by a co-op and buy it by the ton.
My chickens eat feed from Tractor Supply and my chickens are “house hens” in that they live inside, in a warehouse with a greenhouse attached to the coop. The greenhouse has grow lights so the chickens right now have artificial light. They get scratch grains and bagged bugs and feed. They get some applesauce and a bit of bagged bugs before bed. They have nest boxes. All to say, I have 4 house hens and get between 2 and 4 eggs per day.
I had to laugh when you were talking and 3 dogs lined up as if you were giving a lesson to them. Reba and RJ are so cute and are growing so fast. Bella looks good and sounds better. I love just listening to all the sounds your animals make. Not even going to touch egg conspiracy. Don’t care for eggs. Just keep the articles coming. Good luck Houston. Love to all❤️
It’s been frustrating to hear people blame “Tractor Supply feed”. I say that because when asked specifically what brand, it’s several different brand names that are mentioned. In my opinion, I think “tractor supply ” is the catch all everyone is using. My hens stopped laying in JULY! They were on Nature Wise. I changed brands to Purina a few weeks ago and supplemented them with a snack of wild bird food once a day. I had eggs within 5 days and production is slowly increasing. It’s January. I shouldn’t really be getting much but I am. I think it’s what’s missing from the feed more than what’s in it. Just my opinion… My birds do have a coop with nest boxes so I know they weren’t being hidden or taken by my dogs.
chickens take time off laying eggs a part of each year (usually during winter) due to available sunlight, or lack of. Chickens cycle with the sun. Also egg production drops as chickens molt too, because that takes away from their energy and once they grow the new feathers back they begin laying again.
We have chickens and I get their feed from Chewy. Ours have been doing good lately. Ours seem to lay a 2 to 3 or 5 to 6 depending on the outdoor temps. If it’s cold, we have 2 or 3. With the warmer days, we have more. That’s here in Alabama. I love hearing about how chickens do in other parts of the country. Thanks for sharing.
Looking at all the chickens congregated in that one area under the trees makes me think you should consider putting one or two nesting boxes of some kind (move that little goat hut where you found that egg) out there to make it convenient for them. Chickens will drop an egg wherever they happen to be if it’s time for that egg to release. But, chickens also like a darker, more secluded area in which to lay if it’s accessible. One of the things I enjoy about perusal you….is how steady and easy going you are regardless of what you’re showing or discussing. Your animals aren’t just “things” to you. They trust you and some love you to no end. You care, and it’s obvious. My favorite part today was about the Noah tee shirt. God will often use the least likely person to bring His message to the masses. Oh, and Tractor Supply feed….I don’t think it’s Tractor Supply. Unfortunately for them, they’re taking the hit. But I do think Purina and their partners have a LOT to do with it, by changing the feed in some way or perhaps an addition that isn’t included in the analysis. I can’t remember WHO it is, but it’s the largest egg producer in the country who has joined forces with Purina. When companies conspire to manipulate the demand or quality of a product to increase the price or to be the top of the food chain….somebody has to be the one paying the price. Think about it for a minute.
I know our chickens, baught previous summer, weren’t laying for over two months this spring. We switched from TS to feed from somewhere else cause of cost and within a week we had a huge blow out of larger than normal eggs. It was odd and haven’t heard of this TS feed thing till a few days ago. They layed regularly after that, till winter of course.
Hello everyone, I enjoy perusal The Arm’s family articles. I couldn’t agreed more that chickens egg product goes down in the winter months. Now with that said we are in upstate New York and it is too be expected. We feed crack corn through the winter months and start are chickens on Game Bird feed late February early March. There is a lot of protein and it helps our chickens with molting and staying healthier. We also free range them during day light hours and they all go back into the coop at night in the summer and fall months.Also my son grows his garden in the spring and summer(he is 14 but has been raising chickens since he was 5) and he cuts up carrots,cucumbers, Zucchinis and squash for his chickens. He loves his flock(15hens and one rooster named Bruce lol)I enjoyed the article and keep up the great work Daniel! Good Houston at the State trny heavy on your chest and keep them feet moving!
