How long is average molt? NO eggs from my 2 yr old hens for 6 weeks.

[roxysly]

BOG,

I agree about the concern about the heat lamp. I'm always in there fussing with it to make sure it's secure. The structure is an antique one for sure...but the girls seem to like the layout. I definitely need to make some adjustments. As the weather starts to get colder, I'll have to make changes when necessary. Sometimes we can have a mild winter and we'll other times it can be frozen for days below zero.


I have a question for all of you in the below zero weather, If the eggs freeze before I get out to the coop, ( because I'm on campus 3 days a week and the girls don't finish laying till around 1pm or 2pm ) will they need to be thrown out.

I'm still keeping my eye on Sally-jean (my early molter) No more scary red flags with blood on the eggs, but her mood is down right gloomy and she seems lethargic...a bit listless. She seemed to be eating normal today so I will watch again tomorrow. I guess I would be crabby too if I had little blue/black sticks coming out of my skin all at the same time. Yikes looks uncomfortable for sure. :_

roxysly and her girls

 

[Barbs Organic Garden]

to Roxysly:
No problem with frozen eggs. Sometimes I have to freeze mine in the winter when my fridge fills up with unsold eggs. If they freeze hard in the shells they will crack. Just let them thaw when you want to use them. The yolks are not runny after thawing - they are like barely hard-cooked yolks. You can mash them up really easily, and then scramble them. I have to eat egg white omelets now, and my dogs get the yolks. Next time I freeze some I will separate them before I freeze them, and have yolks in one container and whites in another. The yolks don't stick together much, but the whites stick to the yolks in big globs and don't want to let go when you thaw a container of unseparated eggs. You can also just put them in bags and put them in the freezer. Let them crack, and thaw them in a bowl when you're ready to use them. That is by far the easiest way.

My ladies don't get lethargic when they molt, but they do when they begin to set. They definitely stop laying, both because of the molt and because of the shorter days. Yesterday I only got one egg, but usually I get five to seven. That's from 4 three-year-olds, 8 two- year-olds and 10 one-year-olds. We are down to about 13 hours of daylight now, and that's outside. Inside it's dimmer. I'm told it takes 14 hours of daylight to make an egg. But I have 15 pullets coming along. I get mine in the fall, because they don't begin to lay for several months anyway, and it might as well be during the winter when my markets dry up.

 

[ange]

Sounds like me. I THINK ALL MY HENS 11 ARE MOTHING, BUT THINK THEY ARE DONE, SO AM GETTING SOMETIMES 0 OR ONE MAYBE 2 now and then, are thewy still molting, feathers are not as bad and when should we resume the light to make the days look brighter.