Comets' Egglaying tapering off...ugh, just started selling...

[honeydoll]

I ready the sticky about less egg production. I have read conflicting reports about comets though and I was wondering if someone would set the record straight for me. My Comets were egg laying machines. They still kind of are. We got them as day old chicks from TSC in May of '09. So this May will be two years. I have read that Comets start to taper off laying eggs around 1 1/2 to 2 years old? Is this true. We have light in the coop and last year mine layed faithfully all winter, this winter started out the same but slowly I am getting less and less eggs, my hens don't lay everyday anymore. Do you think it is because it's winter or is it because they are at that age for this to happen? I was told by someone that Comets aren't kept on farms after 18 months of age because their egg laying tapers off so much. I wouldn't call it an abrupt decrease, just a noticable tapering off, if that makes sense. When I noticed this, I checked all chickens, no health issues, wormed, fed well, all that so I know it is not a poor health issue. I would really like to know if this is the time Comets stop laying. Thanks.

Carolyn

 

[BitsyB]

I want to know too!

I have 6 Golden Comets, they'll be 2 yrs. old April 1st. From the time they were about 14 weeks old til last fall we got 5 to 6 eggs a day.
They've tapered off to 1 to 3 a day now, and some days none (usually when there's a snowstorm). Is it winter and the cold and snow, or are they getting old?

 

[Baymule]

Have your birds molted? I don't have Coments, but my 2 girls molted and quit laying until their feathers grew back. They were about 1 1/2 years old. Now they are back on track and laying regularly.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
No no molting that I noticed, maybe a small one.... I have been told Comets stop laying very young so I may be seeing that.

 

[BitsyB]

How do you know when they are molting? They looked a little ratty late last summer for a while, I found more than ususal amt. of feathers around, and their combs were pinkish instead of red... I assumed that was molting. But that's over with, and now they look quite healthy and "molt-free"..

I have heard the "egg laying machine" type hybrids quit laying earlier. Maybe we are experiencing that.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am having the same problem, and it is not in my plan

My plan is I have 3 red stars, that laid like gang busters last summer and one BO, who went broody and raised a nice clutch. The pullets 3 EE are laying nicely now, and I did have a major slow down during December, cause my pullets had not started laying yet. Things are slowly picking up, as the pullets are laying better and better, but my stars are way down. However, the one that molted the hardest and still kind of looks like hell, is the one I found in the nest today?

My plan was to try and have pullets laying before December, (

if my broody hen goes broody before July, like she did last summer) as they are not as affected by the light and lay well despite not having added light in the coop. And then processing the 2 year olds + down into the fall. I sure hope my stars pick it up soon, or we are going to be short egged. May need a new plan?

MrsK

 

[honeydoll]

BitsyB: mine did the same thing last fall too. Exactly the same thing, funny thing is they still layed eggs but it did start to taper then. Did yours continue to lay during this time too? Starting to sound like this is a comet thing. Feel free to pm me if you want to compare stories and see if this is a typical comet thing.

Thanks.

 

[BitsyB]

Mrs.K :

And then processing the 2 year olds + down into the fall. I sure hope my stars pick it up soon, or we are going to be short egged. May need a new plan?

Aye, there's the rub- for me at least- I know in the back of my mind that chicken people "process" their birds; I have never done that, don't know if I could, they all have names...
(I am in no way criticizing any one that does

In fact I admire the self sufficiency-ness of it all)

And I live where they are "illegal" so I can't get more chickens to pick up the slack, I'm already pushing my luck havng 6.

Well I too hope your red stars lay well again, for your sake and theirs!

honeydoll- glad to know my Comets are par for the course... They did lay through molting which surprised me, as I always read they don't. So I'm not giving up on them yet, spring is coming. But you have customers- hmm, I guess people who buy eggs from small businesses realize that the production wanes sometimes?​

 

[honeydoll]

BitsyB: my customers don't totally realize that. So I went out and bought an already laying New Hampshire Red, but she is stressed from the move so not laying yet

Hopefully soon. I sold 5 dozen yesterday and now am down to 1 doz. Come on girls, moma needs those eggs.....

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll give my opinion. Take it for what you think it is worth.

I'm not exactly sure what is going on with yours since you say you provide artificial light. I personally don't buy into the thought that they burn out just because they are egg laying hybrids. They are simply crosses between good egg laying chickens so they are usually good egg laying chickens. They are crosses between strains of breeds that can be sexed at hatch. The parent flocks are going to be egg laying machines that will have about the same egg laying habits as their offspring.

Hens are preprogrammed to lay a certain number of eggs in their life. They are hatched with a set number of eggs. This total number can vary by individual and by breed. If they live to be four or five years old, they can still lay eggs, just usually not many a week or a month.

Some things that could be happening. Have yours molted? If you are providing artificial light, they may not have. If they are molting, they stop laying and use the protein and nutrients that was going into egg production to grow feathers instead. That would explain why they are slowing down or stopping.

If they have not molted, egg laying slows down the longer they go without molting, after a certain point. Their body just needs a chance to rejuvenate itself. I've had pullets that started laying late summer, continue to lay all winter and the next season, not going through a major molt until 16 months after they first started to lay. They may do a mini-molt, but not a full body shutdown. The egg shells get lighter in color and they slow down some in how much they lay. Not slow down a whole lot, but some. It maybe that yours are just getting tired and need a chance to rest.

A chicken will go through a couple of juvenile molts before they start to lay. These don't count. Mini-molts as adults don't really count. Their first full adult molt is the first one that counts. After their first full adult molt, they come back laying larger eggs and usually lay just as often. The rub comes in that after the second adult molt, they come back laying eggs that might be a bit larger but they lay about 15% less often. After each adult molt, after the second one, they normally drop production by about 15% each molt. Each chicken is an individual and can vary from this a whole lot, so you have to have enough chickens for averages to mean something. If you flock is big enough, the flock will average about 15% drop in production after a molt. If your flock is not big enough for averages to mean much, it could be a lot less or a lot more.

This all assumes a normal cycle. If you keep them on artificial light and prevent them from molting for a long time, then the drop-off after an adult molt could be a lot more. Could be. I really don’t know.

Things other than a molt can cause them to slow down or stop laying. Any kind of stress can cause it, from hot or cold weather to running out of water. A fright from a predator could cause a temporary drop. Adding or removing other chickens can cause a temporary slowdown since that upsets the pecking order and causes stress. It is not that any of these absolutely will, but they can. It is real common for mine to slow down in a cold snap, them come back.

If you have a 10,000 hens laying in a commercial hen house and about 5 of these hen houses, a 15% drop in production is real noticeable. Most commercial operations induce a molt when their layers are fairly young to get the egg size up to grade A large and get the regular production. Some may keep them after their second adult molt since they still lay a real nice egg and the lay rate is still pretty good. But they cannot afford to keep them after that laying season. The feed to egg conversion rate is just not that good. You may call that “burn-out” but I call it the normal life cycle of a hen. It does not matter if they are Comets, Leghorns, or Rhode island Reds.