I used to buy my backyard chickens live mealworms about once or twice a month for fun. They loved them and we never had a spider or really any bug issues in the house until they were gone. Free range plus house and garden scraps and some feed eggs are so much tastier and richer than store bought. They liked dog food sometimes that was kinda wierd.
I love my ducks and their eggs. I have Pekins and Muscovies, and get eggs consistently. I give them Tractor Supply duck feed, cracked corn, oats, nutritional yeast, and am getting ready to start raising meal worms for them, and although they did slow down a bit in December, they are back to normal now. Mine were mostly hatched in an incubator and are still pretty young (hatched end of July). I love my fresh duck egg omelette with homemade goat cheese every morning. There is nothing more rewarding than eating from your yard.
We have chickens and find that days of cloudy rainy days, cold weather…the chickens produce less. Son made a light in the cover section plus where son works, when they pull out all the produce that is “out of date” not bad but can’t sell it and they let him have it for the chickens which they love. Both of those things has really made the chickens look healthy and produce more.
My chickens started laying at the beginning of Dec. at 5 and 6mo old. I have 13 hens, one is a silke. Currently, I am getting 6 eggs a day. Which is more than I expected for this time of year. They began laying as soon as they were done molting. They had been locked up all the time until the last few weeks they have been occasionally free ranging. We are in a country town and need to keep our eyes open for stray dogs.
I appreciate how y’all work hard taking care of their family and animals. They’re family oriented and great family full of love, and put their faith in God and they live their life for God and are serving God and have good wholesome articles. And as far conspiracy theory until God puts that on me I’m still going to move on and like the Bible says there will shortages of food and other stuff as we go farther into tribulation so my theory is let God be your leader. I’ll continue perusal Arms Family Homestead and Do Your Best and loving every journey they take me on. ❤️🙏🛐✝️
During the years my family and I did had chickens, our chickens would stop laying each and every winter. As the days got longer, the hens would start laying eggs again. Hens only lay consistently for a few years and then stop all together. We would change our feed around, during the winter months we had them on cracked corn and cracked oats. Then slowly adding the chicken scratch back in each spring. Daniel, you and your family do a great job of taking care of all your animals, and each other. Keep up the great work, love seeing all the animals, to include the dogs.
As always a great article. I live in town. But I raised my children on a farm. They milked cows, worked in garden, my girls helped my mother can from the garden. It was good experience for them. My son raised chickens and I worked in factory while they were growing up. My father passed away and my mother had the sell the farm and moved to town. I wish now we were back on the farm. I would like to have a garden. I hope you and your family have a blessed week.
They could be getting a “special blend” of chicken feed. I met a guy that worked at Scott’s and he said the small Mom and Pop stores get 100% mixtures. Big box hardware stores order 75-80% mix. Walmart gets a 50% mix and charge a little less than the others. The filler is recycled paper molded and colored to look like seed or fetilizer.
I don’t know a lot about chickens but I love perusal your adorable baby goats and donkeys, and I love how kind and knowledgeable you are about your animals, as well as how well you take care of them. I also just wanted to mention that most of the eggs sold in the UK are from free range chickens, not from battery hens, and I’m grateful that consumer pressure a few years ago made that switch possible.
Saw a article where someone had 2 horses had died and others had been sick from feeding Purina impact blue bag horse food. Apparently a necropolis showed something in the feed causing liver and kidney and other damage. Makes one wonder since the chicken food in question or at least part of it was made by Purina
I have Welsh Halerquin ducks (about 30 of them) and they can hands down outlay chickens. IN peek season I have an egg about every 21 hrs from the girls, far more than I can use (and yes I do sell some). Ducks are hardier than chickens but more messy. The eggs make baked goods fluffy and rich. Not as good for just fried or scrambled eggs (a little rubbery) due to higher protein, but cut the scramble with a little more milk and it’s ok. My ducks are on tractor supply food and I have noticed a little lower production, but this time of year, between the cold and the lack of sun, not surprising. I might try another food next time and just see if that does get them in gear for the spring.
We only have 1 chicken, that lives in yard around house. We get all eggs & more, that we can eat from our Ducks & Quail. Daniel; think your mention, that some feeds, may be cutting corners,to reduce cost, is very realistic. Enjoyed the feeding tour & your perspective. Hope Houston had good matches. We start district Wrestling, for State on Tuesday.
