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Hurry back girls!
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 7:48 pm
by Brebis
So most of not all my girls are on strike (ie moulting) so I’ve had to resort to buying eggs from the local feed mill.
Here is a pic of the last of my eggs and 2 of the bought ones and what a difference! Mine is from a Hamburg and I was surprised to see her yolk was bigger than the bought ones which I assume are production layers. Curiously, I think we both feed the same layer ration but I know mine get out to free range and the grass is pretty lush right now!
So, hoping mine grow some more feathers and get back to work...I miss those nice gold tasty eggs!

- It really is a gold Hamburg egg!
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:08 pm
by Killerbunny
Yup- 1 egg from 14 hens today!
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:46 am
by windwalkingwolf
Mine have slowed way down too, the only girls I've got laying right now are three hens that just got done with babies and haven't molted yet. Everybody else is molting except for the three and a couple older hens, which I'm sure will all wait until January and go bald lol.
A few years ago, the fall egg slow-down would make me panic and buy more young hens. Turned out to be a completely unnecessary slippery slope as old hens start back up in the increasing light of the new year.
Even after all these years, I'm panicking a little as I only get 1-3 eggs a day. I could "fix" it by providing them some additional overhead lighting....but they need the break. I expect my hens to live a long time, and lay all their years, and a yearly moulting break is necessary for that.
I'd rather have a hen that lays 150 eggs a year for 10 years, than one that lays 300 and craps out before she's 3.
Costs me more in feed, but makes me happy and I sleep well at night knowing my birds are tough juggernauts :)
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:50 am
by Killerbunny
I do the same, I don't give extra light to make them lay, I just give them enough to get properly fed on dark winter days.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:58 am
by Jaye
Same here. Enough light for me to feed, water and clean as required when the daylight hours are such that it's dark in the morning before work and dark in the evening when I get home. I have only been getting one egg per day for the last week or so, but I figure that's pretty good, considering I only have three that are able to lay at the moment.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 7:55 am
by Brian
I have my coop lighted with a timer. 14 hours of light. The only time my chickens stop laying is around February when it is just to cold.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:43 pm
by kenya
Well mine have mostly stopped as well. Just have to wait it out.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:55 pm
by Ontario Chick
2 eggs from 27 hens today, light on from 5 to 8pm, don't seem to make any difference to them. :)
I can only assume that by January when the new batch starts laying we will be up to our eye balls in eggs, although it's hard to imagine at this point.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 10:50 pm
by Happy
I have one barred rock girl laying about 5 eggs a week and Bebe my new layer lays about the same. Surprisingly we don't eat 10 eggs a week (unless I do some baking) so I'm actually accumulating (read that as hoarding lol)
I have a light on a timer in the coop but I haven't used it since my first year with chickens. After I started realizing that my hatchery girls may have a variety of reproductive issues I decided that they needed to set their own schedule and the down time was needed and healthy for them. So they will start up again when they decide to. Meanwhile we ration.
Re: Hurry back girls!
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:14 am
by Brebis
Whoohoo, found a stash of 4 eggs yesterday....3 from Helga the Hamburg and one light brown!
They love to hide them even when they’re not laying!