Do you own CHICKENS? If so, is this happening to yours?

chickens typically lay less eggs in winter time, due to less sunlight. They go in for the night earlier. If you light up their pen, but have it on a timer, you can fool them into thinking the day is longer, some say that produces more eggs, I like to give mine the break they need during the winter, although my egg production has only slowed a little, they are still pooping them out quite regular. And the days are slowly increasing in time, and their production also agrees with that.

I feed them pellet (21%) and scratch grain. I let them out to eat what they can find about 3 times a week when I can be here to monitor them. 11 hens and no rooster and I get about 20 eggs every 3 days. In summer, I get about 12 a day, never knowing who the over achiever is. I ordered more chicks today, but they won't be here until July. But I was able to get specific breeds, which should be nice for the community.

a reply to: Waterglass

You know, I just remembered something when you brought up cattle feed.

Just a couple miles from me is a rancher... a huge rancher! This guy owns several hundred acres and it wouldn't surprise me to learn he has over 1000 head of cattle. I don't talk to him much (he's hard to get along with) but I do drive through his ranch on my way to town a lot.

A couple years ago, I noticed he was building a new pen in an area he had cleared out. As the weeks went by, I started wondering what it was for... had a special feeder set-up in the middle and it was small, only a few acres in size. Then I realized what it was: a "sick pen." That's a special pasture where one places sick cattle so they don't infect the rest of the herd. The feeder was necessary to give them special feeds to help them recover, and because the pen is too small to sustain all of them without supplemental feed.

Turns out, he was having a lot of trouble with his cattle getting sick and dying. He had never needed a sick pen before, but now he did. I found that out a few months ago through the grapevine. There's still a substantial number of cattle who are in that pen.

I don't know where he buys his feed, but it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't use TSC. The private feed businesses in this area are all but gone, leaving us with two main feed suppliers: the local Farmer's Coop and TSC. The Coop is pretty expensive compared to TSC, so it's likely he was getting feed from TSC.

We normally get our chicks from TSC every spring, along with a couple bags of chick feed to get them to adulthood... I don't have the infrastructure to raise multiple species like ducks and chickens at the same time, so that works for us. I will not be buying any more feed from TSC, and I'm not sure if we'll buy any more chicks. I'm working on making an incubator this spring to automatically hatch eggs for chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, peafowl, and about any other species, so as soon as we get some laying birds we'll be able to maintain our flock through multiple generations on our own (we've never had any luck letting birds hatch out naturally for some reason).

TheRedneck

I think it's a hoax against TSC...

A rumor was spread that TSC hosted a drag queen show... then about the same time someone started a story about TSC feed sterilizing your animals, chickens not laying eggs, etc... lol.

UPDATED: Why Is Tractor Supply Onboard For A “Family Friendly” Drag Queen Pride Event In Texas? – They’re Not

Tractor Supply has written a response regarding this event and confusion surrounding their support and/or involvement.

We appreciate and share your concerns. Unfortunately, inaccurate information has been circulating about the event and our involvement. Along with many local employers, we had a table at the Waco Pride Network, a festival held at a local park, in October. Our goals at the event were to inform attendees about the quality careers we offer and to support the community. Before the event, the organizers assured us that it would be family-friendly with food trucks, ‘normal’ music bands, etc. and made no mention of any inappropriate entertainment. We do not condone this type of entertainment nor would we support an event that included it. We have expressed our strong concerns, frustration, and disappointment about this to the organizers.

With our mission and values at the heart of what we do, our goal is to always support the communities we service in a positive manner. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to address your concerns and questions. We wish you and your family a happy holiday season.

Jill- TSC Customer Solutions Leader

a reply to: imitator

I think it's a hoax against TSC

Then why does changing the feed solve the problem?

I understand the motive of political vengeance, but the facts in this case seem to support the prevailing theory 100%: the feed from TSC is preventing chickens from laying eggs. I don't see how anyone can get past this one simple observation with so much evidence from actual chicken ranchers to prove it.

Unless you are suggesting someone besides TSC is poisoning the TSC feed? Wouldn't that get picked up by quality control systems? That would be a HUGE sabotage operation. TSC is a national franchise.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

This guy changed the feed and the eggs started to come back. a few seem to have changed to Goat feed. Which brought the eggs back. It looks like it is the feed. www.bitchute.com...

So, I just read this.

Tractor Supply Chicken Feed Reportedly Causing Egglaying to Stop, Board has Ties to WEF, Jeffrey Epstein

Online claims have emerged, corroborated by others, that the popular “Producer’s Pride” chicken feed sold by the Tractor Supply chain has been recently altered and that its new formulation is causing chickens to stop laying eggs. Some suggest a deliberate reduction in the amount of protein in the feed may be causing the reduction in egg production.

