Anyone noticing an unusually poor November egg production?

[phill1957]

My 3 hens quit laying for about 5 weeks just now starting to get 1 egg a day We live in central IL and pullets are about 7 mos. this is my 1st yr with chxs Also any suggestions on how to get them to use nesting boxes? they lay right beside on floor.

 

[dlgd]

I had a HORRIBLE laying summer, but they seem to making up for lost time. Oh course it's very cold here and I have red lights in the coop SO.........bumper crop of eggs!

 

[Rusty66211]

I have 48 hens and 2 roosters and my "old" ladies that are a year old are mostly molting so no eggs there. My "babies" have now started to lay and I am finally getting about 8 to 10 eggs a day again. My ladies are usually paying for themselves with the eggs they lay but lately I have had to pay their way. So not cool. My 6 EE have not laid a egg in two weeks even though only two of them are molting ? I guess I will have to try the extra protein because my hubby blew the electricity for the coop so no light in there this winter. I am glad though that other people are having the same problem.

 

[savingdogs]

I wonder if all these stories mean chickens are not laying well this year, or that people whose chickens are not doing well this year are drawn to post on this thread? A few of you are posting that yours are doing fine, but I wonder if this year is special in some way. Perhaps the birds know that a bad winter is coming and it wouldn't be a good time to hatch chicks? Interesting. I think we will try a bag of game bird feed next time after reading all your suggestions.

I have 25 chickens, 20 of which should or could be laying, nobody is molting and I'm getting 0-4 eggs a day. Last year we did much better, although that was our first year with most of these hens. My customers are all asking for eggs to bake for the holidays and I only have a few to sell. We also have four ducks and they are laying about one egg a day or every other day. I do have one duck that was broody last month so that kind of blows my theory about them knowing a bad winter is coming. We already have snow and it is the earliest I can remember it snowing here.

 

[ruralgirl]

For most breeds of hens to continue laying throughout the Winter, it’s imperative to provide at least 14 hours of light for them which can mean adding as much as 5 hours each day. It doesn’t have to be bright light, just a 60 watt bulb attached every few feet along the ceiling will do.

Unless you want to be out there flipping the switch every morning (grin), you need an inexpensive timer. IMO, it’s best to add light early in the morning, not at night, because if your lights go on at, say, 5pm, and turn off at 9pm, the sudden darkness can prevent your girls from being able to roost and they’ll spend the night on the floor. OTOH, if your lights suddenly come on at 4am, you may annoy them, but at least they’ve been safely roosted all night.

The time of year that your chicks hatch has a lot to do with how well they’ll lay during their first Winter, even without lights. Chicks born in the Spring will be laying their first eggs in the Fall and will NOT molt that first Winter. Thus, you’ll get a one-time full year of lay out of them before they molt the following Winter.

OTOH, chicks born in the Fall or late Summer will lay their first eggs in the Spring and WILL molt a few months later when Winter hits. And, of course, even with 14 hours of lighting, most hens decrease their Winter lay with each additional year of age. I finally hit zero percent lay for about 3 months last Winter when I let my RIRs reach 6 years of age.

BTW, after 24 years with laying hens, I’m now hooked on Cuckoo Marans. What fantastic birds! My chicks from last April began laying at only 4½ months old and their eggs were never pullet sized, starting out at almost medium. And, of course, the color! How could a chocoholic like me not love that gorgeous color!

 

[the_eagle69]

350 chickens average of about 140 eggs should be at about 250 to 300

 

[brother-al]

yep. 27 hens. 8 or 10 eggs a day, know what ya mean.

 

[Jajika]

Glad it is not just me or my girls.

Yes, November was very space in the egg department. I have some chickens that are older, but even the one year olds slowed down.

Probably due to a wet and coldish month, although we did have some unusually warm days. Basically we had an entire year of seasons in one month.

Can anyone say, "Climate Change?"

 

[dbcox]

Central Florida with 3 Barred rocks and only one egg a day. Now that we see there are others with unusually low production can anyone hazard a guess?

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Quote:
Feed quality problems, maybe?