I’ve seen that all over Facebook and on YouTube with people saying the same thing their chickens have been laying eggs in their contributing it to the feed. Now I don’t have chickens I have ducks and my ducks slow down in the winter but they always give me eggs. This year hasn’t been any different but they’ve started laying eggs like crazy.
My chickens stopped laying eggs a couple weeks ago and I noticed their water was clogged so we fixed that and my husband changed their feed from the local feed supply store to some purchased at Walmart. After a couple of days we started getting 1 egg a day out of 8 chickens now we’re up too 4or5 again. The low temps here are about 30 so not too cold for the chickens but definitely slows down egg production. I think it’s the water because I can’t believe that the Walmart feed was better than the local feed supplier, but I could be wrong
Bear loves human contact; you see it in his face. I hear eggies in the US are going up. So nice to find yours < b4 Bear does > and enjoy fresh on the farm. I can get 30 large for close to 9 bucks – think that is a good price. Houston’s goose needs a mate. They say duck eggies are rich. So funny to see the dogs staring at you. Good news on Bella plus the others not getting sick. Stay safe & take care of you all. Thanks for sharing, eh :))
I have had chickens for over a decade, and I currently have over 20 hens. This is the first year I have ever had zero eggs, and it has been that way since September. Something is different this year. I do not use Tractor Supply or Rural King chicken feed. I have been getting my chicken feed from a local farm coop. Last Friday, January 27, I went to my “local” grain mill and purchased their privately made chicken feed, and I just got my first egg today Monday January 30th. I think you may be right about the big chains cutting back on something in their ingredients.
I feed Nature Wise from Nutrina, mixed with black soldier fly larvae, black oil sunflower seeds, non gmo scratch and whole corn mixed together. They also get lots of scraps from the kitchen and garden, as well as scraps from fish my son catches and scraps from wild game we harvest. We are getting the same amount of eggs we got during the summer. We have 9 hens, we average 7-9 eggs a day. We are trying to help keep family, neighbors and friends supplied too.
Reba is such a beautiful little Alpaca and a miracle story of survival thanks to the Arm Family. Those lashes are envious of EVERY woman! Good luck Houston. God speed in your tournament. Duck eggs are SO much better than chicken eggs. And I agree that free range is better. Look at Kevin and Rachel’s flock of egg production.
I completely agree with the way you raise your chickens. Cal-Maine, largest egg producer in the US, in conjunction with Purina (producer of TSC’s chicken feed, Producers Pride), rolled out their cage-free egg production in Sept. 2022, right about the time many chicken farmers reported their chickens stopped laying. Correlation isn’t causation, but very suspect.
Hi y’all, thanks for all y’all’s articles, I came across y’all website yesterday, am enjoying perusal y’all articles, until I heard about Rufus 😭, let’s leave it in the hands of god, he will bless y’all, I pray for you and your family and your furry buddy’s, y’all are so blessed to live on a farm with such loving animals. God bless be safe🙏🏼💕
My chickens slowed in their laying to just my buff orpington laying for a couple months during the heart of winter. Currently, I use tractor supply feed and kitchen scraps (planning to start growing feed due primarily to the rise in cost of buying). The chickens are back to laying while still using tractor supply feed. Full disclosure: I failed to mention the egg laying dropped right when I moved the chickens into the whoop house for the winter.
Hi from Perry, MI! Our family had an opportunity of eating goose, duck & chicken eggs. They all taste about the same. However, the duck & goose eggs make baking/cooking richer in flavor! If a recipe called for 2 eggs, I used 1 goose egg. Our friends owned ducks, geese & turkeys (cross between chicken and turkey). The water fowl eggs were not selling, so they were giving them away. We would take duck/goose eggs in a hot minute if possible! 🐔🦆🦃
In all the years that I have had chickens, they ALWAYS slow down tremendously or completely stop during the cold winter months. And I am in Central rural California! I get my feed from whomever I happen to be nearest – be it tractor supply, or the local feed store. They always slow down or stop in the winter.