Hens do lay fewer eggs in the winter time due to reduced sunlight. Farmers have often used a light to expose hens to longer light so as to produce more egg-laying. Yet farmer sources report that they are seeing a much-greater-than-normal reduction in egg production, to the point where many report that hens are laying zero eggs instead of merely a reduced laying frequency. There is no word on whether this is a temporary or a permanent change among Tractor Supply feed.

The article says that not all feed is affected.

On another note, if you are a Tractor Trailer customer, did you know?

Tractor Supply has a board of directors composed of 10 individuals. One of them, Joy Brown, is a former executive for Vanguard, an index fund with $5 trillion under management. The three big index funds, Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, substantially financially support the World Economic Forum for the western world, and sources say also for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the eastern world.

More info in the article.

Maybe this is why they sponsored a 'family friendly' drag queen show in TX.

originally posted by: imitator
I think it's a hoax against TSC...

A rumor was spread that TSC hosted a drag queen show... then about the same time someone started a story about TSC feed sterilizing your animals, chickens not laying eggs, etc... lol.

UPDATED: Why Is Tractor Supply Onboard For A “Family Friendly” Drag Queen Pride Event In Texas? – They’re Not

Tractor Supply has written a response regarding this event and confusion surrounding their support and/or involvement.

We appreciate and share your concerns. Unfortunately, inaccurate information has been circulating about the event and our involvement. Along with many local employers, we had a table at the Waco Pride Network, a festival held at a local park, in October. Our goals at the event were to inform attendees about the quality careers we offer and to support the community. Before the event, the organizers assured us that it would be family-friendly with food trucks, ‘normal’ music bands, etc. and made no mention of any inappropriate entertainment. We do not condone this type of entertainment nor would we support an event that included it. We have expressed our strong concerns, frustration, and disappointment about this to the organizers.

With our mission and values at the heart of what we do, our goal is to always support the communities we service in a positive manner. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to address your concerns and questions. We wish you and your family a happy holiday season.

Jill- TSC Customer Solutions Leader

I live in TX. They sponsored the event. Go look at my new thread. TS is a leftist WEF entity.

a reply to: TheRedneck

I'm not defending TSC, it's just odd after the Waco Pride event those stories started circulating. Plus, everyone I know doesn't have problems with the feed at TSC... but who knows, it could be limited to location or a bad run on a feed brand.

You also have to add in the high egg prices, which equals lots of new people raising backyard chickens. Most of whom don't have a clue about raising chickens. And there are lots of them!!! LOL

Plus the timing of the stories, chickens lay fewer eggs in the winter months to conserve energy, also due to decreased sunlight exposure and colder temperatures. Changing feed during this time doesn't necessarily mean it's the feed, something new will encourage them to lay whether the feed is bad or not. Even after a year of changing to a new feed, they could again stop laying during the winter.

It's like when you find out a UFO sighting was a CGI hoax, then you get hundreds of people seeing the same thing... which in fact was a hoax. People are influenced, and it explains the unknown for them.

There are no 100% facts... as it would be simple to test some chickens or the feed. Yet none has done that.

a reply to: imitator

Most backyard chicken owners do not have the time or the money to analyze all the feed they give their chickens. My Brother realized a problem long before any of this started being discussed on the internet.

He didn't know why his chickens were not laying as many eggs. Winter had just started, but we live in Florida. Time started changing in March, and they were not molting. So he didn't have a clue. He just decided to change the brand of food, because I told him the quality of almost everything has gone to hell, and maybe it was the feed. Again, this was months before we heard anything about other people having problems.

He decided to hold of all feed and see what happened. Viola! The chickens started laying again. He started supplementing their food with ground oyster shells, greens, berries, and meal worms. They started laying like crazy. So now he just doesn't bother with the pre formulated feeds. He mixes his own.

So far, so good.

a reply to: imitator

I'm sure TSC has made some serious money on selling chickens to new flock owners... I know last year we had to call every day to find the pullets we wanted (and even then we had to take ISA Browns instead of Rhode Island Reds). And where do these new flock owners buy their feed from? Tractor Supply! I bet most of them actually have no idea that feed even matters.

And that doesn't cover the feeders, waterers, coops, fencing... I would suspect that most of these folks that started raising chickens probably don't know anywhere else they can get chicken supplies. So it's been a boom overall for TSC; I think it may wind up destroying their reputation, though.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Thankfully, as I've said, we have an alternative, Family Farm & Home. The only thing I get now at TSC is my dog food, their brand, but I am thinking about switching that out now too.

As far as your issue with getting a hen to brood? There are certain breeds that are better at it. We have 1 hen, that will peck you til you bleed, if you try to get eggs out from under her. And she is a great mom. Can't remember what she is though, as she was given to us. Black stars are good too, as we had one hatch 3 duck eggs, that I didn't want. LOL

I get most of my girls from Murray McMurry??? something like that. It is a catalog, and they ship the birds overnight. Haven't lost one yet, and they have been around for a long time. Lots of details about all the breeds in the catalog.
Heck, you can get a swan pair if you want. And if you're rich. LOL

originally posted by: chiefsmom
a reply to: TheRedneck

Thankfully, as I've said, we have an alternative, Family Farm & Home. The only thing I get now at TSC is my dog food, their brand, but I am thinking about switching that out now too.

