FOR YOUR INFO: This is obviously a limited calculation since it just monitored one month and didn't take molt into consideration. However february is a winter month and they are expected to lay better spring - summer. Hope get more stats from a whole year.
True enough. However, if the average were higher than the 250 used the breeder would use this number in their sales-pitch. I wouldn't discount an influential variable not mentioned, -God's favor. Either way I'm sure you're thankful your profitability is based upon a lower than production number.
Thanks for the pitch.. Your previous video on "Bresse" convinced me to try them out in our first flock this spring. We got some from a hatchery in Mississippi and ended up with two "bresse" hens, two barnevelders, and two bedevelders out of an original 13 chicks.. The young bresse roosters were the heaviest when we processed them and the hens were first to lay.. Not to mention they have the best temperment of all our birds, hands down. thanks man!
You may have found a significant production formula: Consistent care and feeding+ good bedding+ spacious coup+ well-selected breed for conditions. Your results provide an interesting insight into chicken and egg production. Thanks!
I really think the higher egg production is because of how you treat all your animals......I know very little about chickens but I have always had pet birds. They love being spoken to and love attention. My birds, usually quiet, get very vocal when I am speaking, almost like they want to join in the conversation...Keep up the good work Simeon !! Great video.
Need to do this year round and graph it... include the ages of chickens and perhaps daylight into the this as well. The more factors you come up with could mean a lot of money to expand or fund other ventures.
We get 5-6 eggs per week from our Bresse hens during non molt months. You are spot on, and must be feeding your Bresse very good feed at this time. Feed makes all the difference in the world for egg and fertility, growth rates of young birds/chicks, and overall health and longevity. Thank you for sharing. I know it's an old video, but the interest in Bresse here in the USA has been ENORMOUS starting in 2021/22 and continuing to climb in 2023. Many blessings, Buddy and Jenn
First off, really enjoy you and your brothers videos. Thank you. Interestingly our conditions here in Central Michigan USA are quite similar to yours. Including our chicken coop. Deep wood chips and currently lots of extra space. Our chickens are also well fed and happy. Using these techniques our laying and growth records have been consistently better than any of our neighbors including the same heritage beeeds we have (australorp, light brahma, Wyandottes in limited numbers). It is getting really obvious to us that the happy, healthy (we even have music in our coop), well fed and clean conditions we have ate supporting great production from our birds. Again i was surprised to see how similar our coops are. We are also fairly new to this property. We have not finalized our mix of breeds for the long term and intend to try the American Bresse quite soon. Really enjoy your videos and attitude. Oh the new microphone works great. We have also decided on guinea hogs AND belted galoways (for the same reasons as you). The size of the American Guinea Hogs is fine for us. We are pretty well established we our rabbits and will share info with you if and when you start them. The best of luck to you and we are sure you will do well. We can grow and stumble together. Please keep it up.
Jerry - I'm in upper Oregon and we typically only have about 30 days a year of freezing weather, however the rains slow the girls from typical free ranging which drives up food costs. We also use a radio and have had good results from the addition - soft classical has been a charmer for our birds from the time they get out of the incubator on - it's an unused tool many miss out on! I'm a transplant who misses those beautiful Michigan sights! Wishing you the Best
I just love watching your show it is so informative as well as entertaining. No whining even though facing or dealing with problems just sharing solutions to problems that will come up n every day life of a farmer or homesteaders . Keep up the great work. I love your choice of cows and chickens. You look not jump into things, no playing follow the leader in your vocabulary . Great job.
Great video Simeon! And thank you for minimizing the chicken noise this time. It was much more pleasant to hear you talking about your success with this breed. Now I have to find a source for this breed here in the states. Looking forward to your update video on this topic as the year progresses.
I enjoy your channel immensely. I wanted to point out one little thing. Chickens are raised in a coop and horses are in stable, that is in my part of the world. Keep up the good work .I like having my coffee in the morning on your farm.
You have a really good channel and we are a new subscriber and look forward to watching all of your videos . We live in the country and are getting into raising chickens. Keep making those videos.
Glad to hear they continue to exceed expectations!! Breed has a lot to do with production, but it also very much comes down to care and maintenance. Happy, healthy chickens lay the best and you obviously have that. Always a pleasure. Keep up the great content
I raise chickens here in Minnesota. The winter was off to a rough start. They are laying well, but I have noticed with our extreme temperature and weather changes that there will be a day between those changes where they will not lay. They prefer the outdoors but will stay in when the Temps crash. So far we have spring like temps and the eggs look good but the hens look rough and are vigorous. I indulge them with a good ration and will be hatching my own. I do like Lakenvelders for layers and I use the Langshan for setters. The pearl white leghorn and new Hampshire are the most consistent and lay the best and earliest. The Langshans have very pretty eggs.
Even with molts figured into the equation, you should be looking at well over 200 eggs/year if your math is correct. That's really good for a heritage breed. I bet you can find a market for ground chicken, as well. That's a good way to use layers after they're done producing eggs, and has gained in popularity recently in Sweden.
I just bought some Bresse. Eggcited to see how they do. My Speckled Sussex laid all of January and February. I had a broody hen hatch 9 chicks Feb. 2019. Amazing birds as well and almost an egg every day no matter the weather. We shall see how the Bresse do!
This is great news. You are absolutely right your chickens are doing fantastic. Winter laying is not always successful but you are doing something right. Keep up what you have been doing.
