Laying improved with rooster gone

[faerywings7]

We lost our rooster about 6 weeks ago and since then my hens have gradually improved their egg production to where I got 9 eggs from my 10 hens today! I've never had this kind of egg production before!! It has to be because the rooster's gone; that's the only thing that's changed. Has anyone else had this experience?

 

[gimmie birdies]

Days are getting lighter. I got rid of my rooster after hatching all the chicks I wanted. (New years hatch.) After my hens stopped laying but it was really cold for a couple of weeks.

 

[Naisha]

Yess I experienced that!! And it was some weeks ago, it’s been cold here, so it has nothing to do with them getting more sunlight or anything. The roosters, I had 2, well one of them was pretty young, so cockerel, were stressing them, so we rehomed them and as soon as they were gone, boom! More eggs! So I think it could be a coincidence because days are getting lighter or it could be that they were a bit stressed.

 

[adstowe]

It could be a number of things, but if the rooster was stressing them out, then that could certainly be the cause. We really don't have enough info on things like his age, temperament, the way they interacted etc to even come up with a good guess. Sometimes things don't fit and it can stress the girls out. Stress isn't conductive to productivity (in anything. Think of a crappy work environment). It certainly could have been him.

 

[faerywings7]

It could be a number of things, but if the rooster was stressing them out, then that could certainly be the cause. We really don't have enough info on things like his age, temperament, the way they interacted etc to even come up with a good guess. Sometimes things don't fit and it can stress the girls out. Stress isn't conductive to productivity (in anything. Think of a crappy work environment). It certainly could have been him.

He was a 1-1/2 year old RIR. Pretty mellow compared to ones we've had in the past, but he did demand that all the girls 'receive' him every morning when they first came down out of the coop. I could tell by bare backs, which of the girls were able to avoid him & which weren't.

 

[faerywings7]

I don't think the amount of daylight has much to do with it. Here in NY we've only gained a couple of minutes. Plus, I've had lights in their run since Nov. to lengthen the amount of daylight they get, but that didn't make a lot of difference in their production. If other people have had this same result after getting rid of their rooster, I think that's the contributing factor. We do miss hearing him crow though, and I had considered replacing him, but after seeing the hens so much happier, I don't think I will.