Hi peeps!
We have had a drastic drop off in production of eggs. We have 10 hens, and used (3-4 weeks ago) to get 6-8 eggs daily, and were very happy with our hens. While we are still happy with them, we are only getting 0-3 a day. Anyone else experienced this as well?
4 hens are 3 years old (expect their reduction), and 6 are 6 months old. no signs of lethargy, or illness. Not molting, or broody. I'm stumped, but that's not hard to do!
Thanks for the help in advance.
Matt
Replies
Also remember with the days getting shorter you will need to put a light on your chickens to get them to lay. They need 14-17 hours of light. You can just put a light in the coop on a timer.
Right now there is only 10 hours and 43 minutes from sun up to sun down. Though it does get 'light' sooner and stay light a little after that. In September there was only 12 hours of sun. And in October only 11 hours of sun.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=197&mont...
Good point, Kelly. We have ours go on at 4am and off at 6pm.
I gave them an ultimatum and it payed off yesterday! They had to deliver one egg by the end of the month. Still, is 10 weeks a long time for a molt? Seriously!
No, some birds seem to stay in molt for a long time. It's an individual thing, kind of like adolescence or menopause. :) If you get a broody hen, it's the same thing. Some pass through it quickly while others seem to go on and on and on...
I should add to this, younger birds may moult in only 8 weeks, but older birds may take twice that long or more.
Thanks everyone for responding. I'll give it another couple of weeks and see if production increases.
Heat and moulting are the two most common reasons for reduced production this time of year. If they're free-range, a low food supply can do that, too, so they may need and increase in supplemental food. In the winter the problem shifts to a lack of daylight. :)
I have 5 hens that will be 2 years old in January. Normal egg production is 4-5 daily with slight drop off by the end of this summer to 3-4 eggs daily. I noticed a few hens were starting to molt and I did have a lot of veggie & fruit scraps given, so have cut back on the treats.
Today I had 2 eggs and hadnt checked the nest boxes for a few days.
So, yes, I am experiencing it as well. I was thinking mine were getting up to their 2 year birthday so maybe that was why....
I am also going to eliminate the veggie/fruits scraps for a bit and see if it picks up.
Ditto on Jenny's thoughts. We have the same situation, only I also think our 4 youngest gals are starting to molt. Sometimes you can't tell so much by feather loss, but the feathers on look darn scraggly. Our 2 older hens are still laying so that is another reason we think the other 4 are starting to molt.
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