As far as your issue with getting a hen to brood? There are certain breeds that are better at it. We have 1 hen, that will peck you til you bleed, if you try to get eggs out from under her. And she is a great mom. Can't remember what she is though, as she was given to us. Black stars are good too, as we had one hatch 3 duck eggs, that I didn't want. LOL

I get most of my girls from Murray McMurry??? something like that. It is a catalog, and they ship the birds overnight. Haven't lost one yet, and they have been around for a long time. Lots of details about all the breeds in the catalog.
Heck, you can get a swan pair if you want. And if you're rich. LOL

Duck eggs get a bad rep because most Americans just did not grow up eating them.

My neighbor said she hated duck eggs because they taste too gamey. I had several other folk say they never had duck eggs, but didn't think they would like them. So I did a blind egg tasting.

They recognized some of the duck eggs because of the size, but I had a couple jumbo chicken eggs on the plates, so they did not get them all right.

Guess what! They all loved the duck eggs.

My neighbor said my duck eggs did not taste anything like the duck eggs she remembered.

I had to remind her that all hens lay eggs, but not all chickens are raised for laying eggs. Same if the hen is a duck.

a reply to: TheRedneck

My brother's success, is a good coop. A huge good run, and a good dog.

We have a big problem with coyotes, hawks, racoons, and few other little chicken bandits, but I give Rock Head all the credit for keeping the ducks and chickens safe.

a reply to: imitator

I think it's a hoax against TSC...

No hoax:

[1] We used TSC generic bird seed for 20 years. Then in 2019 or 2020 the birds would NOT eat it. Nor would the ducks, geese, crows, deer, raccoons. I dumped an entire bag on the shoreline. It all rotted as no one would eat it. I bought replacement seed from ACE hardware. Birds returned in one day

[2] Florida Department of Agriculture investigated massive cattle deaths in 2019. Issue was traced to TSC cattle feed

[3] Chicken issue has 100's of hits on internet, facebook, instagram, twitter and on and on

DO YOU OWN TSC STOCK OR ARE AN EMPLOYEE? Please provide a transparent disclosure for the ATS membership!

a reply to: Waterglass

Again, not defending TSC

[1] It was all rotted?
You didn't notice the feed was rotted before feeding them?

A lot of people don't store their feed properly, maybe your bird feed got wet and moldy, and that's why your birds didn't eat. Who knows lol... It's easy to tell if it's "rotted."

[2] That was Purina feed, TSC is not the only one who sells Pride, etc... lots of locally owned farm and ranch stores sell it too.

[3] No proof, only internet hearsay... no tests on chickens or the feed.

I don't own stock at TSC... though I do have a TSC rewards card. lol

This is no hoax I can testify.
All my tranny birds love TSC feed and the tranny hens are laying just as much now as they did before they transitioned....
Wait....
What?

originally posted by: imitator
a reply to: Waterglass

Again, not defending TSC

[1] It was all rotted?
You didn't notice the feed was rotted before feeding them?

A lot of people don't store their feed properly, maybe your bird feed got wet and moldy, and that's why your birds didn't eat. Who knows lol... It's easy to tell if it's "rotted."

[2] That was Purina feed, TSC is not the only one who sells Pride, etc... lots of locally owned farm and ranch stores sell it too.

[3] No proof, only internet hearsay... no tests on chickens or the feed.

I don't own stock at TSC... though I do have a TSC rewards card. lol

a reply to: imitator

Purina does make (some of) TSC's feed, and Purina also supplies other brands. Remember that Puritan's Pride is not the only feed that has been implicated from reports, though... it's just the most common one.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Right on, I certainly wouldn't recommend any Brands that Purina is associated with. They have a bad rap sheet, also with poisoning dog food.

But... the timing of certain events; the chicken story has been circulating for several months; with no tests, no recalls and the feed is still selling like hotcakes.

Pick your poison lol.

a reply to: imitator

What can I say? Fools and their money are soon parted. Combine economic distress with ignorance and they get parted fast.

I'm looking onto beekeeping on a small scale just to keep honey in the house and help the garden pollinate. I see the exact same thing I see with chickens: you can spend a fortune with the big suppliers on hoping that you'll be successful, or you can listen to people who do it, are happy to help you get started, and will show you how to start without spending a lot.

TheRedneck

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn
Oh, I like the eggs, and baking with them? Everything is fluffier, like my breakfast casserole.
Just didn't need any more ducks, which turned out to be boys anyway, and boy ducks are jerks. Got rid of them thankfully. Love my girls, but ducks are super messy. They love mud like pigs, and dig holes with their beaks.