So, this is my situation: 6 hens under 2 years old, but all lay eggs and have laid well before. Now I get about 1 egg a day and 2 if its extra special 1 orpington, 2 RIRs, 1 EE, 2 Brahmas One of the RIR finally got all her feathers back 2 weeks ago, from a molt in December Food: Coyote Creek Organic Soy Free Layer Treats: Organic greens from my garden or the house and mealworms I raise myself Supplements: grit, oyster shell, and their own ground up shells for calcium Water - 2 sources - chicken nipples in coop and hanging water basin in run Environment: 40ftx20ft run with 70% treecover; run has a brush pile, fire wood, and fallen pecan leaves and huge coop - 10ftx5ft footprint, 11 feet high at tallest part, covered in chicken wire, with elevated all wood box containing 5 nesting boxes and a 5ft long perch, with ventilation on 2 sides of box, for airflow. Nesting material is straw and leaves, with a thin dusting of wood ash to absorb liquids and prevent mites I live in Austin TX - we are currently getting about 10.5 hours of daylight and temps are 30-40 lows and 60-70 highs Our yard is almost entirely shaded by huge trees, so now that the trees are bare, the chickens get more much direct sunlight that in the summer The ladies free range all day, but have access to the coop whenever they want. We used to get 5-7 eggs a day until several months ago. Now, if we are lucky we get one a day. What is going on? Ideas? Is it really the daylight issue? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks Michelle
Yes, it's daylight and moulting. Direct sunlight isn't the issue, it's how many hours that sun is in the sky and 14 hours is the minimum needed to lay well. Also, many birds take 6-8 weeks from the beginning of moulting until they begin to lay again, including several weeks after their feathers have all grown in. What you're describing sounds normal, unfortunately.