You doing a dam goo job with your Bresse chickens ! That is one of the best all purpose breed on the planet ! The best for high end meat production as well as eggs production and they are very tolerant for cold environment also ! You got the best breed available for your cold climate area only tell me that you done your home work thoroughly ! Being that said , always give your self credits and pat your self on the back cause no one else will ! Normally I would say good luck but you don't need it ! You are doing an outstanding job and thank you for the videos ! It was very educational !
Would love to try the Bresse breed. In my own experience, White Leghorns are unsurpassed in egg production. They were developed for this purpose and it is in their genes to lay eggs on a nest where they belong. They're a very amazing breed. Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks I've also found to be excellent layers.
Simeon I fully agree February is dark month, but do not forgot to consider it is time of real quick increase of daylight which is the profit for hens to attract them to hatch. Quantity of the laying eggs will probably drawdown months from Oktober to December. I love your channel, I can learn and also assure many of my thoughts.
The Bresse we have in the HOT, Alabama swamp lands, are the only hens laying in the horrid heat! I was shocked because these hens where laying and the heritage hens had stopped laying and these gals were just laying like every day! Totally impressed! The challenge with a chicken is the extreme heat and the extreme cold. If they continue to lay no matter what, they are keepers!
It's probably because you have given your chickens good food, water and care, a pleasant environment and good vibes. :) Really! Happy chickens lay more eggs.
I have 23 chickens and get 18 to 20 eggs a day. I live in Texas, and it is warm year round. We did put a light up when the days were so short. We put the light up to come one early and go off when it is daylight outside. I had no loss of egg production in the winter. We give away dozens of eggs as we can't eat them all, and I'm not into selling the eggs.
Most realistic homestead channel on youtube. Survival Russia, in my opinion, is the most realistic survival channel. Both are honest and straight forward. I suggest people who can support both channels with a small Patreon subscription. I know they won't ask for it so I will.
Simeon, No argument as to your calculations, however you also must consider the "off: times when they are molting or broody etc. A very good point brought up also, is the small flock size also is a "Stress Reducer" which encourages egg production. I found for our needs a flock of about 15 or 16 birds with 2 roosters was good, but then I added 16 hours of soft classical music for them and production went up a nearly 15%. Trying to figure out chickens is like trying to explain why we only see one side of the moon to a 5 year old. Some things are best left appreciated and never fully understood. LOL
Trust that you have our attention on the production of the breed. I'm cheering for your success, as developing the heritage breeds is one of our goals here too! As to shipping - we investigated and saw the Swedish laws are very strict and limit where you can ship eggs. If not, we might well have done business already! LOL FYI - presently 5 major poultry farms are breeding the Breese - and charging (hold on to something sturdy) 1 US Dollar equals X 29 or about 9.05 Swedish Krona = 262.55 Krona .... unsexed!
We add a white light set on timer, give our birds hot oatmeal at night and to help them lay we add hot sauce to their food. My chicken coop we don't use red heat lamp. We do deep bed method. We let our chickens set when they get broody. Never had lunch hatching my own eggs
Another interesting video. These chickens started to lay in July after a molt? February makes the 8th month after the molt. I agree, their rate of lay is unexpected, but welcome.
I'll bet that you take better care of your chickens than too many farms. I hope the numbers work out for you. BTW I just LOVE that old school hinge on the door in the background of your second shot, way cool! Cheers!
I just received 3 "blue" Bresse in a shipped egg "surprise" buy. The air sacks had to boots put to them in transit. One hatched, he's three weeks now and growing by far faster than any chick I've hatched. Of course, the fact that he's running around the KITCHEN all the time might explain that. I've ordered some white Bresse just today from the same Canadian breeder. Known for quality stock.
I was born in a big city. I love animals, agriculture and nature. One day hopefully I will leave Munich and move to Mediterannian Sea and start my own little farm with my family. Each time watch such videos the more unpatient I get. Thanks for the upload.
Science for the win! You keep good records. Agriculture gives you such small profit margins that you have to take advantage of everything that works in your favor.
I have 4 heritage breeds. 1 of each breed (barred rock, silver lace wyandotte, buff orphington, and rode island red) lol. The rest (I have 10 total) are golden comets.
I think once you get past the winter solstice the hens sense that the days are getting longer and spring is coming and will step up production. In the fall when days are getting shorter they will slow down. It's hard to tell what the annual production is without counting eggs all year. When my current layers are retired I will try the Bresse breed too. They sound wonderful.
Another great video Simeon! You just have happy chickens, happy chickens lay better! They have all their needs met, that's what makes them such happy chickens.
Leghorns are beautiful!! Just tell them, they'll agree. Best layers ever. Mine is a pet, 7 yrs. old, lays 1-2 eggs daily. 2 isn't common on a daily basis, but she is treated very, very well. 🤩
Good approach. You might want to consider seasonality issues using that methodology, for instance, if you had the same data for December and January how do you think that would that impact your numbers? Also are there any known issues that would effect hot months?
Larry Hays I was thinking the same thoughts Larry. I suspect Simeon has more data that would be useful in tweaking an annual egg estimate, but I have zero experience with poultry farming. I've always worked with financial projections based on shopping centers, office buildings, etc. The math is pretty much the same, but the tenants are much different! Hopefully, Simeon will share more of his historical information.
Hey Larry. Yes. This is obviously a limited calculation since it just covered one month. However, February is typically not the month where they perform the best. December and January would probably be somewhat lower but April-August higher. Expect 6 eggs / chicken / week in summer. I hope to monitor this more this year.
