sabrina514
In the Brooder
I have 5 hens. RIR, white leghorn, minorca, buff orpington, and speckled sussex. 4 are about 1- 1.5 years old and the RIR is one that I rescued as a stray last summer (she's what got me into this! 
- no idea how old she is but she's older than the others (I'm thinking maybe 2.5 or 3 years old?). I just know she looked like a mature 1+ year old hen when I got her and was laying about 4 eggs/week.
Egg production dropped end of last summer, possibly partially from the awful heat (we're in SW Ohio but still get some nasty summers). This past one was pretty wet and hot. They were scratching in September so I treated for mites/lice. The scratching stopped. I wormed with Wazine strictly as a precaution in October (did not see worms or evidence of worms).
They started molting in the past month or two (my speckled sussex had quite a yucky one!). My buff orpington and RIR started later and are still molting.
I used to get 4 eggs on average per day. In September it decreased to 2/day. Now we are getting about one egg every other day, and I'm fairly sure my white leghorn is laying all of them. Previously she laid 6-7 days a week- she's a machine! None of the eggs are brown. My speckled sussex has grown all her feathers back and looks very healthy. I can tell the brown eggs apart and she hasn't laid any in well over a month. It's been a couple weeks for my other brown layers. I've never truly been able to tell the white eggs apart.
Do chickens cease laying completely when they molt? How long until they start again? Could it be the shortened daylight (although the RIR, white leghorn, and minorca laid all through the winter last year). Other 2 were too young to lay last winter and started in early spring, so idk what their winter laying habits are.
Should I expect them to increase laying again and when? Could something else be going on? Or should I just go ahead and order more hens for next spring? 4-5 eggs a day is plenty but 1 every other day... if they don't pick back up soon I'm going to have to buy grocery store eggs (gasp!).
Any insight appreciated
- no idea how old she is but she's older than the others (I'm thinking maybe 2.5 or 3 years old?). I just know she looked like a mature 1+ year old hen when I got her and was laying about 4 eggs/week.Egg production dropped end of last summer, possibly partially from the awful heat (we're in SW Ohio but still get some nasty summers). This past one was pretty wet and hot. They were scratching in September so I treated for mites/lice. The scratching stopped. I wormed with Wazine strictly as a precaution in October (did not see worms or evidence of worms).
They started molting in the past month or two (my speckled sussex had quite a yucky one!). My buff orpington and RIR started later and are still molting.
I used to get 4 eggs on average per day. In September it decreased to 2/day. Now we are getting about one egg every other day, and I'm fairly sure my white leghorn is laying all of them. Previously she laid 6-7 days a week- she's a machine! None of the eggs are brown. My speckled sussex has grown all her feathers back and looks very healthy. I can tell the brown eggs apart and she hasn't laid any in well over a month. It's been a couple weeks for my other brown layers. I've never truly been able to tell the white eggs apart.
Do chickens cease laying completely when they molt? How long until they start again? Could it be the shortened daylight (although the RIR, white leghorn, and minorca laid all through the winter last year). Other 2 were too young to lay last winter and started in early spring, so idk what their winter laying habits are.
Should I expect them to increase laying again and when? Could something else be going on? Or should I just go ahead and order more hens for next spring? 4-5 eggs a day is plenty but 1 every other day... if they don't pick back up soon I'm going to have to buy grocery store eggs (gasp!).
Any insight appreciated
