Backyard Chickens: an egg log and flock tracker

The one that survives contact with a muddy morning. Logging has to take seconds at the coop rather than a trip back to a notebook, it has to work with no signal, and it should turn tallies into something you could not work out in your head. Backyard Chickens is built that way: a roughly fifteen-second egg log by flock or by hen, full offline storage, and trends, molt forecasts, and a real cost per egg built from your own entries. Free on iOS and Android.

It depends on breed and age more than anything else. Production hybrids such as sex-links and Leghorns commonly lay 250 to 300 eggs in their first laying year, while heritage and dual-purpose breeds often sit nearer 150 to 200. Output peaks in that first year, then falls by roughly ten to twenty percent annually. Day length, moult, broodiness, and stress all cause temporary pauses, so a run of empty nest boxes is usually seasonal rather than permanent.

The usual causes are shortening days, the annual moult, broodiness, age, or a recent stressor such as a move, a predator scare, extreme heat, or a change of feed. Hidden nests and egg eating also look exactly like a production drop. A dated log helps here, because it shows whether the fall was sudden or gradual and which individual birds are involved. If it comes with changes in appetite, droppings, or behaviour, speak to a poultry vet.

Most hens go through their first full moult in their second autumn, as daylight shortens, and it usually runs six to twelve weeks. Laying typically stops or drops sharply during it, because feathers are largely protein and the bird's resources go into regrowing them. Keepers often switch to a higher-protein feed and handle birds less while new pin feathers are growing. Backyard Chickens forecasts upcoming moults from your own logged history rather than a generic calendar.

Laying is driven by day length, and most hens need somewhere around fourteen hours of light for consistent production, which no winter provides in temperate regions. Some keepers add a timed light in the early morning to make up the difference; others deliberately let the flock rest through winter and accept fewer eggs. Both are legitimate. If you do use a light, add it in the morning rather than at night so birds are not left in sudden darkness away from the roost.

A quick routine look covers comb and wattle colour, brightness of the eyes, appetite and water intake, droppings, weight and the feel of the keel bone, feather condition, the vent area, and general alertness in the flock. Checking under wings and around the vent at dusk catches mites and lice early. None of this is a diagnosis — a bird that is hunched, off feed, or breathing oddly needs a poultry vet, not an app.

Common guidance for standard-sized breeds is about four square feet per bird inside the coop and eight to ten square feet each in the run, with roughly a foot of roost bar per hen and one nest box for every three or four hens. Bantams need less, large or confined birds more. Backyard Chickens has an advisor you can ask about sizing for your own flock and climate, and a 45-breed library covering temperament and hardiness before you commit.

Yes. It is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, and you can log eggs and manage one flock at no cost without being forced to create an account. A Pro upgrade adds unlimited flocks, per-hen tracking, and the full trend and advisor package. The content rating is 4+.

It works fully offline. Flocks, hens, egg logs, and feed records live on your device, so a weak signal out by the coop never stops you from logging this morning's eggs. No account is required to start using it. The daily egg reminder is a local notification you schedule for a time that fits your morning routine.

Yes. Each flock keeps its own birds, notes, and egg history, including coop location, temperament, and care routines. Individual birds carry breed, age, and production history, so you get a producer ranking rather than one flock total, and you can see days logged and eggs collected over any stretch of time per flock or per bird. Multiple flocks and per-hen tracking are part of the Pro upgrade. The built-in advisor answers husbandry questions only and never gives veterinary advice.