cityeggs
Songster
So, I can't quite remember the last time I saw an egg from my Wyandotte, who is just over a year old (1y2mo). I know the days are getting shorter and hens do slow down or stop laying all together around now, depending on breed and sunlight hours where they live. Mine have definitely slowed down, but my BA and RSL continue to lay at least few times a week, while the Wyandotte has stopped all together as far as I can tell. I also am pretty sure she's the one who laid two soft-shelled eggs within the few weeks before stopping all together (each probably a week apart). I'm in the Bay Area, so temps are relatively mild, and sunlight is around 7am-5pm, though there's currently a lot of shade over their run and foraging area - would that make a difference?? Aren't Wyandottes known for laying through the winter? Should I be worried about something else going on with her, or did she just not get the memo about Wyandotte winter laying expectations?
In general, I do worry about her a little more - she's got a mild beak deformity and while seems to do just fine getting food etc., her eggs always seem on the thin side, even with layer feed and always available OS & egg shells as often as I can get them out there. Her eggs get those slight gray spots on them within a few days on the counter - I have always assumed it had something to do with a more porous shell, but I don't remember being able to find a similar photo in the big pile of egg problem photos/explanations, so I'm not sure on that. I did start to mix in some higher protein feed with their layer feed a few months back (there was some feather pecking going on, and I had the chick crumble for chicks anyway) and one is crumble and the other is pellet, so I wonder if she's maybe eating more crumble than layer pellet but I can't quite tell. Aside from being well endowed in the backside feathers like a good Wyandotte, she's not so great at preening, and I did notice she is due for a good posterior clean-up and some feather trimming - any possibility that this is causing problems for laying? She's the hardest to catch (it probably doesn't help that when I catch her, she has to be subjected to vent feather cleaning), so I haven't checked more closely yet, other than just seeing from a distance that she's a bit of a mess.
I didn't look carefully at her comb today, but I feel like it is still healthy and red as far as I remember. When hens take a breather in the winter, do their combs go pale, like when they stop laying all together, or do they stay red? I also did notice quite a bunch of GLW feathers under the roost when I quickly cleaned up this morning that had appeared over night - could she be molting already? I thought that didn't happen until closer to 18 mo - or is that just the average, and there are significant outliers? I was really hoping to have a few more layers before these girls started their 18mo molt and take a break, but both the chicks I picked out a few months back turned out to be the sort that will never lay eggs *sigh*.
She's definitely not broody, I know that much!
In general, I do worry about her a little more - she's got a mild beak deformity and while seems to do just fine getting food etc., her eggs always seem on the thin side, even with layer feed and always available OS & egg shells as often as I can get them out there. Her eggs get those slight gray spots on them within a few days on the counter - I have always assumed it had something to do with a more porous shell, but I don't remember being able to find a similar photo in the big pile of egg problem photos/explanations, so I'm not sure on that. I did start to mix in some higher protein feed with their layer feed a few months back (there was some feather pecking going on, and I had the chick crumble for chicks anyway) and one is crumble and the other is pellet, so I wonder if she's maybe eating more crumble than layer pellet but I can't quite tell. Aside from being well endowed in the backside feathers like a good Wyandotte, she's not so great at preening, and I did notice she is due for a good posterior clean-up and some feather trimming - any possibility that this is causing problems for laying? She's the hardest to catch (it probably doesn't help that when I catch her, she has to be subjected to vent feather cleaning), so I haven't checked more closely yet, other than just seeing from a distance that she's a bit of a mess.
I didn't look carefully at her comb today, but I feel like it is still healthy and red as far as I remember. When hens take a breather in the winter, do their combs go pale, like when they stop laying all together, or do they stay red? I also did notice quite a bunch of GLW feathers under the roost when I quickly cleaned up this morning that had appeared over night - could she be molting already? I thought that didn't happen until closer to 18 mo - or is that just the average, and there are significant outliers? I was really hoping to have a few more layers before these girls started their 18mo molt and take a break, but both the chicks I picked out a few months back turned out to be the sort that will never lay eggs *sigh*.
She's definitely not broody, I know that much!