Posts Tagged Wyandotte molting

Hens rush to the feeder in the mornings.

It’s the last day of the year and I’m up before dawn in anticipation of a visit from my eldest son and his “lady friend”. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, so we’re lucky to see him here on the West Coast once a year. My refrigerator is full to capacity and I’ve prepared about 8 meals ahead of time so I can relax and enjoy their company. I hope they will have time for “a visit with the hens”. People with little experience handling poultry, get a kick out of an up close encounter with these fascinating creatures.

The hens in November and December have produced very few eggs. They have all molted at the same this year. First to molt was Poppy, the Silver-laced Wyandotte. She stopped laying for about six weeks. Poppy is a pretty consistent layer, giving us an egg every other day. Daisy was next to molt, then Tulip, then Sweetpea. They say that the better layers molt more quickly and resume laying in a shorter amount of time. That seems to be the case in my backyard henhouse. Daisy, the Buff Orpington, is back to laying every day after a six-week molt. She is my best layer. Sweetpea should be next.

As my girls age (they will be three years old in the spring) I will seriously have to consider adding to the flock. I’d like to add a couple of Buff Orpington pullets. Not sure how the “old gals” will take to that. Adding to any flock can be a touchy thing and these girls are “set in their ways”.

Wishing all my chicken loving friends a “Happy New Year”. May abundance and love fill your lives and may you always have a soft featherbed on which to fall.

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Draining Rainwater from the Outdoor Run

It has been an eventful holiday season in the ole chicken coop. Heavy rains along the coast brought unexpected flooding. We live on a slight downslope. Water drains from the forested open space behind our property and on down the hill. Standing water has never been a problem but, then again, we’ve never had 10 inches of rain in such a short amount of time. During the heavy rains, the empty gopher holes looked like little springs with clear water bubbling up and out. Wonder where the gophers are hiding?

Making its way downward to the ocean, the water spread across the outdoor run and stayed there. It was two inches deep in areas. The hens spent much of their time on the milk crates and the ladder. Luckily, the indoor coop has a cement floor that stayed high and dry but these birds are used to being outside and only go inside to lay and to roost at night. For two days, they waded about in confusion. Eventually we made a small trench through the outdoor run that provided an escape route for the sitting water.

Ameraucana and Buff Orpington are Laying Again!

The good news in the chicken coop had us all cheering (even the hens). Our dear Daisy, a pretty Buff Orpinton, was ill last spring. See “Daisy is Ill”. She hasn’t layed since then. Daisy is one of my favorite hens: gentle, tame, calm. I consider her a pet. After her first molt in the fall, she began laying those beautiful brown eggs again. I think that she is as happy as we are. Tulip, the Ameraucana, also finished her molt and has resumed laying her green eggs once again. What a pleasure to find those lovely pale green eggs among the brown.

Golden Laced Wyandotte is Molting

There are more falling feathers in the mud of the chicken coop. Petunia is experiencing her first molt. The golden laced Wyandotte, the prettiest and the meanest of the six, is shedding her golden fleece. She and Sweetpea mope around, listless and lethargic, with bare bottoms and necks, waiting for their new coats to grow in. When they do, they’ll look renewed and refreshed and will hopefully resume laying again. We’ll all be happy, then.

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