AvNexo | Practical Self Sufficiency for British Smallholders

How to keep hens laying through British winter The hardest part of keeping backyard chickens in the UK isn't foxes, feed costs, or even neighbours. It's winter. Short days, damp cold, and weeks of grey skies. Your hens go from laying 5-6 eggs a week to… nothing. Sometimes for months. I've been there. I learned the hard way. Here's what actually works to keep hens laying through British winter — without breaking the bank or stressing your birds. Is it normal for hens to stop laying in winter? Yes. Completely normal. Hens need around 14 hours of daylight to trigger egg production. When the sun sets at 4pm in December, their bodies naturally shut down. They're not broken. They're not sick. They're just being hens. Some breeds stop almost entirely. Others, like my Light Sussex, keep going at a reduced rate — maybe 2-3 eggs a week instead of 5-6. Hybrid breeds like Black Rocks are bred to lay through winter, but they burn out faster. The goal isn...

Can Chickens Eat Pasta, Rice and Potatoes? A UK Kitchen Scraps Guide If you're trying to cut feed costs, the first question you'll ask is: "Can I just give them my kitchen leftovers?" When I first started keeping Light Sussex and Buff Orpingtons here in Devon, I asked the same thing. The short answer? Yes, but not the way you think. 🐔 Quick answer ✅ Yes, chickens can eat cooked plain pasta, rice, and potatoes. ❌ Avoid salt, oil, sauces, and mouldy food. ⚠️ These are occasional treats, not the main diet. 📏 Keep kitchen scraps below roughly 20% of their daily intake. The reality check: what the law says (and what smallholders actually do) Technically, under UK animal welfare laws (the 2001 EU regulation still in force), you're not allowed to feed kitchen scraps to your chickens if those scraps have come from a kitchen that handles meat. The law was designed to stop disease outbreaks like foot-and-mouth. Many keepers use compost systems to ...

How many eggs can you expect from a hen per week? (Real data from my Sussex flock) When I first started keeping chickens, I read all the books and blogs. They promised up to 7 eggs per week per hen . Some even claimed you could get two eggs a day with the right lighting. Sounded great. So I tried. And then reality hit. Based on my years of keeping Light Sussex and Buff Orpingtons here in Devon, here's what you can actually expect. And no, the books don't always tell the full story. The short answer (and why it's not that simple) On average, a healthy Light Sussex hen in its first laying year will produce 4 to 5 eggs per week . That's roughly 200 to 260 eggs per year . Some weeks you'll get more. Some weeks less. But two eggs a day? That's a myth. Let me give you real data from my own records. In August last year, my 6 Light Sussex hens laid 29 eggs in one week . That's 4.8 eggs per hen. Not 7. Not even 6. But 29 eggs from a small garden floc...

At what age do Light Sussex hens start laying eggs? (Real experience from a Devon smallholding) If you've just brought home your first batch of Light Sussex chicks, you're probably wondering: "When will I finally get an egg?" I remember that feeling. I used to check the nest boxes every morning, hoping to find that first perfect egg. And when it finally came — small, a bit wonky, and sitting right on the coop floor — I carried it inside like it was made of gold. Based on my years of keeping Sussex and Orpingtons here in Devon, here's what you can actually expect. And no, the books don't always get it right. The short answer (and why it's not that simple) Most Light Sussex pullets start laying between 5 and 7 months . Some early birds may lay as early as 4.5 months — especially if they were hatched in early spring. Others, particularly late-summer hatches, may take up to 8 months. Compare that to Orpingtons. My Orpingtons often took 7 to 9 mon...