Can someone help me with my eggless situation????

[emys]

I've read only 14 hours, and I bet most will lay with 12 hours of light. It can be just a 25 watt red bulb as well.

Have you tried supplementing their diet with a source of lean protein? I find canned sardines or tuna help to speed a molt, but if you have a lot of chickens it can be expensive.

How old are your hens? It takes longer to re-grow feathers and complete a molt the older the hen.

What about an environmental conditions - such as too little ventilation in the coop or nighttime noises which may be disturbing their sleep?

Just trying to think of anything which might help you.

 

[mdbokc]

I wish I could help. But I can say that I am letting the girls go with the natural light pattern in the AM and they get an extra 15-25 minutes of light after natural dark at night. This is because they don't return to the coop until the last possible minute (just like kids coming in) and they like to eat before settling in for the night on the roosts.

They are laying fine and mine are getting 13 hours of light.

I am clueless on what you should do. Sorry.

 

[carolina chicky]

They are losing TONS of feathers, so maybe it is a molt. But what exactly is a molt and why does it happen?

 

[mdbokc]

Go to the top of the page and type in molt in the SEARCH box on the right side. Then you will be linked to several threads that discuss the topic. That's what I do when I am looking for info on a topic. Different threads have different gems of info. Have fun.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Molt is the annual loss of feathers in mature fowl. Most do this right before cool weather sets in to get their new feathers for the next year. It takes them about 40 to 60 days to complete this cycle. They will drop off in egg production or some just simply stop during molt. They use the energy it takes to make the eggs to make new feathers. This is all normal and they will probably start back laying soon. So don't give up yet. Rember a little extra TLC and they'll be just fine. Whole oats and a little extra protien will help out on the laying.

 

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:
My chickens were blowing tons of feathers. One great suggestion on BYC is to increase the amount of protein in their diet because feathers are largely made up of protein. I fed ours some additional dry cat food (30% protein), mixed in some water to soften it, I feed that for two weeks and they loved it and they stopped blowing out feathers.

Good luck,

Hugh