Arkansas folks speak up.........

[draye]

Who else is experiencing a drastic shortage of eggs right now? I'm doing everything I can for the girls to lay more, but I've gone from getting 9 a day from 12 down to 4 if I'm lucky. They are first year pullets too, I thought they would have laid better....I have 12 more at 32 weeks that haven't even started yet, and most of those girls don't even look close. What gives?

Out of about 17 that are of laying age, I'm getting anywhere from 4 to 10 eggs a day. It just depends on what day they decide to lay.
We've recently switched brands of laying pellets so I don't know for sure if that has anything to do with it or not.
Yesterday (11/4/2012), I got 7 eggs 5 mature hens eggs and 2 pullet eggs.

 

[FOGELLY]

If they are well feed and healthy (which they probably are) it may just be the amount of daylight. Length of day effects laying.
Try adding 2-3 hours of artificial light in the morning. I use an inexpensive dial timer and a 40watt bulb when I want to stimulate pullets or hens to start laying. It usually takes about 3 weeks of additional light to get them going again. You have to keep light until the days get longer.

Ron

 

[draye]

I have my lights burning 24/7 unless they burn out and I don;t notice for a day or two.

 

[Simmonsfunnyfrm]

Okay because I have been doing the artificial light thing but only for about a week. I guess it will just take a couple more weeks for them to adjust.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I'm looking for someone that I bought goats milk soap from last year and I can't remember the BYC name. I think her real name was Kassandra and she was from Arkansas. She raises faverolles. If anyone knows who it is let me know please! I want to order more soap from her.

 

[Arkansas81]

Simmonsfunnyfarm: I had the same problem. I did the light thing too, also sprinkle cyanne pepper on their food, and put apple cider vinager in their water-just a drop or two. Make sure their nesting boxes are clean, dry and very cozy, possibly see if the coop is warm enough. I put painters plastic all the way around my coop-leaving the entire front open for air flow, plus I did the other things-AND BOOM! now not all of my hens are laying yet, but it shouldn't be much longer. I keep their light on all day when it's really cold, rainy, hazy out. I hope they come around for you too. Mine are first year pullets about 7/8 months old. I was getting really worried about their health, but when I did some tweeking, they came around.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I add light a little at a time, usually its in the morning. I will stop when I get the maxium amount i want.

 

[John farmer]

we run lights to achieve 17hrs a day of light , we bought a cheap timer and set it to come on at 3:30am go off at 7:30am then come on at 5:30pm and stay on till 9:00pm works great for us our birds have never molted and lay like any other production egg operation , all that being said we only keep the hens till there 2 year and then they get replaced so we always have the next generation being raised. takes a lot of chickens for 10 breeds and a lot of room we try to maintain a minimum of 10 hens and 2 roosters in each breed so we average 6 eggs a day from each breed.

 

[jenjscott]

I'm looking for someone that I bought goats milk soap from last year and I can't remember the BYC name. I think her real name was Kassandra and she was from Arkansas. She raises faverolles. If anyone knows who it is let me know please! I want to order more soap from her.

Her name is buffbeauty, she's not on here much anymore, It's been a rough year. can I pass her a message?

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I wanted to buy some soap from her. But I can get some from a local lady. If she's got other things going on its nothing to worry about.