Hi all,
This is my first Fall/Winter with chickens. The chicks were hatched in March and are 8 months old. No supplemental light in the coop. Most of the chicks stopped laying a few weeks ago with the exception of my hybrids (red/gold/black sex links). From the hybrids I'm getting on average 3-4 eggs a day from 5 pullets. The other pullets are a mix of breeds (Welsummer, Buckeye, Easter Egger) and are not laying right now. They don't appear to be molting although a couple of them (the Welsummers and EE) are looking a little scruffy right now. No large areas of feather loss or bald areas, just a little scruffy. So my questions:
1) I was under the impression that they would not molt the first fall/winter?
2) When can/should I expect them to begin laying again? Some of my co-workers who have chickens in the Middle TN area said their hens begin laying again around the end of December/First of January?
Thanks, Medda
This is my first Fall/Winter with chickens. The chicks were hatched in March and are 8 months old. No supplemental light in the coop. Most of the chicks stopped laying a few weeks ago with the exception of my hybrids (red/gold/black sex links). From the hybrids I'm getting on average 3-4 eggs a day from 5 pullets. The other pullets are a mix of breeds (Welsummer, Buckeye, Easter Egger) and are not laying right now. They don't appear to be molting although a couple of them (the Welsummers and EE) are looking a little scruffy right now. No large areas of feather loss or bald areas, just a little scruffy. So my questions:
1) I was under the impression that they would not molt the first fall/winter?
2) When can/should I expect them to begin laying again? Some of my co-workers who have chickens in the Middle TN area said their hens begin laying again around the end of December/First of January?
Thanks, Medda