[bedifferent]

Ok, I know that Hens go off form on shorter days and with the cold and all but i have not had a single egg from any of my 9 Hens in the last 6 weeks. Surely this has to be some sort of record. I have actually had to BUY some eggs from the.... it sticks in my throat.......supermarket!

Am i doing something wrong? They are all happy as  Hen can be - is there anything i can do to increase (start) production?

Thanks

[themagicaltoad1]

Mine started laying about the end of July, 3 weeks later they ALL went broody and despite my attempts to break it they stayed broody for 7 weeks. They then decided to have a moult! 3 days ago one of them started to lay again but the others are still showing no signs so I'm afraid your 6 weeks pales into insignificance compared to my 4 1/2 months

[raeburg]

Nope mine have been doing something similar.  This is why there is intensive farming methods.  We've just started getting eggs after around 3 months of "drought".  Mine you this mornings scrambled eggs were fantastic compared to bought eggs.

[richyrich7]

About the same here, give them another few weeks they'll start again shortest day on Monday ? so the day's will get longer and the girl's may just get the idea

Mind you our local farm does lovely free range for £2 a doz is that good ?

[SMD66]

What breed are they Bedifferent?  Pure breeds tend to lay less well than hybrids  this time of yr.

It will also depend on age, whether they are moulting and if have they any parasites.

[bedifferent]

Well, i have a bit of a mixed bag.

2 Huge blue Cochins.
A couple of Silkies
1 Maran
1 Cream Legbar
2 Silver Laced Wyandotte
1 Columbine

I guess when you look at it i do have a fairly unreliable bunch of hens from an egg laying point of view. I have spent the last couple of years collecting different breeds to see what we like best. They all lay well in the summer but did not appreciate the egg drought that would follow in the winter.

[craig1981]

a lady near me has chickens and hers havnt laid more than 1 a day  for 8 weeks where as mine are still giving me 7 a day from 8 hens and we have the same breed of hens so how does that figure out . She gets her eggs off me for £1.50 a dozen while hers are off lay  and if mine go off lay ive promised to have mine off her .

[joyfull]

it can depend on age and if they are moulting etc. This year I beat some eggs up and froze them (they keep for upto 3 months - so start in October and you should then have eggs through till the girls start laying again) so although mine have eased off I still haven't had to buy any 

[Caralou]

Mine stopped for a couple of weeks but are now back in the swing of things and one of the youngsters even started laying last week so getting 5-6 eggs from the six laying girls each day, although 5 are warrens (the new layer a speckled sussex 24 weeks old) who only take the slightest break and I'd have been happier if they had taken longer to recoup their energy but they had different ideas! I havent had an egg off my silkie-sussex cross since July when she last went broody, if I'm very lucky she may even lay me another 4 eggs next year like she did this year  Hopefully an nother two weeks or so and yours should start to lay again 

[Flowerpower136]

The chap we're getting our Christmas turkey from, thinks his hens aren't laying because it's been so wet.  Which might explain why are's still are, cos we built them a roof, and they've stayed relatively dry.

[duckling]

Well, reading this I consider us very lucky here in Somerset.  We have 9 hens (one met her maker at the weekend!!) now and we are still getting between 4 and 6 eggs every day, even in this frosty, snowy weather too.  All through the wet time we had about a month ago we still had good laying.  I have stopped selling at the gate for now, so that we have enough eggs for us especially with all the extra baking at the moment.  Its quit touching when people are disappointed that we don't have any eggs for sale.  I suppose I never really considered it before we had chickens either.  Long may they continue.

We do spoil the girls though, hubby put a carpet over the top of the hen house at the weekend to try and help keep them warm at night!  Hes the one saying he doesn't care, and then he goes and does that.  Ahw, hes not so bad after all.