Ripple Effects

Our egg production has been severely hampered lately due to the age of our hens. They are older than is traditionally considered commercially viable. It's not super unusual for us to keep a flock quite a bit longer than the industry norm, but usually we have an additional flock of young hens that balances out the production. This year, however, getting the young hens was a challenge. Due to bird flu in other parts of the country, the chick supply was very limited. The chicks that were available were being sent to resupply the large egg operations that had to "depopulate". I find it interesting how those industry issues hundreds of miles away affect our little corner of the world, and subsequently your ability to get the Carlton Farms eggs you wanted. We were finally able to get a batch started 4 months later than I had planned. They are finally about to reach maturity, so egg production should return in about 2 weeks. This is a picture of the young girls that we just placed into their laying house. They will have shelter, food, water, and nesting boxes inside the house. The sides also open up to allow the hens to range out on pasture. They are currently getting used to their new home and getting ready to lay some delicious pasture-raised eggs.