[Surferchick]

Hello everybody,

I was hoping you would be able to offer some advise or put my mind at rest. We recently got 11 POL hens (25h Sept). For the first week we decided to keep them inside the coop and run to get them used to thier new home before we let them free range, we had a few squabbles whilst they were sorting themselves out but everything went well.

During the first week (when they were confined) we got 2,2,3,4,2,3,2 eggs per day. Which we were pleased with considering that the majority of them were still a few weeks off laying when we brought them, after a week of them getting to know thier new home we let them out to free range which they seem to love and this is working out good with them putting themselves to bed everynight and staying within a bigger fenced area during the day.

The only problems is that since we let them free range we have had hardly any eggs, laying slowed down to 1,2,0,0,1,0,0, in the week after we let them out of the coop and run to free range and now we are not getting any eggs at all! Is this something we should be worried about or is it just the time of year?

I am pretty sure they are not laying anywhere else as we have searched everywhere and we are feeding them the same layer pellets every morning with the occassional handful of corn or green treat in the afternoon/early evening.

I am just a bit confused why they seem to have sudenley stopped laying and want to make sure it is nothing that we are doing and that they are OK.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

El

[joyfull]

when things change for hens it can often put them off laying for a while, so if they are not laying else where then perhaps they just need that time to readjust. If they free range then like my hens they could be laying absolutely anywhere (I keep finding small clutches of eggs in the most awkward of places  ).

[hillfooter]

Once day light drops below 14hrs a day you can expect production to drop and also changes such as temperature, weather etc can trigger a fall as Joy says.  I don't think you should worry.  This time of year they can be very tempermental.
HF

[Surferchick]

Thanks for the advice.