I read on a homesteading group that a 4-H Poultry leader told the 4-Her's this:
"one day without food = one week without eggs,
one day without water = one month without eggs"
Then on another homesteading group it was stated thus:
"We've found 1 day without food = 3 days no eggs
and 1 day no water = 3 days no eggs"
Interestingly, people will take info from one group and go to another! I don't know which came first or which is accurate. I do know that it shows how crucial food and water are even to our poultry! They can't "perform" for us if they aren't fed and even a day "fasting" is detrimental!
If we happen to be one of the people who are selling hatching eggs or wanting our own eggs for hatching, we also need to realize that we are feeding that tiny embryo in the egg from conception to it's adult life! To be a healthy, vibrant egg with the ability to hopefully provide a viable chick we need to feed it from the time the egg is formed in the hen as the yolk is the first feeding for the hatchling!
So we much provide food and water and fresh is of course the best and what should be strived for to have the most "perfect" egg a hen can bless us with!
I know I'd hate to go without my wonderful eggs again! Plus I want my hens to be healthy after a season of laying and going into winter! They can't give their all and then survive winter if they don't have proper nutrition!
It's amazing that there is so much to ponder over a simple egg!
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