Swedish Homestead Thanks Simeon. From experience, I know projections can be tweaked to death by adding more and more detailed variables (avg temperature, age of chickens, etc.), but you seem to have a lot of data to use. I don't think it would be worth obsessing over, but for the fact you consider egg production as a business. Regardless, I wish you the best, and I hope those with more relevant experience will offer his or her opinions to help you succeed more,than you have already. 😊
Impressive stats!!! I've had a lot experience working with statistics and definitely don't want to be a wet blanket, but I like to see if you could continue tracking these chickens for a whole year and then the flock you maintain for multiple years. Sometime groups are extremely consistent & other times they can vary greatly. I got my fingers crossed for you that your chickens continue to out preform your, the sellers & that other farms expectations.
That is a sign that you have happy healthy chickens. They lay better in those conditions. When we raised chickens we kept them in a modified dog pin approximately 6ft. X 10ft.. Coupe and run on casters to easily reposition. I would do this much differently now but, this was our first try. With this configuration it cost us about $20 a month in feed and bedding for a dozen chickens. We got more eggs than we could eat a day.
Thanks for the good presentation. I am breeding Bresse chickens for the second year running and I come to compare tif numbers of eggs. It is also a very good meat bird.
That is an excellent performance for February, but you really should wait for a full 12 month cycle before you predict any fantastic performance,(as I am sure you are going too), given the temperature and light, and that this is their second season, you can be very pleased with this laying ratio, well done, have you tried the Old English Game for table birds, slow maturing but able to look after themselves, and excellent eating.
Hatchery could sell the male chicks to the farmers who likes to raise chicken outdoor. I raised them several times,they grow little slower than broiler chickens but they taste much better than broiler. You also could raise them in a shed.
This is awesome! I hope they keep it up and do even better. You have become my favorite utube personality. Positive energy and thoughts going your way I hope the great one blesses your family farm
Fantastic information. I enjoy your videos very much. The hope for the future rests with organic farming and small collectives. Our general health demands it. Keep researching and lets allow all researchers to freely shre their results. Thank you
You have to take in account the molting period as well. Since this is the second year, you will have them molting with in a few months and the laying declines during that time. Pray the don't all molt at the same time. :-)
Thank you that’s really interesting. I watched one of your videos and was inspired to incubate 12chicken eggs. There are just 2 days to go. I have a smallholding with my husband but we don’t sell eggs - I’ve gone for an Orpington breed. I really like the way you consider and respect your hens. I think you’re right in this regards. Again thank you x
being a city guy never really around farm animals i started looking up chicken types because of this video and found 1 called a silkie chickens crazy soft feathers but the shocker was they have a blueish black shin and bones.......
That is a great production for chickens, but when I had chickens, they didn't really lay much when they were moulting their feathers. When they are 18 months to 2 years old, suddenly, they start losing their feathers.
I down know much about caring for birds other than what I've been seeing on your videos. but i for sure agree with the others in the comments on saying, you've got some happy birds. and that's for sure helping you out with how many eggs you can get off them even in gross seasons. happy animals make for better outcome 😊
For us non-farmers, could you also mention how many years does your average chickens lay eggs? Are the eggs all fertilized? Do you subtract from your profit margin the number of male chicks which get killed on purpose? Once a hen stops laying, do they become roasting hens?
I would assume that you multiply your number by 300 to get a more realistic number. 365 is not accounting for molt and deep winter. You can usually account for 10 months of a year that they lay.
Have you raised Delawares? Also another heritage breed is the Pita Pinta Asturiana. They are fantastic birds, a bit on the lighter side of chicken breeds but are fantastic layers, foragers and are one of my most economical birds. (feed consumption) Most of the people I know that have tried Bresse find the males to be a bit aggressive and have not been "awed" by their flavor. Delawares are more common than Pita in the US but quality birds are rare. In the US I only know of a handful of breeders of Pitas. (Who all seem to stem from a single source) Since you are in Europe you might be able to find and acquire them easier we can. Not sure about Delawares outside the US either. Both birds are worth preservation as heritage breeds. A good line of Delaware makes a decent table bird at around 16 weeks. Where as a Pita will make a 3lb neck off dressed bird at around 20 weeks. (cockerels) If you are up to trying the Pitas I highly recommend them if you can get them. Also if you sell birds to back yard keepers the Pitas make awesome birds for the family back yard.
You are right about deep winter. February is one of the darkest months here though and besides January the strongest winter month. This was obviously a limited calculation since it just monitored one month. It is interesting nevertheless since I suspect a higher egg production during spring and summer. Hope to come with more stats. My bresse roosters are super calm. With the right feed you can have a 4-5 pound, dressed bresse rooster at 14 weeks. No breed I know can compete with that.
I use to calculate with just 300 days of laying for my chickens. Than you end up with about 220 eggs a year. They mould and than they dont lay any eggs at all. We have Plymouth Rock, Australorp and Delaware. Starting up now with Bresse also from Germany. We are in Sweden and build butchery on farm and sell eggs and meat from just heritage breeds. Interesting to get some statistics of you
Have been enjoying your videos. I've found that my hen's lay best by what they eat. (and daylight) good feed and enough feed. This winter we have hit temps below freezing even in the day. But our summers are long and humid and hot.
I am seriously tempted to but some of those eggs the next time I get a broody hen .. it seems like they take the Swedish winters really well, or perhaps they are just really well cared for .. :)
Hey Simeon thank you for sharing this. But i think you forgot to calculate the time when they change their feathers...or waht if they want to sit on their eggs an breed them? looking forward for updates about this.
