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Post by rodeofilly on Nov 10, 2005 6:54:52 GMT -5
Hi - I'm new to the group and have really benefited from reading all your other advice.
I am at at total loss. We have 4 new Araucanas that we have had since March. They were laying pretty good over the summer and have stopped totally in the last 2 weeks. This type of chicken came highly recommended and I am not impressed. We also have 1/2 Rhode Island Reds/ 1/2 Black Sexlinks - They really are laying either (they are 1 1/2).
My other hens are laying great. What am I doing wrong. I've got so many other questions, but thought I'd start out here.
Thank You in advance for any help you can give me.
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Post by TRAILRIDER on Nov 10, 2005 9:11:05 GMT -5
Hi, I don't use any artificial lighting myself, so when the winter comes and the days get shorter, my hens usually start to moult and then lay less and less. I have some that stop entirely in the winter months. I figure the rest will do them good anyway. I am no expert, but I think different breeds will act differently. But all will slow down the laying with less light. If eggs were my main goal (they're not, my chickens are my pets as well) I would provide good diet and artificial light as well. ;)Bye, Mary.
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JamesC
Happy Chicken
Posts: 208
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Post by JamesC on Nov 10, 2005 10:31:44 GMT -5
rodeofilly:
Mary's advise is right on the mark. Hens have to take a rest every fall to renew their feathers and replenish their systems. Egg production takes a lot out of them. In commercial barns birds are kept for about 18 months. They bring them into lay and have a continuous 12-14 month laying period. At that point the birds will have to take a rest to moult. That's when they're replaced.
We all know that 2 year old birds will lay pretty well but they are not economical in commercial operations but backyard birds can be so we usually hold them over. You have to let them have their rest - it takes 9 weeks from start to finish for a complete new set of feathers. If you provide lights in your coops, you can then gradually increase day length until you have about 14 hours and production will begin again.
My guess is that you have a variety of ages in your flock. Sometimes pullets that begin to lay late in the summer will continue until the following fall when they go through their first adult moult. Older birds, like your Araucanas I suspect, were laying earlier in the year and so have to take their rest now. It's not disappointing, it's natural.
Like Mary, I don't keep chickens just for egg production but unlike Mary, mine are not pets. I raise pure strains of Cornish and Malay for exhibition. My goal is high quality eggs for hatching so I want my birds to take a good, long rest to produce the best eggs I can get.
Even though our reasons are all different, the princples are the same.
James
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Post by rodeofilly on Nov 10, 2005 15:49:57 GMT -5
Thank you for your advice!! I am somewhat new to having chickens (2 years) and I am still in the learning mode. I didn't know that when they moult - they don't lay. So that is good for me to know. I am not into chickens for mass production - I want them to do their thing naturally and that is why I have people buy them from me - because it is natural. I love having them and I'm trying to learn more, so that I can take care of them the best that I can. Plus my 2 toddlers LOVE them. They are alot of fun to watch!!
Thanks and any other advice you may have is well apprecited.
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