I know at least one other member (DSGrouse?) keeps chickens.
For those that aren't familiar, egg production drops WAY off in the Winter with the short days unless you force the issue with lights on timers. (I don't) With a flock of older birds it can even stop entirely for a while.
It picks back up as the days get longer, usually around the 1st of March here.
Egg production has nearly doubled in the last week. It's way too early for the Spring Laying Binge. I wonder if the birds know something I don't?
Anybody else with birds seeing production increases?
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
January 22, 2018, 02:12 PM
Sig2340
Is your cat out there urging the hens to up production, egging them on as it were?
Nice is overrated
"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government." Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
January 22, 2018, 02:13 PM
PHPaul
Ha...
Nope, no cats on the place.
I did upgrade their scratch feed to a mix with more black oil sunflower seeds and less millet which they don't seem to like. Doubt that accounts for a doubled output tho.
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
January 22, 2018, 02:35 PM
mark60
I've got 8 hens that will be a year old this spring. If anything mine have slowed even more the past week or two. Two of my girls haven't layed in a week.
January 22, 2018, 03:11 PM
HRK
quote:
Two of my girls haven't layed in a week.
Maybe they got married.....
January 22, 2018, 03:18 PM
PHPaul
quote:
Originally posted by HRK:
quote:
Two of my girls haven't layed in a week.
Maybe they got married.....
BWAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's that damned wedding cake, I'm tellin' ya!
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
January 22, 2018, 03:42 PM
David W
We have 8 hens that will be a year old in the spring and we are getting 3-4 eggs a day on average.
David W. Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud. -Sophocles
January 22, 2018, 03:59 PM
wreckdiver
Mine, 13 hens, one rooster (all are less than a year old) were providing about 4 a day until a week ago, haven't got even one lately. Hoping the current warm spell will spur them on.
_________________________________________________
"Once abolish the God, and the Government becomes the God." --- G.K. Chesterton
January 22, 2018, 04:14 PM
Jimbo54
Ours are older hens as well and they are pumping out about half of their spring and summer output which is higher than normal for this time of year. We're having a pretty mild winter so far and that could be the reason.
Who knows, they are really lousy communicators.
Jim
________________________
"If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird
January 22, 2018, 05:38 PM
carriganzl
I have 4 hens now and I am seeing about 2-3 eggs per day. It was around November and beginning of December that I wasn't getting any production. I thought something may have been getting the eggs so I put a store bought out in the nest and it sat that for a while so I guess they were just on break.
SCUBA Diving, going down is what we do best.
January 22, 2018, 06:24 PM
striker1
We have five hens and this time of year we’re seeing 3-4 eggs a day. The leghorn and orpington are the most reliable, laying 1 each almost daily.
RB
Cancer fighter (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma) since 2009, now fighting Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.
January 22, 2018, 06:28 PM
mark_a
our flock all went through a late molt... We had very early cold so maybe they held off during the low temps.
They are a bunch of skinny looking birds at the moment. We are at about 1/3 of summer production. I decided to forgo artificial light this year. I thought maybe the ladies could use a break.
January 22, 2018, 06:47 PM
roarindan
I've tried twice to raise chickens....
Don't know if I'm planting them too deep or too far apart!!
___________________
"the world doesn't end til yer dead, 'til then there's more beatin's in store, stand it like a man, and give some back" Al Swearengen
January 22, 2018, 06:52 PM
PHPaul
quote:
Originally posted by roarindan: I've tried twice to raise chickens....
Don't know if I'm planting them too deep or too far apart!!
Some first-timers get 'em upside down too. Head down, ass up or they won't sprout.
Edit: Or are you trying to start them from seeds?This message has been edited. Last edited by: PHPaul,
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
January 22, 2018, 07:06 PM
MarinetoRN
We had a prolonged cold spell here in eastern NC. Soon as a little warmth came in, egg production doubled. I have 42 hens, 2 roosters and get about 18 a day now. Most my hens are RIR's. Best egg layers ever.
SiGArm'd
P220ST X2, 1911 Revolution, P245, P229 RTTEQ/ST .40 X2, P226ST, Mosquito Other weaponry not SIG
Glocks are ugly. I don't like repeat offenders, I like dead offenders.
January 22, 2018, 07:09 PM
95flhr
When it warmed up, ours started laying again.
“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” ― Ronald Reagan
Retired old fart
January 23, 2018, 04:32 AM
stiab
It varies by many factors in addition to the 14 hours of daylight per egg. Peer pressure and group thinking is important to chickens.
"While not every Democrat is a horse thief, every horse thief is a Democrat." HORACE GREELEY
