- Nov 21, 2012
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Hello forum,
I'm pretty new to the chicken hobby - this is my first post. I have a flock of seven hens - a mix of Wyandottes, Partridge Rocks, a New Hampshire Red and a Jersey Giant. They all hatched in April 2011 and began laying last fall. They slowed down laying last winter (but still gave a few eggs/day) and gave 4-5 eggs most days over the spring and summer 2012. This fall, production started dropping to 1-2 eggs/day, then one every other day, then stopped completely about three weeks ago. I had to buy my first supermarket eggs today - what a letdown.
Is this pretty typical for a second winter? I'm providing about 4 hours of supplemental light with an incandescent bulb and I'm in New Jersey, so it hasn't been very cold yet. Some of the girls are molting now but most are in full feather. I had 1-2 hens in various stages of molt throughout the summer, so it isn't like they all switched from eggs to feathers at the same time.
They seem pretty healthy and happy (though I don't have much of a frame of reference) - just no eggs.
If this is a typical slow down, any idea when they might start up again? Or ways to stimulate production? Finally, do some of you have experience with these breeds that could give me an idea how many years they may produce? I'm thinking of adding some chicks to the flock in the spring so I don't end up with a flock of non-laying, geriatric pets!
Thanks for any advice you can provide,
Matt
I'm pretty new to the chicken hobby - this is my first post. I have a flock of seven hens - a mix of Wyandottes, Partridge Rocks, a New Hampshire Red and a Jersey Giant. They all hatched in April 2011 and began laying last fall. They slowed down laying last winter (but still gave a few eggs/day) and gave 4-5 eggs most days over the spring and summer 2012. This fall, production started dropping to 1-2 eggs/day, then one every other day, then stopped completely about three weeks ago. I had to buy my first supermarket eggs today - what a letdown.
Is this pretty typical for a second winter? I'm providing about 4 hours of supplemental light with an incandescent bulb and I'm in New Jersey, so it hasn't been very cold yet. Some of the girls are molting now but most are in full feather. I had 1-2 hens in various stages of molt throughout the summer, so it isn't like they all switched from eggs to feathers at the same time.
They seem pretty healthy and happy (though I don't have much of a frame of reference) - just no eggs.
If this is a typical slow down, any idea when they might start up again? Or ways to stimulate production? Finally, do some of you have experience with these breeds that could give me an idea how many years they may produce? I'm thinking of adding some chicks to the flock in the spring so I don't end up with a flock of non-laying, geriatric pets!
Thanks for any advice you can provide,
Matt