Are you counting the time they go broody, in addition to molt when they stop laying? To get a truly accurate measurement, I agree, you would need to keep track for the whole year. I look forward to updates. My buff orpingtons lay quite a bit during the times they arent broody or molting. The hatchery says about 250/hen/year on the buffs, but Id estimate its lower than that. I havent done records for a whole year, since they are hatching their own and Im always removing birds from the flock for sale or meals. I currently have some american bresse eggs from a friends flock who bought eggs from greenfire farms last season. The eggs are huge as you mentioned, but I am worried they wont be quite as good since the diversity of the gene pool isnt as good here in the US as it is in the EU.
Interesting, I have 3 barred rock starting their 5th year. Because I am near the salt water and at the 47.25 parallel I am able to keep them in a chicken tractor on fresh grass each day. I move them onto fresh grass and give them 2 cups of soaked wheat at sunset each day and collect the eggs. Beginning Feb. 15 they started an average of 2 eggs per day. Each hen lays a slightly different shell so I know all 3 are laying, it just takes more than a day for them to make an egg.
How much better can you get than an egg per chicken per day (almost )? You have me convinced that they, if not the best a very good, are a way to go when selecting a breed to raise.
One viewer from Germany commented that bresse is the only breed that has reached close to hybrid numbers. There are records of bresse laying 300 eggs/year. That is crazy!
Es gibt einen Eintrag eines Züchter, der drei oder vier Hennen mit Jahreslegeleistungen von über 300 Eiern hatte. Damit sind die Bresse die einzige Hühnerrasse, die an die Legeleistungen der Hochleistungshybriden mit 330 Eiern herankommt.
Swedish Homestead Genau das :) ich habe im Hühnerforum von Leuten gelesen, deren Gockel nach 16 Wochen teilweise schon 3,2kg und mehr wogen. Natürlich ohne besonderes Futter oder ständiges Licht!
I loved this video. Hope to see more like them in the future.. Since your sample size (number of chickens) are low, maybe you are just lucky.. Keep more records, and see how they do in the next few months.. You might have gotten lucky and got a set of chickens with an aggressive egg laying gene.. :) LOL
Swedish Homestead Hi Simeon, have you considered a career as a spokesman for Bresse chickens ? LOL. I do not know how far you are from a large supermarket type of store. I have a large WalMart store that is about 12-13km from me. I noticed that the store discards a tremendous amount of produce daily. Filling about two large dumpsters per week. So I asked the produce manager if I could have some of that discarded produce for feeding my chickens. He agreed that I could. So twice a week I go and retrieve two large plastic bags of waste produce. My 30 chickens can not eat all of that produce ! So the excess goes into the compost pile to feed the worms there. The result is that I have no feed costs for my chickens. I collect so much waste produce that it is quite economical to drive to WalMart to collect the waste produce. I am going to talk to the produce manager of a supermarket that is closer to me which will be even more economical for me. Both in fuel costs as well as time cost. But with this waste produce available I am considering perhaps a pig or two. I have searched for an incubator like yours but can not find anything close to it. Can you send me more information about yours ? dhmill827@gmail.com
I have a neighbor (well, 5 miles away, but) who raises half a dozen pigs on mostly the waste from the produce dept of a small (20,000sf) grocery store. He gets 30-50 gallons a day, and it's on his way from work so no special trip.
I would think the breeders association would want to give you a more conservative number, I'm sure depending on the conditions in which the chickens are raised the numbers will very greatly. Sounds like your chicken get exactly what they need nutrition, water, shelter wise in a low stress environment. Great informative video as always. Ps sounds like you could use a timer on their light that way you don't have to worry about turning it on and off, it may save you a few dollars in electricity to boot.
FOR YOUR INFO: This is obviously a limited calculation since it just monitored one month and didn't take molt into consideration. However february is a winter month and they are expected to lay better spring - summer. Hope get more stats from a whole year.
hej! Vad tycker du om bakterier (campylobacter) i kyckling?? www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/uppsala/krafttag-mot-bakterier-i-kyckling
True enough. However, if the average were higher than the 250 used the breeder would use this number in their sales-pitch. I wouldn't discount an influential variable not mentioned, -God's favor. Either way I'm sure you're thankful your profitability is based upon a lower than production number.
SLFYSH you forget to add in molt and broodingness of hens when they won't lay take out around 30 eggs for that
same opinion
Thanks for the pitch.. Your previous video on "Bresse" convinced me to try them out in our first flock this spring. We got some from a hatchery in Mississippi and ended up with two "bresse" hens, two barnevelders, and two bedevelders out of an original 13 chicks.. The young bresse roosters were the heaviest when we processed them and the hens were first to lay.. Not to mention they have the best temperment of all our birds, hands down. thanks man!
dude I think it's because your chickens are happy
They seem to enjoy freedom of speech!
correct!
The level of stress is a key feature in egg production.
dude, I think it's because his chickens are Swedish! lol.
You may have found a significant production formula: Consistent care and feeding+ good bedding+ spacious coup+ well-selected breed for conditions. Your results provide an interesting insight into chicken and egg production. Thanks!
I really think the higher egg production is because of how you treat all your animals......I know very little about chickens but I have always had pet birds. They love being spoken to and love attention. My birds, usually quiet, get very vocal when I am speaking, almost like they want to join in the conversation...Keep up the good work Simeon !! Great video.
Need to do this year round and graph it... include the ages of chickens and perhaps daylight into the this as well. The more factors you come up with could mean a lot of money to expand or fund other ventures.
yes.
We get 5-6 eggs per week from our Bresse hens during non molt months. You are spot on, and must be feeding your Bresse very good feed at this time. Feed makes all the difference in the world for egg and fertility, growth rates of young birds/chicks, and overall health and longevity. Thank you for sharing. I know it's an old video, but the interest in Bresse here in the USA has been ENORMOUS starting in 2021/22 and continuing to climb in 2023. Many blessings, Buddy and Jenn
Thanks!!!
