4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Cinnamon]

About 3 weeks ago my Bantams all stopped laying, overnight it sems.

 

Now my pure breed big hens are slowing down too, & my hybrid big hens seem to have come out in sympathy

 

From 11 hens I am getting 1 or 2 eggs a day if I am lucky.

 

Is this the usual slowing down for their winter break, as it seems a bit early still to me

 

I am concerned that all my hybrids bar one have stopped too.

[jackiet]

Have no answer for you except to say - snap! I only have three hybrid girls but they seem to have gone on strike too. Just one egg if we are lucky and most days none at all, all over the past couple of weeks after a steady three a day since we got them!

[abwsco]

Egg production is all over the place with my eight and has been for over a month. I'm getting anything from either a full house or at the lowest, just three eggs a day. Am assuming that the four I got last summer will soon be going into their first moult. Will ones who went into a full moult last year also have a full blown one this year as I can't remember.

[TAJ]

I am getting 3-5 eggs a day from 6 (4 pure breeds 2 hybrids), with two going through partial moults - I am sure it will soon slow down for winter.

 

Tracy

[The Dogmother]

All my pure breed banties are moulting now Sarah - about a month early. Egg production has slowed right down to 3 a day, from 7-8 eggs a day. Hopefully they'll get feathered up before it gets really cold.

[Space Chick]

Its gone the other way in South Wales We've had glorious weather for the first time in months and I'm getting 7 or 8 a day from 9 laying girls (one hasn't started yet)

[chickencam]

I think it is a weird season, we had a few weks just in July when our older girl took a break, then for the last month they have been laying at full tilt, they have slowed up a bit in the last week.

 

My new girls seem to be taking ages to get going too. only 3 of the 5 are laying and then not daily and they are all 22-24 weeks plus now.

[Cinnamon]

It just threw me when the banteenies stopped all at once,with no warning.

I am certain that they didn't stop until after the clocks had changed last year...........

Then the big girls too - its been a really odd year this year,hasn't it?

Everything seems a little off kilter

[The Dogmother]

It does Sarah, the hedgerows are all early too, will have to ask Phil's Mum if there are any folklore winter predictiions linked to all this.

[Madeleine]

I have noticed that our ginger rangers have really slowed down in the past week. Scarlett was laying an egg a day, but has not laid for 3 days. Ginny has always been a little more erratic, but has laid today

 

Scarlett seems to still be perky, and is eating normally, so I guess there is nothing to worry about (but as a newbie of course I do).

[Cinnamon]

Fickle,fickle creatures

Just been down & collected 6 eggs, including one Bantam egg

[Redwing]

I know its the right time of year for them to slow down naturally but do make sure they arent eating the eggs!

[abwsco]

Fickle,fickle creatures

Just been down & collected 6 eggs, including one Bantam egg

 

Wish I could say that. We had seven yesterday and have had two today

[The Dogmother]

Mine need the rest; the Maran's eggs have been looking a bit tatty of late.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I know its the right time of year for them to slow down naturally but do make sure they arent eating the eggs!

 

After thinking I'd cracked it with the egg eating, I'm wondering if they're at it again . I've just ordered a roll away nest box .

[Chicken Licken]

Have you wormed them? Primrose stopped laying and weeks later I discovered she had a worm infestation.

[Patricia W]

My two Polands have slowed from 12 a week to about 5. Not sure if one has stopped altogether and the other slowed or what. Last year, which was their first, one of the girls actually started on 30th October and laid every day till end of December. Then they both went into full swing about Valentine's Day. I can't bear to think this may be it till Feb!

 

Tricia

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Actually, I did find a bit of worm in a poo this evening . I thought it looked like a bit of earthworm but perhaps not . There have been a few very splatty poos since yesterday .

 

They aren't due to be wormed till the end of the month but I may do it now.

[Cinnamon]

Mine have been wormed,Eprinexed too & are not eating their eggs - I think its just the normal slowing down for their winter rest,albeit a bit early.

 

Its nice that the Hybrids laid again yesterday though

[Old Speckled Hen]

Mine need the rest; the Maran's eggs have been looking a bit tatty of late.

 

Funny you should say that.

A couple of my girls' eggs have been lumpy on the outside and there are a few feathers lying about the place. Why do chooks chose to moult just when it's getting cooler?

[The Dogmother]

They are daft, aren't they?

 

I always find that the end of season eggs are a bit tatty; the shell colour is less vibrant, shells can be thinner/lumpier, that sort of stuff. come the new season, and after the winter off, their eggs are back to pristine condition, as are the birds.

[chickencam]

After saying mine were laying ok, I thought that I was getting no eggs yesterday then after tea I went out to clean them out only to find a small egg from one of the newbies and a warm egg in the newbie run. The egg in the run was really rough and powdery on the outside so I think that this was probably a first attempt from one of them. We had 2 up to yesterday that had not yet laid and I think that both did yesterday but none of the laying birds did.

 

Today so far there has been one broken egg in the newbie house but none from anyone else. Our Bluebelle is really big now and she was one of yesterday's layers I think but she has taken to scratching all of the wood shavings out of the nest boxes which is how I think the egg this morning got broken fortunatly I found it before it was eaten.

[bevvy1]

I have 3 lovely Miss Pepperpots since Oct 2008 and once they started laying I have had 3 eggs nearly everyday but in the last week and a half they have eased up and yesterday we didn't have any eggs as all they are usually quite nosiy chooks but they have been very quiet the last week and not been squawking at all. Is this usual?

 

x

[The Dogmother]

That's common as they become more lethargic due to decreased daylight hours and the onset of moulting time. If they were late hatches, then they wouldn't have had this in their first Autumn.

[abwsco]

We only had one egg yesterday BUT we've got the full house of eight today.