Chickens Laying Yet ??

_Brian

Our chickens haven't started back laying yet.. they would have come back last week last spring..

We don't use winter lighting to keep them laying as they're as much pets as anything..

Just wondering if anyone else's chickens are as late back as ours..

Reggie.

_Brian wrote: »

Our chickens haven't started back laying yet.. they would have come back last week last spring..

We don't use winter lighting to keep them laying as they're as much pets as anything..

Just wondering if anyone else's chickens are as late back as ours..

None out of ours yet either

baconsarnie

Reggie. wrote: »

None out of ours yet either

My neighbors have two hens & I occasionally "hen sit" for them when they're away

Was looking after the hens 2 weeks ago & both were laying. On & off, one day one egg between them, one day nowt & one day one each

Reggie.

baconsarnie wrote: »

My neighbors have two hens & I occasionally "hen sit" for them when they're away

Was looking after the hens 2 weeks ago & both were laying. On & off, one day one egg between them, one day nowt & one day one each

Could be the warm and cold weather. Starting and stopping them laying

aonb

Mine didnt stop laying They are getting older now but I get 1 egg every 2 days from each. They are small little hybrids that I get from a fellow who sells at every mart in the country I think, and any hens Ive ever had from him have layed all through winter with no stopping. Super little hybrids...

Its not so much the cold that would cause a hen to stop laying in winter, as the daylight hours. A hen needs 7+ hours DAYLIGHT a day to facilitate egg production

Reggie.

aonb wrote: »

Mine didnt stop laying They are getting older now but I get 1 egg every 2 days from each. They are small little hybrids that I get from a fellow who sells at every mart in the country I think, and any hens Ive ever had from him have layed all through winter with no stopping. Super little hybrids...

Its not so much the cold that would cause a hen to stop laying in winter, as the daylight hours. A hen needs 7+ hours DAYLIGHT a day to facilitate egg production

Mine are awkward so

When you get a cold spell in the summer or that I notice production slowing

_Brian

Thankfully the laying hen indoors is more regular or Christmas would be a much quieter affair :cool::cool:




I'd get a beating if she saw that comment... and not in the 50 shades of gray sort of beating either :o

Reggie.

_Brian wrote: »

Thankfully the laying hen indoors is more regular or Christmas would be a much quieter affair :cool::cool:




I'd get a beating if she saw that comment... and not in the 50 shades of gray sort of beating either :o

Was nice knowing ya

solargain

I got 10 , 13 month old hens in November out of a battery house. they were bald and laid the first day I got them & nothing since until 2 weeks ago. They now have fully grown feathers again & look good. The egg laying has been building up , there were 5 eggs out of 10 hens today. The other 5 are not ready to start yet , yours may be the same way. Give them time:)

Base price

A lot depends on the breed of hen. Pure breeds will take a break from laying during the winter months, as nature intended, due to less daylight hours as anob said. Hybrids on the other hand are genetically bred to produce an egg a day for the first and most of their second year. However they will "lay out" and become "spent" faster than the pure breeds.

Mites and internal worms can also reduce and stop egg production. Pick up your hens from time to time and check under their wings and around their vent for signs of mites. Also it is a good idea to check their coop and roosts at night time (with a flash light) for red mite.

Reggie.

Base price wrote: »

A lot depends on the breed of hen. Pure breeds will take a break from laying during the winter months, as nature intended, due to less daylight hours as anob said. Hybrids on the other hand are genetically bred to produce an egg a day for the first and most of their second year. However they will "lay out" and become "spent" faster than the pure breeds.

Mites and internal worms can also reduce and stop egg production. Pick up your hens from time to time and check under their wings and around their vent for signs of mites. Also it is a good idea to check their coop and roosts at night time (with a flash light) for red mite.

Don't be talking about that red mite menace :mad:

Boardnashea

Only two hens at the moment and getting 1.5 E/D. However the geese have just started laying. Looking forward to seeing a flock of them around the place shortly. I think there are probably two laying in the one nest. How should I segregate when they start to sit?

Future Farmer

5 Hens laying out of 5.

Free range - only in run at night.

No cockerel with them.

Reggie.

Future Farmer wrote: »

5 Hens laying out of 5.

Free range - only in run at night.

No cockerel with them.

What's people's opinion on roosters running with hens. I prefer to have one around

Future Farmer

Reggie. wrote: »

What's people's opinion on roosters running with hens. I prefer to have one around

Prefer to have one around - have 8 chicks - 6 La Bresse - 2 RIR - looks like 6 are cockerels - hatched at start of December. #Typical

So that'll be my next cockerel....

the_syco

Mothers 3 hens have cut down to two eggs a day during the winter, but sometimes lay 3 a day depending on how cold it is.

Reggie.

Future Farmer wrote: »

Prefer to have one around - have 8 chicks - 6 La Bresse - 2 RIR - looks like 6 are cockerels - hatched at start of December. #Typical

So that'll be my next cockerel....

Do you rear real rir

_Brian

Three hens here, 5 eggs over the last 3 days..

Hesh's Umpire

I've 11 layers - dropped to around 3/4 a day during December/January.
Back up to 6/8 a day now.
I'd prefer that they would drop off in production for a while in the winter. It's what's natural.

Browning

Have Thirty five hens got 22 eggs today was down to 10 up to about two weeks ago and it has gradually started to rise and will continue to do so I hope over the next couple of weeks.