First off, really enjoy you and your brothers videos. Thank you. Interestingly our conditions here in Central Michigan USA are quite similar to yours. Including our chicken coop. Deep wood chips and currently lots of extra space. Our chickens are also well fed and happy. Using these techniques our laying and growth records have been consistently better than any of our neighbors including the same heritage beeeds we have (australorp, light brahma, Wyandottes in limited numbers). It is getting really obvious to us that the happy, healthy (we even have music in our coop), well fed and clean conditions we have ate supporting great production from our birds. Again i was surprised to see how similar our coops are. We are also fairly new to this property. We have not finalized our mix of breeds for the long term and intend to try the American Bresse quite soon.
Really enjoy your videos and attitude. Oh the new microphone works great.
We have also decided on guinea hogs AND belted galoways (for the same reasons as you). The size of the American Guinea Hogs is fine for us.
We are pretty well established we our rabbits and will share info with you if and when you start them. The best of luck to you and we are sure you will do well. We can grow and stumble together. Please keep it up.
That's awesome. Thanks for sharing. Hope it goes well!
Jerry - I'm in upper Oregon and we typically only have about 30 days a year of freezing weather, however the rains slow the girls from typical free ranging which drives up food costs. We also use a radio and have had good results from the addition - soft classical has been a charmer for our birds from the time they get out of the incubator on - it's an unused tool many miss out on! I'm a transplant who misses those beautiful Michigan sights!
Wishing you the Best
Rancher Jerry where in central Michigan are you? I'm near Lansing. Do you sell locally?
I just love watching your show it is so informative as well as entertaining. No whining even though facing or dealing with problems just sharing solutions to problems that will come up n every day life of a farmer or homesteaders . Keep up the great work. I love your choice of cows and chickens. You look not jump into things, no playing follow the leader in your vocabulary . Great job.
Great video Simeon! And thank you for minimizing the chicken noise this time. It was much more pleasant to hear you talking about your success with this breed. Now I have to find a source for this breed here in the states. Looking forward to your update video on this topic as the year progresses.
more children are born 9 months after a poweroutage during cold winterdays here in holland:)
I enjoy your channel immensely. I wanted to point out one little thing. Chickens are raised in a coop and horses are in stable, that is in my part of the world. Keep up the good work .I like having my coffee in the morning on your farm.
Thanks. I know but I forget to use the term right....
You have a really good channel and we are a new subscriber and look forward to watching all of your videos . We live in the country and are getting into raising chickens. Keep making those videos.
Glad to hear they continue to exceed expectations!! Breed has a lot to do with production, but it also very much comes down to care and maintenance. Happy, healthy chickens lay the best and you obviously have that. Always a pleasure. Keep up the great content
I raise chickens here in Minnesota. The winter was off to a rough start. They are laying well, but I have noticed with our extreme temperature and weather changes that there will be a day between those changes where they will not lay. They prefer the outdoors but will stay in when the Temps crash. So far we have spring like temps and the eggs look good but the hens look rough and are vigorous. I indulge them with a good ration and will be hatching my own. I do like Lakenvelders for layers and I use the Langshan for setters. The pearl white leghorn and new Hampshire are the most consistent and lay the best and earliest. The Langshans have very pretty eggs.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
your light schedule is helping. 15 hours of light sometimes doesn't give them enough rest.
Even with molts figured into the equation, you should be looking at well over 200 eggs/year if your math is correct. That's really good for a heritage breed. I bet you can find a market for ground chicken, as well. That's a good way to use layers after they're done producing eggs, and has gained in popularity recently in Sweden.
I just bought some Bresse. Eggcited to see how they do. My Speckled Sussex laid all of January and February. I had a broody hen hatch 9 chicks Feb. 2019. Amazing birds as well and almost an egg every day no matter the weather. We shall see how the Bresse do!
This is great news. You are absolutely right your chickens are doing fantastic. Winter laying is not always successful but you are doing something right. Keep up what you have been doing.
You doing a dam goo job with your Bresse chickens ! That is one of the best all purpose breed on the planet ! The best for high end meat production as well as eggs production and they are very tolerant for cold environment also ! You got the best breed available for your cold climate area only tell me that you done your home work thoroughly ! Being that said , always give your self credits and pat your self on the back cause no one else will ! Normally I would say good luck but you don't need it ! You are doing an outstanding job and thank you for the videos ! It was very educational !
Would love to try the Bresse breed. In my own experience, White Leghorns are unsurpassed in egg production. They were developed for this purpose and it is in their genes to lay eggs on a nest where they belong. They're a very amazing breed. Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks I've also found to be excellent layers.
Simeon I fully agree February is dark month, but do not forgot to consider it is time of real quick increase of daylight which is the profit for hens to attract them to hatch. Quantity of the laying eggs will probably drawdown months from Oktober to December. I love your channel, I can learn and also assure many of my thoughts.
The Bresse we have in the HOT, Alabama swamp lands, are the only hens laying in the horrid heat! I was shocked because these hens where laying and the heritage hens had stopped laying and these gals were just laying like every day! Totally impressed! The challenge with a chicken is the extreme heat and the extreme cold. If they continue to lay no matter what, they are keepers!
I really enjoy your passion for your homestead, thank you for sharing.
It's probably because you have given your chickens good food, water and care, a pleasant environment and good vibes. :) Really! Happy chickens lay more eggs.
I have 23 chickens and get 18 to 20 eggs a day. I live in Texas, and it is warm year round. We did put a light up when the days were so short. We put the light up to come one early and go off when it is daylight outside. I had no loss of egg production in the winter. We give away dozens of eggs as we can't eat them all, and I'm not into selling the eggs.