Grandpa Adler has been experiencing very low egg yield, but Chad gets (looks like) two dozen? a week. His chickens do get scratch and they are in the coop by night and free range by day. They’re always hanging around the feed troughs for the other animals, and Chad feeds the chickens two (broken) eggs every day! Go figure! 😊
First I’d like to say I love your articles and your wife’s articles as well ♥️😊,I’m in UK and I’ve always loved growing vegetables and fruits and flowers but after a long break I finally got back into it 6-7 years ago when I moved house after my divorce, since me and my 3 kids have grown our own potatoes, salads and other vegetables and fruits,we got chickens (brown production layers) then bantams (silkies, polish, gold tops)we also added 2 Indian runner ducks (then 3 more+khaki Campbell drake) and between all of the birds we got more than we eat ourselves so we gave some to people we know, doing all this does make you appreciate everything and makes it more enjoyable but people who we gave it to didn’t appreciate it and returned our egg boxes broken and gross or just not return them at all like I asked, so from now on everything me and my kids don’t need Is going to a community fridge (food bank) for people who will appreciate it,we loved the duck eggs for baking and hard boiled in salads, our little bantam eggs are perfect poached or fried as they keep their shape,ours have just picked up laying more this week but didn’t completely stop, sorry for long rant 😔👍
We haven’t been getting eggs either but I didn’t buy chicks this year. I haven’t bought eggs for a very long time but have had to this year. We make our own mix of feed adding layer feed. Tractor Supply is too far away from us so we buy from Runnings. It has been very cold up in northern South Dakota this year, too. I received a message from a friend with a article saying Bill Gates is responsible. Jeff Epstein, too. Not sure how.
Honestly I feel it’s just like you said Daniel, TC’s supplier is cutting corners and the feed quality has gone down to where it no longer gives the chickens enough nutrition to support egg production. Wow that was a long sentence! I am also excited to see that Goose has starting to lay! Now if only she had a mate….little goslings galore! You could send some back to Lester and Jami! Remember folks always read the labels!💖💖💖
First off, I have to admit I have an unhealthy obsession with Bear! He is always the first one I look for in the articles. TSC feed is produced and bagged by Purina, just like so many other feeds. They are one of the largest supplier of feed under many different names. I have been using their feed for months and have no change in production. BUT I also supplement my birds with fermented grains, worms, black oil sunflower seeds, kitchen scraps, micro greens, and they free range. Also, they are 1st year layers. I believe there are many different factors to what’s going on. Are companies cutting corners with their ingredients? Probably, who isn’t cutting corners in this economy. I also believe we have had a huge influx of new chicken owners, and a lot of misinformation is floating around out there. There are so many factors to chickens laying. Breed, age, time of year, feed, health, stress, and how they are housed.
Honestly, it’s most likely related to the cold weather you guys had. Here in New England our chickens stop laying in the winter it’s a biological survival mechanisms that chickens have they know there won’t be enough to feed the babies in the winter so they stop laying eggs and then start laying again in the spring when it warms up!
Great article. Thanks for not jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon. I agree, I don’t think the government, or big corporate for that matter, has the time, money or inclination to try to mess with something like chicken feed. I think there’s even a saying about that! My grandparents had ducks, mostly mallards, and ate their eggs for years. My grandpa especially loved them. They had chickens too but they said the duck eggs were so much richer and bigger, as you pointed out.
One evening I asked our kindergarten, first and second graders in AWANA at church which came first…the chicken or the egg. Before I told them the answer, I said “Remember…chickens come from eggs!” To that, they joyously said out loud: “The egg!!!” I had to tell them they were wrong because there ain’t noooo way eggs rolled themselves up in to Noah’s Ark but chickens could easily walk in to The Ark! 🤣
Hi I live in Northern, Minnesota and it’s very cold here. As a matter of fact it’s minus 30 below right now. I never buy from tractor supply. And all of our chickens and geese and ducks are all free range chickens. Our hogs are all free range within a 10 acre fence area. I also don’t have any nesting boxes except one that my husband built for 6, but they only use 2 of the boxes. I have 80 ducks, I had 100 chickens but lost about 20 chickens to foxes . But that is solved this summer as my 3 puppies turned 1 yr on January 12th. I have Caucasian Ovcharka. Very protective! ( love your dogs, too funny) and my goose is already laying eggs even though I read they lay them in March to May. But I do have it in the incubator. So when my chickens start laying again ( which they have stopped) I will be incubating them to for the ones I lost. Great article ~ u just happened to come up in our feed on YouTube! Stay safe!
