Gone off lay!

Pics
Date sort Score sort
cherrynberry said:
Check their butts for wounds and pin feathers. Look under the vent for wounds and in areas where they are missing feathers for pin feathers. Pin feathers would mean molting. A wound may mean flystrike, hoping not, but its better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Their rear backs are all full of pins - presumably cockerel damage repairing itself? But then again... The cockerel is still with them!
 
Chuckkeeper said:
Their rear backs are all full of pins - presumably cockerel damage repairing itself? But then again... The cockerel is still with them!
Click to expand...
They are molting, thus little to no eggs. From a flock of 25, I get one egg a day once they are in deep molts or dont get enough daylight.
 
Chuckkeeper said:
Well two of them now look shiny and brand new... So hopefully...
Click to expand...
Its the time of year to start molting where I live. They usually molt from somewhere in late summer to winter. I have heard some people say roosters molt slowly throughout the year, not sure if that is true.
Chuckkeeper said:
How long do you normally find between moult & laying? Not that I'm in a rush, to be honest. They will take their time, and they deserve to!
Click to expand...
For me? It takes quite a while. Usually they stop laying in the fall through winter and start in Spring. Other than molting, chickens like to lay when there is atleast 14-16 hours of daylight. I like to feed higher protein when they are molting so they get their feathers back. For example, you trimmed the feathers on their butt, those can only grow back during a molt. My hens are beginning a molt as well.
 
My guess is given the fact that they were just rehomed (the stress of which can stop laying for a few weeks) plus their ages (they're due to molt soon and from what I've seen the older the bird, the sooner they tend to start molting), that you may not see any eggs from some of those birds until next spring.

You may still get a couple eggs of a few of the hens are slower to molt and just getting used to the new home, but no way of telling until that happens.
 
rosemarythyme said:
My guess is given the fact that they were just rehomed (the stress of which can stop laying for a few weeks) plus their ages (they're due to molt soon and from what I've seen the older the bird, the sooner they tend to start molting), that you may not see any eggs from some of those birds until next spring.

You may still get a couple eggs of a few of the hens are slower to molt and just getting used to the new home, but no way of telling until that happens.
Click to expand...
This^^^
 

Similar threads

momma2chickies
2yo Chickens still not laying after winter
Replies
2
Views
358
momma2chickies
momma2chickies
F
My 4 mature 18-month old hens are not laying consistently. Could it be the feed or heat?
2
Replies
16
Views
671
Flixflaxnoob
F
A
Hens not laying
Replies
3
Views
1K
Cpgrnwd
C
angc11
    • Love
    • Like
First egg from hen and observed behaviors leading up to lay
Replies
5
Views
622
angc11
angc11
F
Some of flock stopped laying
Replies
6
Views
2K
flappityflippers
F

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom