Sorry for the long post but im trying to include all pertinent info...
I have 12 Easter Eggers pullets, 11 welsummer pullets, and one welsummer cockerel in a coop together along with a 9 month old Cinnamon Queen. All of them were hatched on 4-2-23 and shipped together arriving at my local Co-op on 4-4 which is when I bought them and took them home (I worked for the Co-op at the time so I know the timelines are accurate). They were vaccinated against mareks and are parasite free (my FIL is a retired parasitologist living on our farm with us so that had been handy!). the Cinnamon Queen has been laying well. The others started laying off and on around early September. Then like a switch they all stopped except the Cinnamon Queen. We went a week straight with no pullet eggs. We couldn't find any signs of snake disturbances. They do not free range as we have too many predators on our farm but they do have access to a large run. I had 23 2 year old Red Stars laying fine in a different coop so we swapped them overnight one night. The red stars are still laying fine and I'm still not getting any eggs from the pullets expect for the Cinnamon Queen. I have a third coop with 3 year old sapphire gems and the rest of my Cinnamon queens. All 3 coops eat the same layer Feed, 16% laying pellets by Tucker milling. Each coop gets a handful of mealworms once a week, the occasional veggie scraps, and some red wrigglers, night crawlers, or super worms about once every month or 2. I've never had pullets just stop like this but I've also never had these breeds before. We have considered putting a light in to guarantee 10 hours but I've never had an issue with young chickens slowing down during their first winter before. I am willing to try it but I was wanting feedback on whether this is normal before I rig up a light system in the coops. Any suggestions?
I have 12 Easter Eggers pullets, 11 welsummer pullets, and one welsummer cockerel in a coop together along with a 9 month old Cinnamon Queen. All of them were hatched on 4-2-23 and shipped together arriving at my local Co-op on 4-4 which is when I bought them and took them home (I worked for the Co-op at the time so I know the timelines are accurate). They were vaccinated against mareks and are parasite free (my FIL is a retired parasitologist living on our farm with us so that had been handy!). the Cinnamon Queen has been laying well. The others started laying off and on around early September. Then like a switch they all stopped except the Cinnamon Queen. We went a week straight with no pullet eggs. We couldn't find any signs of snake disturbances. They do not free range as we have too many predators on our farm but they do have access to a large run. I had 23 2 year old Red Stars laying fine in a different coop so we swapped them overnight one night. The red stars are still laying fine and I'm still not getting any eggs from the pullets expect for the Cinnamon Queen. I have a third coop with 3 year old sapphire gems and the rest of my Cinnamon queens. All 3 coops eat the same layer Feed, 16% laying pellets by Tucker milling. Each coop gets a handful of mealworms once a week, the occasional veggie scraps, and some red wrigglers, night crawlers, or super worms about once every month or 2. I've never had pullets just stop like this but I've also never had these breeds before. We have considered putting a light in to guarantee 10 hours but I've never had an issue with young chickens slowing down during their first winter before. I am willing to try it but I was wanting feedback on whether this is normal before I rig up a light system in the coops. Any suggestions?