So nice that you can free range your chickens. Here in Iowa, they wouldn’t last overnight. Between the raccoons, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, chicken hawks, skunks, and who knows what else. We have a neighbor that is being buried by the eggs his chickens are laying. He is giving eggs away. He gives us a couple dozen a week and donates a bunch to the local food bank. Personally, I don’t know anyone who has had the problems with the TSC and the Purina feeds. I sure have been seeing a whole host of people who have though. Seeing them on you tube and Facebook. Thanks for doing this. You brought up some really good points.
I only clicked on your website because of the name ‘Arms’. Arms is my maiden name, on my paternal side. We’ve got family in OK. I was just taken a back that your website popped up. I have no clue if our history is connected. I just wanted to reach out and give you my best to you. From a only possible relative from south eastern KY. Blessings!
Before my Dad passed away in 2016 he raised chickens and sold eggs. He had for a period of time got his feed for the chickens from Tractor Supply and, over time feeding the chickens this feed they totally stopped laying. He questioned if, the chicken feed from Tractor Supply was the problem. So, he started grinning corn and feeding it to them, feeding table scraps to them and in about two weeks he could again gather eggs and fill his egg orders. He totally stopped using Tractor Supply feed altogether.
I’m 72 (DJ, nice foot wear in the barn yard !!) and I’m not sure the chicken feed thing is a conspiracy BUT, look how many warehouses and production companies have burnt down !!! There is a movement to decrease food & goods over the last 2 years and is being done by the elites. I suspect that this decreased egg laying is caused by this one company in order to save a few pennies and likely didn’t know that a minimum of protein was needed for hens to lay eggs. I sure do love all y’all’s programs, “Do Your Best” is wonderful as is AFH and the live streams of pond and donkeys and goats starting up – so relaxing! Thank you!!!
I just ran across your website…thank you for telling it like it us…some barges are stuck in Mississippi River or was a whole back n some was livestock feed. Best of wishes to your son tomorrow. You have a really nice place n so many different animals… Reba is beautiful… . Thank you for the info
I never fed tractor supply feed. My hens stopped laying for 3 weeks but figured it was normal since it’s winter and bad rain. I decided to let them out during the day for the first time on the 31st and all the sudden they’re laying again same day. So now I just let them out of the run every day and lock them up when they go back for the night. I have 4 hens, all 4 lay have been laying consistently since then. I think they are happier when aloud to roam. I still worry about coyotes but their happiness is important. I don’t think feed is affecting chickens. I think ALOT of people are new to chicken (like me) and didn’t realize they stop for the coldest part of the season
My hens (even the older ones) lay eggs according to how much light goes thru their eyes. Had an old farmer tell me that once and I experimented with hours of artificial light in my coop and i found that to be true. If you want more eggs, provide more hours of light. My girls don’t eat a whole lot of anything special. They get scratch in the mornings and scraps and bugs all day. Mostly tho, they seek sunlight and dust. At night, I offer them layer feed but no matter what brand or store it comes from, it is the light that makes a diff for my girls. I guess they don’t get on Facebook much, and neither do I! ❤❤
* I commented before I finished listening to you at the end and you said almost exactly verbatim what I said in the comments below I absolutely agree 100%. Quality of ingredients in the feed probably changed due to the reasons you stated. I just want to tell you that I appreciate you. I follow few folks in here lately due to the drama. I’m pretty sharp and appreciate your intelligence, kindness and rational expressions. I couldn’t agree with you more on this and many other issues. Plus I rescue donkeys so I love your wife too. Lol God bless your entire family
I happened to have an old Dumor feed tag and compared it to the new Dumor feed tag. Some of the analysis is slightly different, but the new feed has “ash” added to the feed at 15%. Its the highest percentage just below crude protein at 16%. Purina makes Dumor & Producer’s Pride brands also. I contacted the FDA & Purina and provided all kinds of information and feed samples to test. So far all I’m hear back is crickets, but I’m sure they are saving the crickets for to eat instead of eggs.
