Help me reboot my ducks

[billmac]

I got welsh harlequins last spring, and at the right time, they started laying. 9 ducks, 9 eggs. As fall turned into winter, a few got broody and my production went down, 6-7 eggs a day. The trouble is that I had heat lamps on the waterer. So they had 24 hr a day light. Now they don't have the heat lamp on and I'm getting two eggs a day. I know I could force them into a moult with no lights, but it is springtime, so there is more natural light. I've got them on a timed light (about 15 hrs), but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Any ideas?

 

[Amiga]

I found that light is only part of the story. Broodiness, heat, stress, food, and probably other things affect laying.

With my ten runners we were down to three eggs a day in late fall. For other reasons, I brought them into a pen that gets no colder than 45 F. Within a week, maybe two, there were four, then five, then up to nine eggs a day. Then it dropped, a few got broody, and so forth. Then it went back up again. Sometimes I get an extra egg a day or two after a boost with vitamins, which I give just to fortify their immune systems - once a week or so.


So I would think about what kind of stresses they are under, including other animals, activity, etc. I know what Storey's Guide says, but my flock hasn't read the book, so sometimes they depart from its wisdom.

 

[kitchwitch]

Hold down the power button for three seconds then let off it. That should re-boot them.

I couldn't help myself