Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

My eggs are still increasing. I have too many young ladies that are starting to lay. They are still small pullet eggs but none the less they are eggs. I think I need to go shopping and stock up on stuff to make a bunch of breakfast burritos to put in the freezer for DH. Just can't seem to find the time to do the cooking.
I was gone all afternoon and had to do my feeding late. I just wanted to stay in and rest. No such luck.

 

[Trish44]

Yeah danz I have new pullets laying now as well, probably at least 3 but the eggs are still really small. My others pretty much all went into molt at the same time. I'll be glad when all of my new pullets start laying so I can have a few more eggs. My egg customers get grouchy when they have to buy store eggs.

 

[chicken danz]

I noticed today that I have some more hens molting in the building. I guess it won't be long until the egg supply dwindles down substantially. The black orps I have in the bamboo laying coop aren't old enough to molt yet so they should keep laying for awhile. At least until the days get a lot shorter.
The silly pullets sure don't seem to understand where to lay. Most of the pullet eggs I am finding are on the ground or the floor of the coop.
It is so hot and humid out there and I'm not feeling well. I had to come in and cool off and rest before I try to do any more work.

 

[Momma2bellas]

Question. I have 2 Polish that stopped laying almost 3 weeks ago they did molt 2 weeks ago. They are only a year old so not old, should they start laying again soon? Eat fine, act fine and nothing wrong that I can see.

 

[chicken danz]

Question. I have 2 Polish that stopped laying almost 3 weeks ago they did molt 2 weeks ago. They are only a year old so not old, should they start laying again soon? Eat fine, act fine and nothing wrong that I can see.

Polish are not good layers. They will lay for a while and then take long breaks and then lay again for a while. Since the days are getting shorter I wouldn't be expecting eggs from them for some time. When they start back up they'll probably lay really well again. It's just the nature of their laying patterns.

 

[HEChicken]

Question. I have 2 Polish that stopped laying almost 3 weeks ago they did molt 2 weeks ago. They are only a year old so not old, should they start laying again soon? Eat fine, act fine and nothing wrong that I can see.

Further to what Danz said about their laying ability, keep in mind that molt takes a long time. Hens will molt differently from year to year, sometimes doing a "slow molt" where they lose the feathers so slowly you almost don't notice it and other times they blow all their feathers at once and run around looking bald. Either way, the losing of the feathers is only a small portion of the molt. What takes the most "energy" is regrowth of the new feathers. From start to finish, the process takes about 8 weeks. Unfortunately, 8 weeks from now when their molt is complete, the days will be a lot shorter than they are now and they might meld the molting excuse for not laying into day length. In reality, it could be spring before they really start up again.

 

[Momma2bellas]

Ok, thank you. Thank goodness I don't rely on them for eggs. Love them for their craziness but man can they drive me nuts.

 

[Momma2bellas]

Further to what Danz said about their laying ability, keep in mind that molt takes a long time. Hens will molt differently from year to year, sometimes doing a "slow molt" where they lose the feathers so slowly you almost don't notice it and other times they blow all their feathers at once and run around looking bald. Either way, the losing of the feathers is only a small portion of the molt. What takes the most "energy" is regrowth of the new feathers. From start to finish, the process takes about 8 weeks. Unfortunately, 8 weeks from now when their molt is complete, the days will be a lot shorter than they are now and they might meld the molting excuse for not laying into day length. In reality, it could be spring before they really start up again

Thank you for the reply. Good thing I have them for their craziness and not the eggs. I took them from a friend who had to many and new from the start they would not lay well.

 

[Trish44]

I agree about the Polish, they're more yard ornaments than layers. People like them because of their looks but that is their best attribute. I also agree with what HEChicken said about the molt & the break from laying. I have true Ameraucanas & they go into molt in the fall & just don't lay all winter. They lay great in the warmer months, but you just can't expect eggs when it's cold from them, so different breeds have different patterns like that. I have some breeds that lay great in the summer but very little in the winter & vice versa. The hybrid chickens like the sex links will lay pretty continuous for about two years & since they lay so much they run out of eggs sooner than other breeds. They may continue to lay a little, but not nearly as much as they did that first two years.

 

[chicken danz]

I raised polish and then later raised show quality bantam polish. The bantams were even worse than the large fowl. They would go 5-6 months without an egg. The large fowl didn't go quite as long. My polish kind of did their molt in stages. Molt some feathers for a few weeks, maybe lay and egg or two and then molt some feathers for another couple months. I never did have a polish that totally blew their feathers like a lot of chickens do when they molt. One of the reasons I quit breeding them was their indecisive laying patterns when I was trying to breed for offspring, plus having to keep them separate from the other chickens the rest of the time because they were always getting picked on. The better the quality, the more they got picked on. Those head crests especially on the hens would blind them so they were easily attacked. I could pick mine up cause they never saw me coming. I would actually put some hens crest up in a little pony tail in the front so they could see to get around. I did like them other wise though.
When it comes to certain breeds most of them lay a lot in the spring and summer. But I have a couple of breeds that lay in winter better than the rest of the year. It's pretty crazy. I've got some cranking out eggs right now that I virtually got nothing out of since last winter.