Talking about free range and coups, a local breeder/egg producer has a coup in the paddock with his hens, it has roosting space and boxes for laying. They are not locked in, and he has a significant winter egg reduction each year, but it increases when the temperature drops to a significantly lower temp. The coup is built on a trailer base so as to be able to relocate as required. He also has a relocatable shed that is also placed in the field where they will congregate during the nights and cold days.
I use a blend of 5 different things, scratch, cracked corn, crazy 8, crumbles and 16% pellet feed. My chickens have not stopped laying all winter so far, they have slowed down but not by much. I also have geese, turkey and ducks. None of them are laying right now. And as far as the tractor supply feed need to check the ingredients and compare it to one from a feed store. I buy all my feed from a feed store
We have about 30 laying hens, 13 are pullets. At the coldest point with shortest days we were getting 4-6 eggs a day. At that point we were probably only getting eggs from the pullets. We’re back up to a dozen a day now. We’re feeding an organic grower mix from a local mill in our state. We can’t free range in the winter due to fox/raccoons. We put out electric nets once the snow is gone. Egg quality is better then for sure.
You can have a roost/perch shelter with door,….once the sleep in there once the go back to sleep in the same place just before dark,…they said the one causing a problem was Purina. You can turn the chickens loose during the day and they will come back if you open the door at night then you shut the door at night just to keep them safe from predators. Then they also love going in to lay their eggs. In Paraguay we had to put a lock on it because the racoons could open the turn latch
We are feeding tractor supply chicken feed and have been buying it for some time now with great success. Our hens have been laying year round while our neighbors are telling us theirs stopped laying October and. November. We couldn’t believe it but it was so. What we do in November is stopped buying the layer pellets and started them on the scratch grains with the 6 grains bag mixed in for more protein for winter. Ours are locked inside of the night for warmth and safe from predators in the covered run . We have been getting 4 to 6 in the morning and another 8 to 14 in the evening. We like this mix for the winter months. We will go back to later pellets early spring for 3 months then to scratch only till winter. Works for us.
Here in Alaska, I promise I have less daylight most ppl during winter but with some Christmas lights, only the coldest days we use heatlamp. My chickens never stopped laying eggs just little fewer during winter but never stopped. Lots of kitchen scraps and local feed during winter they cannot really forage anything.
My Chix aren’t pastured due to hawks, bobcats & coyotes. We feed a pellet (not TSC brand), give them kitchen scraps & supplement with fermented grains, mealworms & add cracked corn in the winter. Definitely slow down in winter but never stop laying and they molt about every other year (not yearly). BTW our single campbell duck out-produces our 2 mallard ducks!
I mix my feed. Sometimes I get it from tractor supply. One of my hens laid eggs until Christmas. Stupidly, chickens molt in winter. My girls always stop laying starting in late oct depending on the bird. Some bird breeds are high production layers, some breeds are way less. This is likely related to seasons and breeds. My ameriquana ladies lay maybe 125 eggs a year. My barred rocks are closer to 280. 365. Days in a year. I toss all my garden snails to my ladies. I love the relationship you have with your beasties.
We don’t buy feed, our chickens free range and we give them scraps. We do but pumpkins, watermelons and other leafy greens for them. They tend to lay a little less in the winter. We also have geese and ducks. They lay mainly in the spring to early fall. We don’t have next boxes. During the summer months we make sure to get the eggs early to keep the hens from getting brudey. We do give them crushed egg shells.
Again thank you for this wonderful article. My sister has had chickens for so many years she has been on to me about getting chickens here in Montana but I won’t get any until I have the ideal conditions for chickens as we have cold winters and I also worry about keeping them cool in the summer. My sis has some cold winters as well and hot summers but I want the ideal conditions if anyone has tips or advice I am willing to learn.. we live in the suburbs my neighbor has a few hens but I have not seen them for quite awhile since they moved them.. Love these chickens we will never kill any chickens our families allow them to live out their life even after they no longer lay.
We used to have chickens, they go through a molting period an egg production slows down in winter. I’ve always believed this is an opportunity to give their bodies a rest. They got a lot of table food scraps and hunting for insects. If you want them to lay, use a heat lamp, I’ve heard that they start reproducing.