Most realistic homestead channel on youtube. Survival Russia, in my opinion, is the most realistic survival channel. Both are honest and straight forward. I suggest people who can support both channels with a small Patreon subscription. I know they won't ask for it so I will.
I like you're old school tablet there. great videos.
Reminds me of Karl Rove
dcgfmb I usually carve my data in stone
Tammy Wright: in cuneiform . . .
I was thinking the same thing! 😁
Simeon,
No argument as to your calculations, however you also must consider the "off: times when they are molting or broody etc. A very good point brought up also, is the small flock size also is a "Stress Reducer" which encourages egg production. I found for our needs a flock of about 15 or 16 birds with 2 roosters was good, but then I added 16 hours of soft classical music for them and production went up a nearly 15%. Trying to figure out chickens is like trying to explain why we only see one side of the moon to a 5 year old. Some things are best left appreciated and never fully understood. LOL
Yes. You are right. This is a limited stat. But they should also lay more in spring and summer compared to February. My bresse barely ever go broody.
Trust that you have our attention on the production of the breed. I'm cheering for your success, as developing the heritage breeds is one of our goals here too! As to shipping - we investigated and saw the Swedish laws are very strict and limit where you can ship eggs. If not, we might well have done business already! LOL
FYI - presently 5 major poultry farms are breeding the Breese - and charging (hold on to something sturdy)
1 US Dollar equals X 29
or about
9.05 Swedish Krona = 262.55 Krona .... unsexed!
Thanks. These bresse chickens are now my favourite. I hope to order some Bresse chickens from you in the near future. Thanks again
We add a white light set on timer, give our birds hot oatmeal at night and to help them lay we add hot sauce to their food. My chicken coop we don't use red heat lamp. We do deep bed method. We let our chickens set when they get broody. Never had lunch hatching my own eggs
Yes, please. Keep us updated.
I will try,
Another interesting video. These chickens started to lay in July after a molt? February makes the 8th month after the molt. I agree, their rate of lay is unexpected, but welcome.
0.74 egg/day ? Have never counted them, but can say that I'll keep Bresse for the coming years, Keep them happy, thanks for sharing.
I'll bet that you take better care of your chickens than too many farms. I hope the numbers work out for you.
BTW I just LOVE that old school hinge on the door in the background of your second shot, way cool!
Cheers!
Great numbers for sure, probably some good genetics, but also your chickens are not stressed which always makes a huge difference with animals.
Yes.
glad to hear your chickens are doing well !! :)
I just received 3 "blue" Bresse in a shipped egg "surprise" buy. The air sacks had to boots put to them in transit. One hatched, he's three weeks now and growing by far faster than any chick I've hatched. Of course, the fact that he's running around the KITCHEN all the time might explain that. I've ordered some white Bresse just today from the same Canadian breeder. Known for quality stock.
I was born in a big city. I love animals, agriculture and nature. One day hopefully I will leave Munich and move to Mediterannian Sea and start my own little farm with my family. Each time watch such videos the more unpatient I get. Thanks for the upload.
Science for the win! You keep good records. Agriculture gives you such small profit margins that you have to take advantage of everything that works in your favor.
yes.
I have 4 heritage breeds. 1 of each breed (barred rock, silver lace wyandotte, buff orphington, and rode island red) lol. The rest (I have 10 total) are golden comets.
I think once you get past the winter solstice the hens sense that the days are getting longer and spring is coming and will step up production. In the fall when days are getting shorter they will slow down. It's hard to tell what the annual production is without counting eggs all year. When my current layers are retired I will try the Bresse breed too. They sound wonderful.
Another great video Simeon! You just have happy chickens, happy chickens lay better! They have all their needs met, that's what makes them such happy chickens.
Leghorns are beautiful!! Just tell them, they'll agree. Best layers ever. Mine is a pet, 7 yrs. old, lays 1-2 eggs daily. 2 isn't common on a daily basis, but she is treated very, very well. 🤩
Good approach. You might want to consider seasonality issues using that methodology, for instance, if you had the same data for December and January how do you think that would that impact your numbers? Also are there any known issues that would effect hot months?
Larry Hays I was thinking the same thoughts Larry. I suspect Simeon has more data that would be useful in tweaking an annual egg estimate, but I have zero experience with poultry farming. I've always worked with financial projections based on shopping centers, office buildings, etc. The math is pretty much the same, but the tenants are much different! Hopefully, Simeon will share more of his historical information.
Hey Larry. Yes. This is obviously a limited calculation since it just covered one month. However, February is typically not the month where they perform the best. December and January would probably be somewhat lower but April-August higher. Expect 6 eggs / chicken / week in summer.
I hope to monitor this more this year.
Swedish Homestead Thanks Simeon. From experience, I know projections can be tweaked to death by adding more and more detailed variables (avg temperature, age of chickens, etc.), but you seem to have a lot of data to use. I don't think it would be worth obsessing over, but for the fact you consider egg production as a business. Regardless, I wish you the best, and I hope those with more relevant experience will offer his or her opinions to help you succeed more,than you have already. 😊
That's very impressive numbers for February, It'll be interesting to see how they continue through the Spring and Summer for sure.
Me too.
Impressive stats!!! I've had a lot experience working with statistics and definitely don't want to be a wet blanket, but I like to see if you could continue tracking these chickens for a whole year and then the flock you maintain for multiple years. Sometime groups are extremely consistent & other times they can vary greatly. I got my fingers crossed for you that your chickens continue to out preform your, the sellers & that other farms expectations.
