I have 1 partridge rock, 2 EE's, who were previously laying. Two weeks ago they suddenly stopped, and not an egg since then. The PR does seem to be molting, since there are a lot of brown feathers around the run, but the others don't seem to be. I also have 4 22 wk olds (BLRW, Welsummer, and a mutt) that haven't started laying...which I pretty much expected. So for the first 3, is it the shortening days or a molt? Do they all usually molt at the exact same time? Should I add some light to the coop and run (we've got about 10 hours of daylight now)? I don't want to over-tax them, but I would like a few eggs a week. If it is a molt, how long before egg laying resumes? Thanks for any help.
Mine also completely stopped I think it's the colder weather and shorter days, but I Had no idea they would completely STOP all together. I havn't had a single egg in 3 weeks!
Well, the molt may be the obvious answer for the one hen. A molt can last 1-2 monhts, depending ion the weather. Heat is usually what triggers a molt. As far as the others, there's an adjustment when the weather starts getting cold, mostly because of the shortened daylight. I would suggest a light on a timer to extend the daylight, as you were wondering. After a couple of weeks doing that for mine this fall, they started laying again and seem very content. I have the light come on automatically at dusk, and it stays on for 3 hours then shuts off automatically. Plus, it has the added benefit of being a light to bring them in to the coop from free-ranging in the evening. And it heats the coop up a bit before bed. Good luck!
My Standards pretty much completely stopped as well. Out of 9 hens that should be laying, I got no eggs for almost 2 weeks, and 2 random eggs over the weekend. I am still getting about 3-4 eggs each day from my bantams. There should be 7 or so laying in that coop though. I only see 1 of my hens molting, so I can only figure its the weather thats affected them all so much.
So molt AND light issues? I think I may add a light to come on in the morning. I'm worried they'll just sit in the coop and harass each other though.
