[waterbuffalofarmer]

I went to open the hens today and found one of them had laid an egg, that's a nice start to the year isn't it?

[Q]

my light sussex havent really stopped laying this year - I have had a few eggs (2 from three birds) all through christmas.

[MarthaR]

Me too - not had eggs from my layers (second winter) since early November. They've gone through a heavy moult and are now finally looking normal again. A perfect dark brown Maran egg on New Years Day. Smashing! 

[Mammyshaz]

Our girls are slowly coming back into production this week too. Three eggs this week from six old layers who all went through a heavy moult   

[waterbuffalofarmer]

My two buff sussex hens moulted 2 mnths ago and quit laying, until today when they resumed.

[MarthaR]

This afternoon I also got an egg from one of my buff Sussex - same as you waterbuffalofarmer - two months of moulting and no laying, started again today. It's a joy getting eggs again after what seems like ages without them, especially as wasn't expecting them to come back into lay for a few weeks yet with days still being so short. 

[aaronsundin]

A few days back I had a supermarket boiled egg at breakfast - thinking these really are tasteless compared by the ones we get from our chooks . The next very cold and frosty morning our black orpington laid an egg for me . A lovely end to 2014 . She's now laying every other day ,  thanks and happy new year Maisy !

[Small Farmer]

We're up to 7 or 8 a day from our 15 hens, but thats one a day from the newest 5, one every other day from the next 5 and 1 in total from the oldest birds some of whom haven't produced an egg in 3 months. 

[Beeducked]

Me too!


First egg of the year after about 6-8 weeks eggless and on New Years Day.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Ah well I spoke too soon, no more eggs after that one, i thought it was too good to be true

[Steph Hen]

I had a surprise on the 27th December, hen turned up with four chicks! -4'C
Mum and chicks shut in and doing fine 

[aaronsundin]

I had a surprise on the 27th December, hen turned up with four chicks! -4'C
Mum and chicks shut in and doing fine 

Well that must have been the best surprise ever ! Well done mum and stay warm .

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I had a surprise on the 27th December, hen turned up with four chicks! -4'C
Mum and chicks shut in and doing fine 

Congrats! That is a surprise indeed

[devonlady]

The dear of her, I hope they thrive

[Steph Hen]

  doing great so far. She's a perennial broody hen... Think this is her 5th batch of chicks from 2014, first batch hatched out in March.
I will be keeping any pullet chicks from this batch to see if it's a genetic trait. It can be annoying but I want to breed more chicks in future and I prefer a hen to rear them rather than brooder.
I broke her broodiness several times though the year, using a cage on grass/few inches above the ground but within a month she was always sitting again. She'd even turn broody on an empty nest box, with slatted bottom and no straw! Disappeared twice too. I spent the whole year feeding her up, so she is also now quite tame and runs over when i go outside.