Yes. This is obviously a very limited statistic.
That is a sign that you have happy healthy chickens. They lay better in those conditions. When we raised chickens we kept them in a modified dog pin approximately 6ft. X 10ft.. Coupe and run on casters to easily reposition. I would do this much differently now but, this was our first try. With this configuration it cost us about $20 a month in feed and bedding for a dozen chickens. We got more eggs than we could eat a day.
Cool. Thanks for sharing.
Glad they are doing so good for you.
I really appreciate your approach to making these calculations. I'd like to hear an update from you over the course of a year.
I enjoyed your statistics on the chickens
Thanks for the good presentation.
I am breeding Bresse chickens for the second year running and I come to compare tif numbers of eggs.
It is also a very good meat bird.
That is an excellent performance for February, but you really should wait for a full 12 month cycle before you predict any fantastic performance,(as I am sure you are going too), given the temperature and light, and that this is their second season, you can be very pleased with this laying ratio, well done, have you tried the Old English Game for table birds, slow maturing but able to look after themselves, and excellent eating.
You are right. Thanks for sharing.
Hatchery could sell the male chicks to the farmers who likes to raise chicken outdoor. I raised them several times,they grow little slower than broiler chickens but they taste much better than broiler. You also could raise them in a shed.
This is awesome! I hope they keep it up and do even better. You have become my favorite utube personality. Positive energy and thoughts going your way I hope the great one blesses your family farm
Fantastic information. I enjoy your videos very much. The hope for the future rests with organic farming and small collectives. Our general health demands it. Keep researching and lets allow all researchers to freely shre their results. Thank you
I love this breed too!
Take care of what God gave you and you will be blessed abundantly and it shows with you, too!
Thanks for another useful Breese video.
Like how you are so upbeat about it!
haha.
You have to take in account the molting period as well. Since this is the second year, you will have them molting with in a few months and the laying declines during that time. Pray the don't all molt at the same time. :-)
Mine already did. Count out 2-3 weeks of no laying. But they also lay better in spring and summer. This is obviously a limited calculation.
Thank you that’s really interesting. I watched one of your videos and was inspired to incubate 12chicken eggs. There are just 2 days to go. I have a smallholding with my husband but we don’t sell eggs - I’ve gone for an Orpington breed. I really like the way you consider and respect your hens. I think you’re right in this regards. Again thank you x
So great! Du scheinst ein Händchen für diese Bresse Hühner zu haben :) Danke fürs Teilen dieser Informationen. Liebe Grüße
being a city guy never really around farm animals i started looking up chicken types because of this video and found 1 called a silkie chickens crazy soft feathers but the shocker was they have a blueish black shin and bones.......
Yes. There are chickens with black-ish blood even.
Your channel is very good. John from Vermont
I love these videos. Thanks so much.
Sounds like an amazing chicken.
Ok what kind of chicken is that did you mention the breads name. You are doing something right that is for sure
well done, well worth continuing to track and have a follow up video...
Thank You
Yes
Hope your numbers continue!!
Another great video Simeon, thank you
That is a great production for chickens, but when I had chickens, they didn't really lay much when they were moulting their feathers. When they are 18 months to 2 years old, suddenly, they start losing their feathers.
Interesting!
I down know much about caring for birds other than what I've been seeing on your videos. but i for sure agree with the others in the comments on saying, you've got some happy birds. and that's for sure helping you out with how many eggs you can get off them even in gross seasons. happy animals make for better outcome 😊
For us non-farmers, could you also mention how many years does your average chickens lay eggs? Are the eggs all fertilized? Do you subtract from your profit margin the number of male chicks which get killed on purpose? Once a hen stops laying, do they become roasting hens?
I would assume that you multiply your number by 300 to get a more realistic number. 365 is not accounting for molt and deep winter. You can usually account for 10 months of a year that they lay.
Have you raised Delawares? Also another heritage breed is the Pita Pinta Asturiana. They are fantastic birds, a bit on the lighter side of chicken breeds but are fantastic layers, foragers and are one of my most economical birds. (feed consumption) Most of the people I know that have tried Bresse find the males to be a bit aggressive and have not been "awed" by their flavor. Delawares are more common than Pita in the US but quality birds are rare. In the US I only know of a handful of breeders of Pitas. (Who all seem to stem from a single source) Since you are in Europe you might be able to find and acquire them easier we can. Not sure about Delawares outside the US either. Both birds are worth preservation as heritage breeds. A good line of Delaware makes a decent table bird at around 16 weeks. Where as a Pita will make a 3lb neck off dressed bird at around 20 weeks. (cockerels) If you are up to trying the Pitas I highly recommend them if you can get them. Also if you sell birds to back yard keepers the Pitas make awesome birds for the family back yard.
You are right about deep winter. February is one of the darkest months here though and besides January the strongest winter month. This was obviously a limited calculation since it just monitored one month. It is interesting nevertheless since I suspect a higher egg production during spring and summer. Hope to come with more stats.
My bresse roosters are super calm. With the right feed you can have a 4-5 pound, dressed bresse rooster at 14 weeks. No breed I know can compete with that.
I use to calculate with just 300 days of laying for my chickens. Than you end up with about 220 eggs a year. They mould and than they dont lay any eggs at all. We have Plymouth Rock, Australorp and Delaware. Starting up now with Bresse also from Germany. We are in Sweden and build butchery on farm and sell eggs and meat from just heritage breeds. Interesting to get some statistics of you
Have been enjoying your videos. I've found that my hen's lay best by what they eat. (and daylight) good feed and enough feed. This winter we have hit temps below freezing even in the day. But our summers are long and humid and hot.
I am seriously tempted to but some of those eggs the next time I get a broody hen .. it seems like they take the Swedish winters really well, or perhaps they are just really well cared for .. :)
Hey Simeon thank you for sharing this. But i think you forgot to calculate the time when they change their feathers...or waht if they want to sit on their eggs an breed them? looking forward for updates about this.
I wrote several posts about this. Check my post that I pinned on top of the comments section.
Are you counting the time they go broody, in addition to molt when they stop laying? To get a truly accurate measurement, I agree, you would need to keep track for the whole year. I look forward to updates.
My buff orpingtons lay quite a bit during the times they arent broody or molting. The hatchery says about 250/hen/year on the buffs, but Id estimate its lower than that. I havent done records for a whole year, since they are hatching their own and Im always removing birds from the flock for sale or meals.
I currently have some american bresse eggs from a friends flock who bought eggs from greenfire farms last season. The eggs are huge as you mentioned, but I am worried they wont be quite as good since the diversity of the gene pool isnt as good here in the US as it is in the EU.
You also have to factor in moulting season when laying goes way down. If they go broody, they will not lay eggs for 3-4 weeks, either.
Yes, Check out my pinned post on top.
Thank you
super good info thanks!
Interesting, I have 3 barred rock starting their 5th year. Because I am near the salt water and at the 47.25 parallel I am able to keep them in a chicken tractor on fresh grass each day. I move them onto fresh grass and give them 2 cups of soaked wheat at sunset each day and collect the eggs. Beginning Feb. 15 they started an average of 2 eggs per day. Each hen lays a slightly different shell so I know all 3 are laying, it just takes more than a day for them to make an egg.
That is amazing for such old chickens.
They will lay more less when they start to changing feathers. In early spring or autumn. But thats impressive calculation. Greetings.
Yes. They will stop laying for about 2-3 weeks. But they will also lay more in spring and summer.
Swedish Homestead Best luck with your french chickens ;).
can you do a tour of your local feed mill, if its alright with them
How much better can you get than an egg per chicken per day (almost )? You have me convinced that they, if not the best a very good, are a way to go when selecting a breed to raise.
One viewer from Germany commented that bresse is the only breed that has reached close to hybrid numbers. There are records of bresse laying 300 eggs/year. That is crazy!
Es gibt einen Eintrag eines Züchter, der drei oder vier Hennen mit Jahreslegeleistungen von über 300 Eiern hatte. Damit sind die Bresse die einzige Hühnerrasse, die an die Legeleistungen der Hochleistungshybriden mit 330 Eiern herankommt.
Wow. Interessant. Danke fuer die Info. Ist unglaublich, besonders weil es ja eine Zweinutzungsrasse ist.
Swedish Homestead Genau das :) ich habe im Hühnerforum von Leuten gelesen, deren Gockel nach 16 Wochen teilweise schon 3,2kg und mehr wogen. Natürlich ohne besonderes Futter oder ständiges Licht!
maybe its the fact that the chickens aren't crammed in tight with other chickens so they are more relaxed so they can lay more eggs
Yes. Probably has a big influence.
Hey that's awesome wish to find this breed in the USA.
It is called American Bresse. Greenfire farms sells them.
Hi and WOW!
Amazing how good this breed is, even in wintertime...
Nice Vlogs and nice Homestaed(work)!
Greetings from Stralsund/Germany
Interesting video. Thanks.
You're doing something right. Good job!
Sounds great for you. Best of luck...Mike
Bresse is a really great meat bird.
Interesting video...thanks for sharing.
I loved this video. Hope to see more like them in the future.. Since your sample size (number of chickens) are low, maybe you are just lucky.. Keep more records, and see how they do in the next few months.. You might have gotten lucky and got a set of chickens with an aggressive egg laying gene.. :) LOL
Haha. Maybe, but in that case I got the right ones for the breeding program.
Swedish Homestead Hi Simeon, have you considered a career as a spokesman for Bresse chickens ? LOL. I do not know how far you are from a large supermarket type of store. I have a large WalMart store that is about 12-13km from me. I noticed that the store discards a tremendous amount of produce daily. Filling about two large dumpsters per week. So I asked the produce manager if I could have some of that discarded produce for feeding my chickens. He agreed that I could. So twice a week I go and retrieve two large plastic bags of waste produce. My 30 chickens can not eat all of that produce ! So the excess goes into the compost pile to feed the worms there. The result is that I have no feed costs for my chickens. I collect so much waste produce that it is quite economical to drive to WalMart to collect the waste produce. I am going to talk to the produce manager of a supermarket that is closer to me which will be even more economical for me. Both in fuel costs as well as time cost. But with this waste produce available I am considering perhaps a pig or two. I have searched for an incubator like yours but can not find anything close to it. Can you send me more information about yours ? dhmill827@gmail.com
I have a neighbor (well, 5 miles away, but) who raises half a dozen pigs on mostly the waste from the produce dept of a small (20,000sf) grocery store. He gets 30-50 gallons a day, and it's on his way from work so no special trip.
Keep up all the good work!
I enjoyed seeing the stats and the math
I would think the breeders association would want to give you a more conservative number, I'm sure depending on the conditions in which the chickens are raised the numbers will very greatly. Sounds like your chicken get exactly what they need nutrition, water, shelter wise in a low stress environment. Great informative video as always. Ps sounds like you could use a timer on their light that way you don't have to worry about turning it on and off, it may save you a few dollars in electricity to boot.
Yes. I had a timer but it broke.... ;) Didn't think about buying one yet.