I'd appreciate a little input from those with more knowledge. I have six laying pullets 9-10 months old. I've read that pullets often are not as affected by the shorter days in regards to laying and mine have actually fared quite well, dropping egg production by only about a third, far from the zero laying I hear others complain about. However, I recently moved my birds to our new home. They took up residence in a new coop and run with 26 younger birds and saw their coop commandeered for others. Needless to say, laying dropped a lot for a week or so. Only one pullet seemed unaffected by the move and stress and only today have things returned to normal.
The thing is, today I got seven eggs. I only have six laying birds. The oldest bird after these six is only eleven weeks old. Last night at 5pm, I checked and there were no eggs. This morning when I let the birds out, there were three. Tonight at 5pm, there were four more. Now my chickens have been really good about continuing to lay through the cold season, but there's still been some decline. So seven eggs?!
The seventh egg is small, as small as a bantam egg. I know egg size can vary for an individual sometimes. The egg is identical in color to that of a hen I have laying, the only one with cream eggs, but hers was one of the ones from the evening collection, along with the small egg. So, either she laid two eggs in less than 12 hours, or one of the 11-week-old chicks is laying??? That's not possible, right? Right? Could my cream-laying pullet be stopped up from the stress of the move? She's the one, though, who was least affected and kept on laying no matter what.
Any ideas?
Photo is of Prudence's (cream-layer) egg, which is a shade small for her, and the small egg. The coin is a quarter.
The thing is, today I got seven eggs. I only have six laying birds. The oldest bird after these six is only eleven weeks old. Last night at 5pm, I checked and there were no eggs. This morning when I let the birds out, there were three. Tonight at 5pm, there were four more. Now my chickens have been really good about continuing to lay through the cold season, but there's still been some decline. So seven eggs?!
The seventh egg is small, as small as a bantam egg. I know egg size can vary for an individual sometimes. The egg is identical in color to that of a hen I have laying, the only one with cream eggs, but hers was one of the ones from the evening collection, along with the small egg. So, either she laid two eggs in less than 12 hours, or one of the 11-week-old chicks is laying??? That's not possible, right? Right? Could my cream-laying pullet be stopped up from the stress of the move? She's the one, though, who was least affected and kept on laying no matter what.
Any ideas?
Photo is of Prudence's (cream-layer) egg, which is a shade small for her, and the small egg. The coin is a quarter.
