Put the fear in them

[Rosalind]

I wonder if it IS a fear thing. Mine were, as usual, off-lay due to the lack of sunlight. Two of the hens got sick and I put them in the barn, separate. Vet euthanized one for necropsy and took blood samples from the other, but the other is still kept separate. All of a sudden, I'm getting eggs. Like, if you stop laying, she'll take you away for ever and ever...

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Well, 20 weeks is when some breeds start to lay, so yeah, it's safe to say it's the beginning of a good thing.

If your roos are the same age as your pullets, and they chasing the girls around, 5 roos for 14 hens is way too many. I have 28 hens, (and 5 little baby pullets) and 3 roos is too many. At least 1 is soon going to the freezer. Maybe 2, depending on behavior.

I'll be getting some hatching eggs this spring from breeders, so I'll raise some other roos then.

Recommended ratio is 1 roo per 10 or 11 hens. For 14, I wouldn't keep more than 1, definitely not more than 2.

 

[Celeste]

LOL!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
It's not a fear thing. Hens wouldn't relate missing birds to not laying eggs. It's all hormones, not the will of the hen. No more than you can just "decide not to ovulate". Besides, fear would be stressful, and stress may cause hens to lay less, not more, or so they say. Couldn't prove it by my chickens, they don't get upset by much, nest changes, coop changes, moving them, etc. They just keep on laying anyway.

If this was just recently, your hens were probably molting, they do that in the fall. Every fall. It slows or stops egg production, because they need all that protein to make new feathers.

As for the light, unless you live way north, or have a breed that really is a seasonal layer, once they get through molt, they should resume laying and continue all winter. I actually get more eggs in winter because they aren't constantly going broody. Molt can take as long as 3 months, but if they have adequate protein, (try giving them 20%) you should still get some eggs, just not nearly as many as usual.