Chickens FINALLY laying eggs!

[RickF]

Ok.. So our birds that we purchased in late May from Escondido Feed (near Hoodat) finally started laying eggs last week. We've had about 15 eggs so far from our 4 birds (2 orps, 2 auracana's).. My wife was commenting last week saying that if the birds didn't make any eggs by January they were going to be chicken soup.. I guess they heard her and changed their minds! Anyway, I don't think all 4 are producing quite yet -- most days we get 1-2 eggs, yesterday we got 3 which was a first.

The auracana's (one of them) tends to be a little broody but seems short lived (the broodiness that is).. However, if you put some goodies out that cuts it even shorter!

 

[wifezilla]

Did the wife take the soup pot out and show them?

 

[RickF]

perhaps when I wasn't looking..

 

[lesa]

I've been telling mine, I'm going to start having chicken soup for breakfast, instead of eggs... They aren't worried. I had oatmeal this morning! Patience is a virtue I have in short supply!

 

[journey11]

Congrats! Hard to bear buying eggs at the store when you have your own fat, fluffy chickens out back, huh?

I've found if you can keep them reasonably comfortable (maybe 40 degrees give or take) and supplement light to mimic the 14 daylight hours of summer, they will generally keep on laying through winter. I've been giving my girls a warm oatmeal mash with hot pepper flakes (and whatever tasty extras I can find to throw in) just before they go to bed for night. Helps keep their metabolism up so they don't waste so much energy trying to stay warm.

Now to get all the eggies before they freeze and I am doing good!

 

[Collector]

Rick congrats on the eggs. We have 4 younger pullets that should have been laying about a month ago. I was becoming concerned about them (angry), but thought it was the weather we were having at the time.Well this morning i went out to feed and water them and found three eggs in the coop.
So all of my work explaining the difference in commitment levels between breakfast and dinner to them is paying off. It sure is nice to have your hens start laying, i hope they continue to lay eggs for you.

 

[hoodat]

Day length is of vital importance to egg production so now that they have started egg production should slowly increase as the day length does.
I've noticed that real free range hens are less subject to that. My flock in Oklahoma ranged without penning over 40 acres and ate anything they could find. Egg production fell off in Winter but never actually ceased. I once had a Rhode Island Red produce a brood of chicks in a brush pile that was almost buried in snow. I couldn't believe it when she proudly led the chicks out into the snow to scratch.

 

[curly_kate]

Before the cold snap, we put a light on ours for about 2 hours in the a.m. & 2 in the p.m. & they got through their laying slump. Now that we have been in the single digits at night, we've had to keep the lights on all night to keep them all from getting frostbitten! But it worked - we're getting 10-12 eggs a day out of 15 hens. Amazing what light will do for them.

 

[vfem]

I think I am literally 2 minutes from walking out to the coop to show off our stock pot as well! Mine stopped laying in September, and I am yet to get an egg since!!!

 

[lesa]

How old are your birds, vfem? That is an awfully long time without eggs. My group that is over 2, has pretty much ceased laying.