Pullet Priming

Getting your young layers off to a great egg-producing start requires more than just switching to a layer feed.

- KRISTINA MERCEDES URQUHART

You've done the research. You've chosen your breeds, and your coop is freshly painted and ready to go. There are egg recipe books stacked high on the kitchen counters, and if you're anything like me with my first flock of chicks, tiny peeping noises are coming from the tub in your bathroom. So, what comes next?

Getting your laying birds off to a healthy start in life sets the stage for how well they'll lay for years to come. As you'll soon see, those tiny fluffy chicks grow in a matter of weeks. Their bodies are designed to grow rapidly and reach maturity quickly while still meeting developmental and physical milestones. But as their keeper, their surrogate mother hen, you have a big responsibility to feed those little bodies. Because one day, they'll feed you.

FIRST MOLT

At some time during the birds’ first autumn, they'll lose all their feathers and look positively disheveled. But don’t panic. Unless you can confirm or suspect a true illness or disease, your birds are probably molting.

Molting is a normal process of shedding feathers and regrowing new ones that all birds do. During this time, most egg laying will cease because the process is so taxing on a bird’s body. Hens still need to eat quite a bit and probably even need a little protein boost. Mealworms are a great treat, and allowing a chicken to forage for her own bugs on pasture while molting will support her through this annual process.

START AT THE BEGINNING

Chicks need all the elements for proper health and growth that adult birds do — just on a smaller scale. Chicks require adequate space in their brooder, roots to perch on (and practice flying up to, to strengthen legs and wings), fresh water, grit if given treats and, very importantly, the proper feed.