I guess I should be thankful....

[farmchix]

I don't know about everyone else here, but this has been a really 'hard' molting season here.  Some of the peeps on FB are saying the same thing.  We went from 2 dozen eggs a day to 4!!  We set up the trail cam to see who the egg eaters are.  We determined that we don't have egg eaters, but there is no one laying eggs.  Hmmpf!  I have threatened freezer camp...added protein...given them a flock block....and eaten fried chicken close enough for them to see.  Yesterday, **insert drum roll here** we got SIX eggs.  I guess I should be thankful.  With 35 hens, and only getting 6 eggs, THEY are the ones that should be thankful.  We could always have chicken instead of turkey for Thanksgiving.  Just sayin....

[here to stay]

Hmm... maybe ID the ones laying eggs anyway and raise some more of those genes. A new, better laying breed- Farmchix Chicks. As in I gotta order me some of those Farmchix Chicks chicks.

[gracielagata]

I haven't gotten an egg in about a month, if not longer!!

I don't put lights or heat on my birds at all though, either.
I thankfully was just gifted 3 SS pullets, and have 3 hatched pullets of our own, possibly a 4th, as its too young to determine gender. So those will help come spring.

[Skandi]

Our three year old birds are just moulting now, but they are all old breeds and stop laying in Late Oct/early November anyway, they'll start again in March (with no light) But our three new mutts are still dropping 2/3 a day, they must have some hybrid layer in there somewhere. If they keep that up I'll have way to many eggs in the freezer I was expecting 5 months without any eggs!

[allenw]

My hens are being tight with the eggs, they won't pick up good again until Feb. or early March. They're from Ideal's heavy mix special, they were two last summer. I'll have to catch another special early this spring and sell some extras.

[paquebot]

Hens not laying right now are caused by three things; length of day, moulting, and breed. Moulting affects all breeds as does day length. Meat breeds are the quickest to totally shut down while egg breeds just slow down. That's why it is an advantage to have a mixed flock. It assures some eggs during this period if the days aren't artificially lengthened.

Martin

[Deleted]

Our molt has been hard, but we got the egg count back up in part by giving them hard boiled eggs on a regular schedule.

[countrymom22]

You can also feed dry cat food during the moult. Helps feathers grow back quickly so the girls can get back to business.