Friday, February 1, 2013

When will my hens start laying again?

Back in mid-December the hens started slowing down egg production.  While that was expected, I did not expect them to molt at 8 months old and stop laying all together.  We collected our last egg on December 21st.  I was really missing the taste of farm fresh eggs, but am lucky enough to have a wonderful friend who has many pet chickens and who happens to be a vegan, so she is keeping us with a supply for the time being.    While this is all well and good, I do miss the whole process of keeping things simply self-sufficient.  

I've been doing a bit of reading online and it seems I may have poor layers who are also slow molters, where the molting process can actually take up to 7 months.  SEVEN MONTHS?!?!?  Yikes.  They didn't even start laying until September. :(  A fast molt only takes 2 - 3 months.  Anyone know of a chicken that doesn't molt?!?  Lol.

I've also read the molting process typically happens once a year for adult birds.  Pullets, or immature hens, go through one full and three partial molts prior to coming into lay.  Does this describe my young gals?  8 months old and molting???

It has been mentioned eggs become higher quality after a molt.  I guess that's something positive to keep in mind, huh?

It's often suggested you add extra protein to a chicken's diet during a molt.  Feathers are made up of protein after all.  I have been adding mealworms, some scrambled eggs, more table scraps and veggie garden plants.

Guess all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.  



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