Moulting season is in full swing. I’m only getting one egg every other day now. Pretty sad!
One way to tell if a hen is laying is to check her comb. A laying hen will have a bright red comb.
As you can see, Harriet’s comb is fading to pink at the top. My Little Red Hen has stopped laying for now.
Martha (left) has started moulting. She doesn’t look too bad, aside from this horrible patch on the back of her neck.
Ethel (right) has a funny bald patch under her left wing, which she was kind enough to show off for the camera.
Moulting makes them crabby. I notice that Martha is keeping her head tucked in, where she’s usually standing tall and proud. Pretty sure she’s trying to hide the ugly bit on the back of her neck.
Dolly is the only one not moulting and still laying. Look at that fine red comb and wattles! At this angle, you can see the auburn highlights on her neck and chest.
I’m shocked at how much less feed and water they consume when they aren’t laying. Until now the four of them have been going through 2.5lbs of feed and 3/4ths a gallon of water a day. Now they go through about 1.5lbs of feed and maybe a third of a gallon of water.
Laying eggs is thirsty work!
Cinnamon maple knows what season it is.
Chickens can get crabby — who knew?
I’m looking at your stats on the right there – is this a bad time to ask how long they live? (is any time a good time?) They laid so many more eggs in 2010 than in 2009 – will they keep that up for a while? Do you have to start acquiring replacement chickens?
I love it that you keep chicken stats! I wish we had done that from the start with our flock. Have you noticed every year that your girls get cranky at moulting time? Mine seem very cranky this year as they moult, but I hadn’t noticed it in previous years…hmmm.
Our chickens are currently bedraggled and grumpy. And the coop floor looks like the scene of a massive pillowfight…
No one really knows a chicken’s natural lifespan. Some terrible fate usually befalls them long before then. But I have heard of chickens living 10 years or more.
This was their peak production year. Which is why many people slaughter their chickens at their first real moult (18 months). Their production rate will slowly decline from this point forward, although for the next few years the eggs will be fewer but larger. So I am told!