I'm ready for some eggs, Dammit!

[Vanje]

Chicken-keepers, Are your hens still moulting?
Has anyone started to get eggs yet?

[Denninmi]

1. As I said on the other thread, mine never quit entirely.

From 9 hens, I'm getting on average about 4 eggs a day now. They didn't quit in the heat of summer, and haven't stopped with the short days, so I'm pretty confident they'll keep going until the then-2-year olds will go into a full moult towards the end of July next summer.

I have other birds, too - coturnix quail, ducks, and turkeys which all laid in the spring and summer all quit laying - ducks quit first, in late July, then the quail quit around late August. I was still getting a few turkey eggs until about Oct. 1st.

[LWolf]

2. Mine are done moulting.

I might get some eggs over the next couple of weeks.

In the winter, when they don't lay as much, and I'm gone all day every day, the magpies and packrats get more eggs than I do. I have to be home, and go out and get the eggs when I hear them cackle.

[Tsiyu]

3. I believe the hens lay by amount of daylight

If you want some winter eggs, you could try putting up some lights in their house. The people at your local co-op or farm store should know what you need.


Here are a couple of links:

http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/general-chickens/light-for-layers.html

http://umaine.edu/publications/2227e/


Good luck!

[WheelWalker]

4. Our chickens haven't slowed laying much.

We're getting 3-4 eggs a day from the 5 adult hens that are laying. We've got one brooding hen who's not laying but she's hatched 5 Cuckoo Marans in the past week. We're also getting an egg a day between the two ducks. A friend is arriving tomorrow from Montana and bringing 4 Wyandotte hens. That will be quite the road trip in a van, lol. I'll be spending the holidays constructing additional yard and hen house space. It's been a relatively mild and dry fall. Winter could get pretty cold if this clear weather continues. Life is good at Dharma Gardens, but we would have appreciated better mushrooming weather. Fruiting bodies have been less than abundant.

[Vanje]

5. So jealous!

nt

[Vanje]

6. I have 4 "laying " (not so much) Hens.

and a couple of bantams for broodies.
Only one hen , a glorious Australorp called "Mean Grrrl", is laying.

Tonight is the solstice. I'm hoping that the upcoming longer days will get my grrrls in gear.