The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Fleecewife on December 28, 2012, 04:04:18 pm
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This autumn was the first that our hens stopped laying completely for several weeks. Yesterday we had our first egg for ages, then today two more :excited: :chook: :yum: :hungry: :thumbsup:
Those nights are definitely drawing out ;D 8)
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Hello,
It's always the day after the shortest day when they start laying for the new year here, at least that's how it has been last two years running now. Rhode Island Reds I think they are called, those chickens out back there.
Greetings,
Don Wagstaff
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Strange isn't it. Our Light Sussex started to lay again on the 22nd of december after about two months rest.
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Just to add mine to the list -
they had all stopped for about 6 weeks then just before xmas I was getting one a day (wasnt the same chicken) and then after being lazy on xmas day itself they produced two - i am glad i am not the only one cos i thought it was a bit odd.
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Oooh, I've yet to have an egg from getting them in September. Thought it would be a couple more months but maybe there's hope!
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I thought that we would have no eggs through this winter ..... older hybrids and pure breeds ...and was tempted to buy in a couple of new hybrids because I am allergic to buying in eggs. Resisted the temptation and for a few weeks only had 1 or 2 eggs per day. Hens seemed to have heavier moults this year and looked a bit rough. Went up to 4 eggs and after worming them we have gone to 8 eggs per day. :excited: Usually we have to wait until the longer,warmer days to get that number. Have been able to give away eggs to neighbours ..... their hens aren't laying at all.
We have lots of pheasants here and I wondered if they were carrying a heavy worm burden. Worm twice, spring and autumn at the moment but think I'm going to try 3 times per year.
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I'm going to say it very quietly, in case that also affects their laying (like too much rain, wind....) but mine are keeping me in eggs again now........ :chook:
But that's a point ITH, I have three sacks of Marriage's pellets sitting there - mine need worming too.
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Mine have been patchy all month, I'm down to 2 eggs a day now from 5 hens (all <1year old). :( And now one of them has started moulting, great! :S
I think they are just protesting about all the rain. :)
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I seem to have been very lucky this year, I bought 4 POL white leghorns late autumn and they started to lay before the winter started.
I also have another 6 white leghorns that were due to have their first moult this year, out of the 6 only 3 seem to have moulted the other 3 are still looking grubby and in need of a moult.
On top of the 10 leghorns I have 1 RIR, 2 black rock/Nera and 2 cuckoo marans, the marans are this years birds and have been laying sporadically. Through the winter I have had around 6 a day from the 16 birds, but the last week I have been getting between 8-10.
Today when I went to lock them up there were 13 eggs there, 10 from the leghorns and 3 from the others.
That's as good as I've had in the summer :) .
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oooh, we have eggs too!
very excited (sorry, but I am!!) to think they are "back" after a long winter break :D
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We've got a pen of 14 RIR that are a mixture of older birds ans about half a dozen of this years hatch. The young birds are laying quite well now and are being trodden regularly so I'm going to do an early fertility test this week.Worth a try I reckon.
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I still get one duck egg a week, they stop completely just about when the hens get going again. I am really glad we have both hens and ducks although the family does feel a bit starved from November onwards ;) . It literally was Christmas day when we had the first hens' egg of the season! 2 today - more to come if they keep up the good work and not start eating them or hiding them again, fingers crossed! :&>
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Mine started laying again at Christmas. I thought it was just because someone told them what happened to the turkeys, so they thought they'd better get their act together.
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One of my hens is going through the moult from hell So no eggs for a month. The other one gives an egg every few days. But our White hybrid still gives an egg a day and she is coming up to two years old. I worry about her health more than the other two. How long can a hen keep laying continuously before becoming exhausted?
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Hybrids don't live as long as the old purebreeds, for just that reason.
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Yes, in general they are getting on a bit by 2/3 yrs old but our oldest hybrid was a black rock who lived until she was 10 yrs old .... so still varies a lot. Have an old hybrid here now who is about 7/8 yrs old. Don't think she has laid for a few years now though ::) ..... probably should have gone in the pot a long time ago. ::) ;D
I know it sounds awful but if you can only keep a few hens then keeping relatively short lived hybrids can be a good thing ..... lay really well and consistently, can live out there lives with you and you can replace them a couple at a time as needed and you have a constant supply of fresh eggs. Well .... it's one way of looking at it.
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Unless a bird is exceptional in some way, or a reliable broody, we sell all our last year's hatch in the Autumn and the current year's hatch will begin laying then and lay through their first winter. We sell eggs from the farm gate so consistent production is important.
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it sure was a lean winter in the egg dept, not one egg from 50 chooks for a few weeks there but they moulted something terrible just before Christmas and are now back on track. Just shows how nature recylces all by itself, all the chicken feathers were picked up by the wee nesting birds was sooooo cute to see these little birds with a beak full of feathers :eyelashes: