That is where I'd like to see the farm be. At the moment, the flock is probably over half roosters (one issue to address is that we don't have an exact count). Secondly, they are 100 percent free range; I'm not sure I've found every place they are laying. Another issue is the raccoons we suspect are raiding the nests from the woods; I'm finding broken eggs in the nests nearly every morning.

We have plans to build the layers a protected coop; that will help probably.

Do you think a supplemented diet would boost production, even in summer? We do give them ground feed, even though they are free range.

What was the purpose of butchering the flock each year? Younger hens lay more?