Official BYC Poll: Where Do You Get Your Eggs From When Your Hens Are Molting?

[BDutch]

My chickens don’t molt badly and not all in the same time. So I have a bit less eggs which is no problem.

Wintertime with short days is a bigger issue. Especially the older hens take a long winter break. I bought organic (free range) and ‘rondeel’ * eggs from december till march last year.

I don’t like to buy so much store eggs as I did last year. That’s why I was in search for a bantam breed that lays well throughout the winter. I have 2 bantam RIR pullets at point of lay now. Hopefully they give us (almost) enough eggs for our own use.

* Rondeel eggs are from hens in a Dutch concept who live in a nice setup with lots of indoor and covered outdoor space. Because we had contagious bird flew last winter and spring, chickens needed to be locked inside / in covered runs. This ‘rondeel’ concept is great for this issue. Bird flew happened for a couple of years on a row in Europe/the Netherlands. It spreads easily with geese and wild ducks. For several winters on a row, commercial chickens had to be locked in and there where sanitation rules for transport, to stop the spreading.

 

[DatCampG]

I keep thirty to fourty eighteen packs and that is after giving eggs away to the elders in my community. Farm fresh eggs keep up to ninety days refrigerated but I have kept them four months and they still taste great. I will have new egg layers starting December 2021, January and February 2022.

 

[RebelEgger]

Our 2 big girls will be going into their first molt so we will see what happens with their laying. Hopefully our 2 littles will start earning their keep by the time this happens!!

 

[Alderen]

When we had a flock of 10, we always had enough eggs to get us by even during molting season.

 

[Shadrach]

From the pullets that hatched earlier in the year.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I have new layers this year as well.
Last winter was an egg desert here. Store eggs were expensive and disappointing.

 

[Iluveggers]

Still getting about 2 a day from my 8 hens. Pullets should start laying within the month. Not using eggs as much as normal but still have enough for weeekend omelets and breads/meatball recipes.

 

[BDutch]

Kept two pullets that should be on POL now. Unfortunately/probably a hunting-cat took them both and I have to buy eggs the upcoming months.

I always buy organic eggs in winter. Their feed isn’t poisoned and doesn’t come from ex-rainforests. And the chickens have a bit more space than the normal factory farm chickens. But unfortunately no outside space since we have a continuous HPAI risk and its forbidden to free range poultry in open air in the central area of my country where most farms with previous free range poultry are located.

The big farmers (factory farm lobby) don’t want to quit the export. Therefore they cant vaccinate now (Eu law has to be changed first). The possibility to vaccinate has been developed , tested, and seems to work. They are now testing on a larger scale/in the field. The vaccins are injected in the eggs in the hatcheries.
From January 2024 it is allowed to vaccinate the chickens that are not meant for export. But I’m not sure if that means all organic chickens can free range outside again.

Edited with more accurate info from levende have.