We have three year old hens that have been consistent layers from the start. We buy feed from the Amish and the hens free range most days. About October our hens started roosting in the trees outside the coop and we quit getting eggs. One evening, about 3 weeks into this funny behavior, while putting the hens in the coop, we discovered an opossum in the coop. He was eliminated. It took a few days until they went back in the coop at night. We still didn’t get any eggs for 2 or 3 weeks. Then 1 day, there was 35 eggs at one time. It had been a few days since we checked. Now we are getting 3 eggs a day. It’s winter and it has been cold, so I’m happy with that.
I agree with you, Daniel. Our chickens are laying still. Not as much as in the summer but they are still laying. Our free range chickens are laying better than our Brees that are in a chicken run right now, but I contribute that to their move to the new hen house caused them some stress. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We are definitely on the same page here.
I’ve been hearing about the TSC feed. That’s what I use because we don’t have a feed store in our area. So far, by the grace of God, my chickens have continued to lay all winter and I now have about 4 hens molting but still averaging 20 eggs a day out of 24 hens. We have ours in a coop and a run. I’m afraid to free range due to predators…including our own dogs. Lol. I hope to give them a few hours each day starting in spring to free range. Trying to train them to come to a bell to be fed so I can call them in if I have to leave where I can’t watch them.
That’s us. I don’t use tractor supply feed either, nothing against it.. It’s just I’ve used the same brand for 3 years. The weather is all over the place this winter, or it is in Western NC. Since the days are getting longer…we’re starting to get eggs again. Plus, ours are no longer “spring” chicks which means they aren’t going to lay as much. They even molted later this year. I still have one that’s just getting her feathers back. Extremely late for us.
Thanks for saying this. A lot of folks jump on the wagon. A lot of factors going into why chickens lay and dont lay……Age, youth, weather, daylight, availability of bugs etc… Ive used all types of feed and I experience the same every winter. Mine slow way down and have even stopped for weeks. This has been going on for years and I think it is just normal and they always pick back up when the days become longer and warmer and more bugs become available. Before seeing the article I was about to say… Here we go again with another one on the bandwagon.
I was getting feed at tractor supply, but started going to Atwood’s bc it’s closer. Either way, I haven’t gotten more than one egg a day since August. My chickens are out all day, we close the coop at night. I just got some feed at Lincoln county farm center called granny’s golden layer feed that they suggested. I figured it’s worth a try. My chickens are loving it much more than the other feeds we have used, so either way, we will probably stick with it because they like it. I’m pretty sure the egg issue is the wacky Oklahoma weather we’ve had.
In defence of Tractor supply. Here in Virginia, there are lots of big box grocery stores pulling their larege dog food bags off the shelves, putting them on pallets and shipping them to where ever and replacing them with smaller bags of dog food but keeping them priced about the same. But Tractor supply is keeping them priced the same. Although pricing is goinng up. Generally, prices of two big bags has gone up about $20, still they are cheaper than 4. No reason smaller bags are more expensive per pound, but my back feels better lifting them.
We sell eggs and have did not have many eggs during the hottest months of the summer. Now both chickens and ducks are laying like crazy. People have been asking me about their chickens or friends chickens not laying for months. I just saw a article from a lady who said she ferments her feed. (We do too) she said she started noticing that the feed she got from TS would not dissolve in water. She switched feed and just a few days later they began laying. I think you are right about a change of ingredients. Buy local whenever possible. Not hard to buy from a mill if it’s close by. Place your order and they load you up.
My chickens quit laying 6 months ago… I thought maybe they were getting sick so I didn’t do much but observe. After 3 months of no eggs I thought maybe they were just taking a break… after 5 months I started looking online and started to read all this about TSC feed. Since that was the primary feed I started looking for another source. A local farm was selling their screening feed. I obtained a 50 lb bag and within 3 days of them on new feed the started producing lots of eggs. I don’t know but 5 months of no eggs seemed strange! What do you think?
