New Member Introduction

Date sort Score sort
Cocktails with Chickens said:
Cocktails with chickens here: My husband was the chicken whisper. After he passed two years ago, I took over, with the help of my good neighbors, the care of "the girls." We had 6 backyard chickens but I lost 3 with the summer heat in Florida. I'm not real happy with the girls right now. They stopped laying when molting and have not begun to lay again. They get a good diet of oats, black sunflower seeds, corn, diatomaceous earth, pellets, grit and protein. I let them out of their coop early in the morning and they put themselves back in the coop when they're ready. They're almost 3 yrs old. Two have begun using the laying box to sleep. I block that off in the evening and remove in the morning. I take the food up every evening also. I check all their hideouts when roaming the yard for stray eggs. Never find any. It's too expensive to feed with no egg productions.
Any suggestions? Feeding them fermented food will not happen on my watch. Just saying.
Click to expand...
Welcome! Make sure they are getting a lot of protein. That is what helps them through the molt the most. Regrowing feathers is painful and hard on their systems. Also, are your nesting boxes higher than adequate perches? They usually choose to roost in the highest spot. Treats should be about 10% or less of their diet. I hope you don't give up on them. Hope you find a way to keep them.
 
Glad to meet you, and my heart goes out to you, carrying on with the chickens after your chicken whisperer passed. It really does vary by the breed of chicken both how long they will go on laying, and whether they will lay in winter months. High production hybrid breeds like golden comets (aka cinnamon queens, ISA browns), austra white, red star and black star start laying early, and lay very heavily but peter out after a couple years. Here is a list of breeds known for laying in winter months.
 
Glad to meet you, and my heart goes out to you, carrying on with the chickens after your chicken whisperer passed. It really does vary by the breed of chicken both how long they will go on laying, and whether they will lay in winter months. High production hybrid breeds like golden comets (aka cinnamon queens, ISA browns), austra white, red star and black star start laying early, and lay very heavily but peter out after a couple years. Here is a list of breeds known for laying in winter months.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom