Hello all!
I have 12 hens that are of laying age. 8 of them are about 2 years old (2 EE, 2 White Leghorn, 2 Buff Orpington, 1 Australorp, 1 Black Sex Link), and 4 of them are about 4 years old (3 Barred Rocks, 1 Production Red) (I have another 17 waiting in the wings that are 18 weeks old and should start laying in the next few weeks). In about October, my pen of 8 hens caught Dry Fowl Pox, and at about the same time/towards the end of their fowl pox they started to molt and the pen of 4 hens started to molt right on their heels. I didn't expect to get anything through the molt, and I really didn't (except for my 1 Black Australorp who just kept on a chugging, one egg a day, and her feathers looked AWFUL as a result!). In December I switched all the layers to Purina's "Feather Fixer" feed just to encourage them to come out of that molt and I also added Oyster Shell free choice in the coop (Something I had never really done before). Well, after a few days with the Oyster Shell and the Feather Fixer I started seeing some action, my 2 EE's and my 2 White Leghorns started laying nearly every day (and I would also get a brown egg in their most days too), and their shells were as hard as a brick bat! I took they layers through 2 or 3 bags of Feather Fixer feed, I can't remember exactly how many, and as far as I can tell they finished molting and were starting to lay decently, getting 3-5 eggs a day out of the coop with my 8 two year old chickens, but still not getting any eggs out of my 4 four year old hens. After the Feather Fixer feed I put them back on Layer Crumbles, and then I have switched them for a few weeks to an All Flock feed (so I could then layers and the 18 week old chicks the same feed, it was a little cheaper for me at the time which was kind of a necessity), the whole time keeping oyster shell free choice. Just today I have switched them back to Layer Feed, still with Oyster Shell available, and I intend to keep them on that from here on out. For the last few weeks I am getting 2-3 eggs a day, all from my two year olds and if I get anything from my four year olds I might get 1 egg every week and a half or something. I do not offer any supplemental light. I put a young rooster in with the four year olds, thinking that might encourage them to lay, but it hasn't really, I got an egg right off, and one about 5 days later, and then nothing since.
My questions would be, I am pretty much getting 1/3 production right now, if I am lucky, some days I might only get 1 egg. Is this normal for this time of year, or do I have some sort of problem I need to address? I am in Southeastern Oklahoma, and our high temps have been ranging from 37-50 degrees, depending on the week, and pretty consistently 27-37 at night. and we are getting roughly 10 1/2 hours of daylight right now.
I wasn't too worried, thought it was pretty normal considering the fowl pox, then the molt, and then the cold temps and short days, I pretty much consider every chicken keeper in the world is experiencing about the same thing as me until I start seeing posts and pictures of people getting a dozen eggs a day and then I start thinking, maybe I am doing something way wrong.
Any advice or encouragement would be so helpful. I have been keeping chickens for about 4 years now, and there is a lot I know, but still a lot I don't know and/or just haven't experienced yet.
I have 12 hens that are of laying age. 8 of them are about 2 years old (2 EE, 2 White Leghorn, 2 Buff Orpington, 1 Australorp, 1 Black Sex Link), and 4 of them are about 4 years old (3 Barred Rocks, 1 Production Red) (I have another 17 waiting in the wings that are 18 weeks old and should start laying in the next few weeks). In about October, my pen of 8 hens caught Dry Fowl Pox, and at about the same time/towards the end of their fowl pox they started to molt and the pen of 4 hens started to molt right on their heels. I didn't expect to get anything through the molt, and I really didn't (except for my 1 Black Australorp who just kept on a chugging, one egg a day, and her feathers looked AWFUL as a result!). In December I switched all the layers to Purina's "Feather Fixer" feed just to encourage them to come out of that molt and I also added Oyster Shell free choice in the coop (Something I had never really done before). Well, after a few days with the Oyster Shell and the Feather Fixer I started seeing some action, my 2 EE's and my 2 White Leghorns started laying nearly every day (and I would also get a brown egg in their most days too), and their shells were as hard as a brick bat! I took they layers through 2 or 3 bags of Feather Fixer feed, I can't remember exactly how many, and as far as I can tell they finished molting and were starting to lay decently, getting 3-5 eggs a day out of the coop with my 8 two year old chickens, but still not getting any eggs out of my 4 four year old hens. After the Feather Fixer feed I put them back on Layer Crumbles, and then I have switched them for a few weeks to an All Flock feed (so I could then layers and the 18 week old chicks the same feed, it was a little cheaper for me at the time which was kind of a necessity), the whole time keeping oyster shell free choice. Just today I have switched them back to Layer Feed, still with Oyster Shell available, and I intend to keep them on that from here on out. For the last few weeks I am getting 2-3 eggs a day, all from my two year olds and if I get anything from my four year olds I might get 1 egg every week and a half or something. I do not offer any supplemental light. I put a young rooster in with the four year olds, thinking that might encourage them to lay, but it hasn't really, I got an egg right off, and one about 5 days later, and then nothing since.
My questions would be, I am pretty much getting 1/3 production right now, if I am lucky, some days I might only get 1 egg. Is this normal for this time of year, or do I have some sort of problem I need to address? I am in Southeastern Oklahoma, and our high temps have been ranging from 37-50 degrees, depending on the week, and pretty consistently 27-37 at night. and we are getting roughly 10 1/2 hours of daylight right now.
I wasn't too worried, thought it was pretty normal considering the fowl pox, then the molt, and then the cold temps and short days, I pretty much consider every chicken keeper in the world is experiencing about the same thing as me until I start seeing posts and pictures of people getting a dozen eggs a day and then I start thinking, maybe I am doing something way wrong.
Any advice or encouragement would be so helpful. I have been keeping chickens for about 4 years now, and there is a lot I know, but still a lot I don't know and/or just haven't experienced yet.
