The Old Folks Home

[Beer can]

Be our first real snow accumulation and first serious cold. Ohh well, it is December.

 

[cheepteach]

Be our first real snow accumulation and first serious cold. Ohh well, it is December.

waiting along with you!! NYSEG sent out warning texts already. hunkering
down with a pot of soup and crusty Italian bread

 

[sourland]

Be our first real snow accumulation and first serious cold. Ohh well, it is December.

Same here, and indeed it is winter.

 

[microchick]

Is that hormone related?

Yep. Their whole reproduction system is governed by their pineal gland and the pineal gland is governed by the amount of sunlight they get.

 

[CapricornFarm]

We have had weird winters here since we retired.

Okay, anybody have the answer to this question?

We all know that sunlight and the lengthening of the days is what causes hens to commence laying in the spring and stop laying after they molt, Right? So we are approaching the shortest daylight hours of the year shortly. So why are my hens starting to lay? I mean I'm not complaining. They aren't laying like gangbusters but I got three eggs last week from my Amerauracana and today I got a brown egg from one of my barnyard crosses and two eggs from bantam hens that have just reached POL.

Is the warm weather messing with them? Should I just enjoy their gift eggs and not look too closely at the cause of this early laying pattern? I've never had the girls do this before. They always usually start laying by mid February once the days get longer.

I think the weather has messed up the birds. My 6 or 7 month old Jubilee Orpingtons have moulted!
One is already laying. Some hens are not laying at all but the youngers birds are doing well.

 

[microchick]

I think the weather has messed up the birds. My 6 or 7 month old Jubilee Orpingtons have moulted!
One is already laying. Some hens are not laying at all but the youngers birds are doing well.

I have one hen hatched last year who didn't molt this year. She was a late summer hatch so she should have molted but nope. Didn't shed a feather. She stopped laying but I suspect she is the hen that gave me the brown egg yesterday.

Just weird.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning Old Folks.. My sex links new this year started laying this summer so 4 brown but dropped to ever other day.. EE bought recent laying 2.. Blue marans other coop is laying every other day molted september but small molt.. other in there, blue mix not laying since I traded the cochin out of there

 

[lovesfarms]

Yep. Their whole reproduction system is governed by their pineal gland and the pineal gland is governed by the amount of sunlight they get.

Hmmm, interesting! We both need plenty of sunlight! More reason to spend a lot of time outside with the chickens You hear so much bad about sunlight and cancer but my drs are always saying get more sunshine, get more sunshine!
We often think of heart and brain being the major organs but once the glands don't work right we find out just how much those little things do for us!

 

[lovesfarms]

Early this morning we decided to beat the storm, go to the stand, get some orders done and come home early. 12:30 was to long to wait to come home! We didn't go very far till we had passed 4 fender benders. At the York hills we saw a car come down side ways! Our turn to go up. We thought we wouldn't get to the top, kept spinning- Here at home the road isn't even salted. The first snow melted, it got colder and now it's all ice.

 

[getaclue]

Quacker-Sparkles is a GIRL. She's laid an egg.