The Foragers
We haven’t had any fresh eggs for almost a week. The collection basket has gone down to the coop and returned empty day after day. Nada. Here at the Big House there is ongoing discussion as to the reason. The girls, of course, are saying nothing.
Our little flock numbers only four now – two Ameracaunas and two Silver Laced Wyandottes. We got them as peeps along with two others who turned out to be roosters and were removed from the premises about the time they developed their cock-a-doodle-dos. Contrary to popular belief, they did not go into the stew pot. Our everything-chicken supplier, Teresa Millner at the Planter Box, found them happy homes.
Nest Boxes
Actually, the Ameracaunas haven’t given us any eggs since well before Christmas. We know that because their eggs are blue as opposed to the brown eggs of the Wyandotts. According to the literature, Ameracaunas are prone to going broody which could explain their production slowdown, but they haven’t shown any other signs of broodiness like just sitting around in a nest.
Ideally, hens who go broody sit continuously on their eggs, moving out of the nest only to eat and drink. But, some ladies go broody without any eggs to sit on. They stop laying and just laze around waiting for the magic sound of new peeps. (No one ever said chickens could connect all the dots.) Right now, however, our Blue-Egg Girls don’t seem broody in the least.
During this same No Blue Egg period, there have been fewer and fewer brown eggs – maybe one a day at first, then one every other day until this past week, none at all. The Wyandottes are known for their abundant egg-laying. Not only do they lay 200 to 240 eggs a year, but they are also considered great setters which means they also are apt to go broody fairly regularly. But… no sign of broodiness among the brown egg contingent, either.
At The Coop, Winter Morning 2008
Farmer Nyel worries that they are on a work slowdown because they are approaching the age of retirement but according to the literature, that shouldn’t be so. These girls hatched out April 2, 2012, so they are not yet two years old. They should be at peak production for another three or four years.
So, our conclusion is that they have the Wintertime Blues or, in human terms, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder.) Like all of their avian cousins, chickens need a certain length and intensity of light for their egg-laying mechanism to kick in. We can boost their winter production by leaving a 40 watt bulb turned on in the coop – something we have done in other years for reasons of temperature, not production.
So far this winter, we’ve had very few freezing days and nights so the coop light has been on only intermittently. It’s kept the girls warm on the extra cold nights but obviously that hasn’t been enough to keep production steady. Perhaps it’s time to flip the switch to the ‘on’ position more permanently and see if we can start filling the egg basket again.
My daughter Sarah’s hens ceased production about a month (plus) ago. She too knows, by the color of the eggs who is laying and who is not. Her girls cease to lay after molting has begun, so she has associated the work stoppage with the feather loss. Re-feathered, she reports that they they are back on the job as of last week and we will be in the buying mode. Although we have purchased eggs on the open market during the bleak times, there is very little comparison, even though we have purchased cage free organic. Perhaps it is just in the knowing that the hermetically sealed ovals are all in the family that makes a difference.
That’s another piece of our puzzle that’s missing. No one has molted. Ever. I do believe these girls have hung onto every feather they’ve ever grown! Other breeds in other years have molted and slowed production, but not these four.
Hmm, I assume these bird brains have made no demands?
What kind of demands? We’ve never had demanding chickens that I’m aware of. They are always grateful for everything they get. They are basically happy (if lazy) chickens — satisfied with their working conditions and benefit package. They haven’t had any organized protest meetings or sit-ins and we’ve seen no picket signs in evidence. And I must say, that Farmer Nyel and I never berate their lack of production where they can hear us. Instead, we ask after their health and try to keep their quarters extra comfy, are generous with the scratch, and let them wander the garden all day every day. We are eggcellent employers if I do say so…