My 40 hens slowed down in December but I wasn’t always feeding tsc. In fact tsc’s prices were getting so high here in Eastern TN I’ve been using the local co-op for feed. I do give scratch and table scraps(they are really quite spoiled) and we’re getting 16 or so a day now. Also many were molting late fall. I also attribute it to most of my hens are over 2 yrs old so I expect fewer eggs. Question… how do you keep racoons etc from getting your chickens? Is it because of your dogs or because you have the larger animals? I enjoyed your article, thanks!
I have 26 hens. I’m still getting between 19 and 22 eggs a day. We get snow 3 months out of the year. My hens are free range. They have a heated hen house. They come and go as they please. We had a storm and 4 feet of snow last week. The girls are still laying daily. Our chickens free range. They also get vegetables from the garden and mealworms . I don’t like buying feed from the feed store, but I do buy chick starter for my chicks until they are fully feathered. I don’t buy the brand that seems to be having issues.
we also free range, but i also have a nesting coup for them.. they return to their coup at night and we lock them up so that they don’t get eaten and attacked by other predators… we also feed them layer pellets.. in the winter they eat more of the pellets than in the summer and spring, when the bugs are plentiful.
New viewer, hey from the Bluegrass. The “entity” responsible for the feed is also the “entity” responsible for our government. All the rabbit holes connect at the bottom. When the truth gets to painful, people look away, and don’t look back. That’s how very few control a great many. I guess you could call it a “deception” I enjoyed your presentation and ty for being willing to share there are treasures we can lay up
We don’t buy the two brands that Tarctor Supply manufactures and sells. They are missing two chemicals essential for laying eggs. It’s winter here, so we expected egg production to dwindle. It stopped altogether until I learned about the two Tractor Supply feeds lacking two essential chemicals that are necessary for egg production. So, we DO buy Purina Omega-3 feed at Tractor Supply, which is a little bit more expensive, but not much. Almost immediately after we started using the new feed, we had a startling increase in egg production, more than we had ever had before. I highly recommend Purina Omega-3.
Well I have had chickens since I was 12 years old, I’m 56 now. Through the years I have known that when the days are shorter in winter they stop laying eggs… I have been buying feed from tractor supply for the past three years and I can not say I’ve had a problem with their feed … This winter my chickens stop laying for about three weeks. Then they started laying again. I don’t think there is a problem with the feed I think it’s just that time of year when chickens take a break. One thing you can do is put a light bulb for about two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening that will for sure keep your childrens laying in winter…
Great article Daniel! I’ve been seeing tons on tsc feed. We feed the producers pride from tsc everyone is talking about and I’m just not having the same problems. We are getting lots of eggs every day and haven’t seen any slowing down yet. Not saying there couldn’t be something up or they are skimping on protein cause of shortages or cost, but nothing on our homestead pointing that direction yet. 🤷🏼♂️
I’ve been raising a small flock of hens for about 5 years now. I currently have 15bhens and 1 rooster. My chickens stopped laying in early November. I was feeding Purina layer pellets I get from a large box store. I switched to layer pellets formulated by a local small feed store and low and behold 2 day latter they started laying again. 2 weeks later and I’m now getting 10-12 eggs a day.
Thank you for this post, I agree with everything you said. Before you hear someone saying stuff on YT and go off on a tangent accusing “big brother” or “the man” or whomever, first of all ask questions about and find out who it is that is saying all this. BUT on the other hand I believe there are some people, usually “big business” that are reaping the harvest of minor problems. Business found out that they can slow down production, causing a shortage, and then increase prices because of the shortages and get the same income with lower overhead that comes along with “shortages” and therefore make the same or more profit. So how did big business change. Simple the Covid shut down brought the whole reversal of supply and demand. And big business is doing the exact same thing, it is now a demand and supply economy instead of the supply and demand. Cut back and make the supply lower, demand goes up and so do the prices and the profit. Think for yourself people, dont take the news that is offered to you by mainstream media as gospel. Dont take YouTubers word as Gospel. And lord knows, DON’T TAKE POLITICIANS WORD AS GOSPEL, THINK for yourself, use logic, listen to both sides and decide who is speaking the truth, or at least partial truth. Dont just follow some alarmist because he said something and made is sound like he is some kind of expert . heck dont trust wat ijust said, study the problem and reach your own mind up not follow like a heard of sheep.