Molting and egg production

[chickenthyme]

Well I have my two Easter Eggers that are molting and of course, not producing eggs plus I have an Olive egger that's been on hiatus for quite a while. She didn't do a severe molt but she's still not laying. Girls are about 19 months. Hubby thinks I should move on and get rid of these and get new chicks in the spring. I thought I understood that after they molt and get new feathers, they should start producing again.

My golden wyandotte and the other one () are laying occasionally. So I'm having to buy eggs unfortunately. Anything else I should feed molting girls so help them? I have been giving them meal worms and sunflower seeds in the morning extra. All of a sudden two of my original girls have become VERY nasty to the rest of the girls. Frustrating! Never had this problem until recently.......

 

[sourland]

Once the molt is completed they will resume laying - possibly not until the day light period starts to increase.

 

[mcdze]

depends you never know what a chicken will do lol .. generally from what ive seen with my birds the first year molt isnt severe and they'll slow down but not stop laying if theyre getting the right diet and dont feel stressed otherwise .. you can 'help' them through this troubling time by making them feel more special .. give them some variety .. some greens, some pieces of bread .. dont over-do it and dump a large quantity in the run or anything like that .. just feed them as treats enough that everybody gets some .. you will probably be rewarded with alittle better laying .... but on subsequent years and during a severe molt theyre not going to lay .. and having a strategy to add a couple of birds here and there and maybe cull out some that just arnt cutting it is part of keeping things going ... i ease my own mind by keeping my setup 'free-roaming' .. being careful i'll still lose a bird occasionally or i can actually force the issue and let stragglers with bad attitudes stay out of the coop, they wont last too long ..

 

[Ridgerunner]

The typical pattern is that they lay very well their first egg laying season, then stop laying and use the nutrients that were going into egg production to grow new feathers. After the molt is over they start laying again. Some start as soon as they finish, some wait until the longer days of spring to start. Most of mine do not wait to start back up but some do. Their second laying season is usually as good as the first plus the eggs should be a bit bigger. You have that to look forward to.

The next time they molt egg production isn't as good as it had been the first two laying seasons. With some the drop-off is pretty steep, with some not that much. This is when some of us get rid of them.

It takes a couple of years to get the system going, but I replace half my hens every year. That way I have some in their first laying season, some in their second, and some pullets ready to start laying.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Once my hens begin molting, I don't see another egg until after winter solstice. For that reason I stagger my flock ages (so I add some chicks every 2 years) as well as save up late summer/early fall eggs in order to minimize how many eggs I have to buy.

Last year I only had to buy 1 dozen. This year, as I have new younger pullets, I should get some amount of eggs through the winter so I don't have a big stockpile like I had last year.

 

[Newby777]

This is start

Once my hens begin molting, I don't see another egg until after winter solstice. For that reason I stagger my flock ages (so I add some chicks every 2 years) as well as save up late summer/early fall eggs in order to minimize how many eggs I have to buy.

Last year I only had to buy 1 dozen. This year, as I have new younger pullets, I should get some amount of eggs through the winter so I don't have a big stockpile like I had last year.

This is feeling really hard!! Is it worth it to care for and feed a flock that doesn’t lay all winter? What did I do?!

 

[rosemarythyme]

This is start

This is feeling really hard!! Is it worth it to care for and feed a flock that doesn’t lay all winter? What did I do?!

Well, it is for me, but my chickens are pets anyhow. And I accept that eggs are a seasonal food (thankfully before I got chickens, the local farm I bought eggs from explained that to me) and so that's why I take steps to make sure I can keep my fridge stocked as long as possible.

If eggs are 100% the only reason you want chickens, then maybe your best bet would be to start early each spring with started pullets, keep them through winter, and then sell them after winter each year as mature layers. Or there's forced molting + artificial lighting through winter, which is what some commercial set ups do, but I don't know how difficult it'd be to replicate that sort of process in a backyard flock.

 

[Newby777]

Well, it is for me, but my chickens are pets anyhow. And I accept that eggs are a seasonal food (thankfully before I got chickens, the local farm I bought eggs from explained that to me) and so that's why I take steps to make sure I can keep my fridge stocked as long as possible.

If eggs are 100% the only reason you want chickens, then maybe your best bet would be to start early each spring with started pullets, keep them through winter, and then sell them after winter each year as mature layers. Or there's forced molting + artificial lighting through winter, which is what some commercial set ups do, but I don't know how difficult it'd be to replicate that sort of process in a backyard flock.

Ya, I guess you are right. My husband talked me into chickens FOR the eggs. I’ve enjoyed them much more then I thought I ever would! The kids (8 and 12 YO boys), and all their friends love them. We have been given an incubator to hatch some ourselves. It definitely is a hobby. But sometimes I question my sanity between them, a puppy, sheep and goats. The chickens give back though! It’s SOO satisfying to be more self sufficient. It’s my first year (6 months really), with Chickens so I really don’t have great perspective yet. My hubby is building us an insulated combination coop of all coop/runs. It is over engineered and gorgeous. I can’t wait to put them in! I hope they love it!!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ya, I guess you are right. My husband talked me into chickens FOR the eggs. I’ve enjoyed them much more then I thought I ever would!

Eh, then you'll survive letting them slack off for the winter. Since it sounds like you're expanding the set up (which means more birds!), really consider staggering flock ages, whether 1 year or 2, and that should reliably give you some eggs during winter.

Of course you may still need to sit down and figure out with your family how to handle retired layers, because they will start to decline after year 2 or 3. Of my 7 hens I have 2 that are fully rtired, but as we have space to keep more birds than we need, it's not an issue. But not everyone wants to feed birds that are producing nothing at all.

 

[jreardon1918]

Eggs and molting... We are 3 1/2 years in. We only have 4 hens. No eggs in almost a month. The 3 pullets (now 21 weeks) seem close to laying. So, If I were to do it all over again, I would have a slightly larger coop. Coop is 4x8' I would go with 8x8'. That would well fit our needs. First year half "fill" it. Next spring, add about 1/3-1/2. Next spring add 1/3-12 AND consider subtraction. This routine would keep us in eggs. Not overcrowd the coop and run. Allow for mini losses.

** edit ** Fit does not equal jam them in. Using the suggested square feet minimum. I would target always having 12-16 chicks/pullets/hens.