Our five girls are back in business. After a productive first year we hit some bumps in the road and the hens slowed down. First, Daisy became sickly and stopped laying. Then the ladies began molting; some for the second time. Molting happens about once a year so is to be expected. It lasts for about two months so we became a little “egg deprived” when several of the hens were molting at the same time. The biggest bump in the road, occurred in the wet days of early winter. Rosie, our best layer, died.
Now suddenly, in the warmth of winter on the Central Coast, our five hens have “snapped out of it”. All hens are laying once again. What a delight to lift the nest box cover yesterday and see four beautiful light brown eggs inside. The only one missing was an egg from Tulip and today she joined the others and gifted us with one of her light green beauties.
I’ve only had to buy a dozen eggs in nearly two years so I’m not complaining. All hens now have molted except for Poppy who has continued to be a consistent layer. I’m still putting ground egg shells in their feed and the egg shell on their newly minted eggs appear to be smooth and strong. Here’s hoping the girls stay happy and healthy in the coming year. These are our pets. And what other pet puts food on your table rather than taking it? Blessings!
Just found your website. Enjoying your hencam. Have been sharing with my children 4 and 5. We have 16 girls of our own barred rocks and 2 roosters. They have been laying since october last year. We have been averaging 10-15 eggs this week per day. This is my first time having chickens and i am really enjoying it. My girls have started molting for the first time. We live in southern Oklahoma. They seem to like the cold weather compared to the hot. Even out in the cold muddy yard. Just wanted to say hi and thanks for sharing.
I really enjoy reading your postings and watching your hens. I live in NYC and have 4 city hens. They are 5 months old, yesterday and today they gave us 4 eggs each day. I never knew that raising hens would be so much fun. I am new to this and I’m still learning. Thanks for your posts, I’ll look forward to reading more.
Regards,
Jodi
My children and I enjoying watching your hens. They seem very active lately, even with the rain. We like keeping track of the eggs and how many each has produced. The ladies sure do crowd the nest boxes sometimes, sometimes 3 trying to get in at once! They seem to work it out. Great website and a good learning tool for my children.
Hello Tiffany. Glad you and the children are enjoying the hens. The girls would be amused to know how many people watch them come and go. They think that they are alone out there. When they see me coming, they run to the fence, thinking I have a treat for them. I try not to bother them in the morning as that is when they are most likely to lay. Yes, it is a kick to see them line up for a nest boxes, but……..when you gotta go, you gotta go! Thanks for commenting! Lee