How to Care for Laying Hens on the Small Farm in Pakistan

Laying hen is a common term for a raised female chicken that is kept primarily for laying eggs. Some chickens are raised for meat, while others are raised to produce eggs, and some are dual-purpose. 

People can use older laying hens to eat or raise roosters alongside the chickens, but dispatch the roosters as plump, young birds for the table.

Raising laying hens is a different process than raising chickens for meat. Most laying hens will live five to seven years, laying eggs almost daily for about three of those years. 

You will have to consider whether you want to feed chickens that are no longer laying well or if this is an egg selling business where you really cannot afford to have "grain burners" living in your chicken coop, getting a free ride.

Housing

If you want to raise laying hens, decide what type of chicken coop you will need for them. You will need to make sure you follow the laws in your city, county, and state. 

This may limit the number of animals you can keep, whether or not you can have a rooster, and where the chicken coop can be located relative to your property line.

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Your configuration will also vary if you buy chicks, chicks (under 1 year old), mature laying hens, and if you are going to have a rooster or not. 

Chicks need much more heat to ensure their survival. Your hen house needs enough light, usually on a timer, to mature her chicks to lay eggs and keep her chickens producing year-round. 

If you live in cold weather, you will need to make sure that your laying hens are prepared to be comfortable in the winter.

Laying hens need their nests cleaned monthly. You should also clean and disinfect the chicken coop once or twice a year, take everything out, and wash it with a bleach solution of 1 to 10.

Feeding

You need to feed a laying hen properly to keep it producing. For those 16-20 weeks and older, it's time to switch them to a layered diet, which has extra calcium to help produce strong eggshells. 

This differs from a feed for broilers, which is made for those who raise other chickens. 

Layered feeding should provide a balanced diet with 16 to 18 percent protein and approximately 3 1/2 percent calcium to promote strong eggshells. 

Calcium deficiencies can result in eggs with thin shells and chickens with leg problems, so you may want to offer them a free oyster shell for extra calcium. 

Some farmers feed chickens with a high protein content when they are at peak egg production or when they eat less during warmer weather.

If you allow your chickens free-breeding privileges, they can eat anything from insects and grains to berries, seeds, and plants. 

Keep in mind that they will scratch your decorative plants and orchard, so you want to be able to protect those areas. 

Some farmers feed their chickens additional bread and cow's milk, although others advise against it.

Check out the best poultry feeds mill in Pakistan of chaudhryfeeds.com to buy the quality feed for your chickens.