Went through Hurricane and now no eggs. Possible molt?

[clinto]

I live in coastal North Florida and we just dealt with Hurricane Matthew. We fared well with a foot of rain, 90mph winds and tons of debris but no significant flooding. I had several very large branches land on and around my fully enclosed coop/ run but had no real damage. We were lucky. My reason for bringing this up is that we have had only 1 egg in 10 days ever since the storm. All of the hens did fine and i am sure they got freaked out, but they have quit laying completely. It may be a coincidence but i think they are molting now due to the whole 8'x20' run being covered in feathers. All 10 hens are eating, drinking and doing fine but are holding out on me. How long should i expect no eggs during a molt if that is the case? Do major storms put the chickens into a state of shock or conservation where they do not produce? Thanks for the help. I really hope i dont have to go and buy any more eggs.

 

[redsoxs]

With all those feathers it does sound like the molt, however, it seems like chickens molt at different stages - with some starting earlier than others. In fact, I've had some molt and completely regrow new feathers as others were just starting their molt. So, I don't think it's all about the molt. I'm sure the big storm spooked them a little as well. I think they will slowly resume but you'll start to see fewer eggs as the molt progresses. Good luck to you!

 

[donrae]

How old are your birds?

 

[clinto]

2 are 8 months and the rest are 1.5 years old.

 

[chickens really]

It usually takes about 6 weeks after a moult to lay again..Up the protein by using grower crumbles in your layer pellets...
Could be stress also from the rain...Moulting is my guess...

Cheers!

 

[donrae]

Your older birds are prime for molting and taking the winter off. Unless you use supplemental lighting, I'd not count on eggs from them until spring.

the younger birds may just be on pause due to the storm. Not sure about that, you'll just have to wait things out and see if they pick up again.

 

[clinto]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I did a major clean and disinfect of the whole coop and run yesterday to help with any other possible issues. I have a light coming on in the morning to give them almost 14 hours of day light and that has been going for about a week. I can see that at least 4 of them are in full moult now. I did get one egg yesterday finally. I also saw alot of mouse sign behind some boxes and junk in a storage area behind the coop so i set some traps and have already started getting some rodents out. hope to see some improvement soon.