My chickens slowed down egg production last winter...that was expected...
it was a very harsh 3-4 months.
Then spring came and they were laying back to 80-90%...About then, we noticed our roos were wearing out the hens.....many of my hens were ridden so much they lost feathers on the backside....... so, we got rid of all the roosters. This was about April.
Then ........the awful hot months of the past summer...they slowed down on eggs once again....we figured they would, it was brutal heat!!! ....out of 18 hens...I was getting 7-10 eggs. Still not too bad.
We figured when fall arrived they would pick back up. We noticed they were still loosing feathers on the back sides....??? N ot all of them...just about half of them .....I never had a flock ''molt'' before, but was told this was probally ''the molt'' and they would slow down on egg production during this time. OK.
Well...summer came and went....fall is here..temps are cooler...some of the hens seem to be growing back some of their feathers....while still, others are barebacked now. IN the past 3 months, I average about 5-7 eggs....out of the 18 hens !!!!!!!!!
Is there something else going on here ??? I sell my eggs to cover the cost of feed.....and these girls are NOT earning their keep.
I just need to know what if anything is wrong , or if I can help them to lay better. Hubby is even feeding them peppers !! I feed them egg pellets...no corn till winter months. Any suggestions??? Thanks in advance everyone!
Then spring came and they were laying back to 80-90%...About then, we noticed our roos were wearing out the hens.....many of my hens were ridden so much they lost feathers on the backside....... so, we got rid of all the roosters. This was about April.
Then ........the awful hot months of the past summer...they slowed down on eggs once again....we figured they would, it was brutal heat!!! ....out of 18 hens...I was getting 7-10 eggs. Still not too bad.
We figured when fall arrived they would pick back up. We noticed they were still loosing feathers on the back sides....??? N ot all of them...just about half of them .....I never had a flock ''molt'' before, but was told this was probally ''the molt'' and they would slow down on egg production during this time. OK.
Well...summer came and went....fall is here..temps are cooler...some of the hens seem to be growing back some of their feathers....while still, others are barebacked now. IN the past 3 months, I average about 5-7 eggs....out of the 18 hens !!!!!!!!!
Is there something else going on here ??? I sell my eggs to cover the cost of feed.....and these girls are NOT earning their keep.
I just need to know what if anything is wrong , or if I can help them to lay better. Hubby is even feeding them peppers !! I feed them egg pellets...no corn till winter months. Any suggestions??? Thanks in advance everyone!
