The Egg-less Chicken Days of Summer

The girls are on strike!


It's that time of year again...
egg production is suffering.


Where we used to pick up 4 or 5 or even 6 dozen eggs a day,
we are lucky now to even find two dozen.


Why this drop in production?


Heat may be the answer...


as a big, old sun hangs in the sky.... baking the farm to a crisp these days.
The warmer weather of August definitely stresses the hens...
so it makes sense that they would lay fewer eggs this time of year.


However, in just a month or so, egg production should skyrocket.
This years' new hens will begin laying very soon...
bumping the daily numbers back up to where they should be.

So, what are the hens doing instead of laying eggs?

Well, most of them spend their days at the spa...
taking their dust baths...


preening their feathers...
and "poofing" their coiffures.

Yesterday was an exciting day for the hens,
as I picked up several buckets of kitchen scraps from our local cafe.


These are added to the manure pile...
but first they are picked over by some very discriminating chickens.


The chickens aren't the only ones who feel lazy these days.


Even the dogs play with minimal exertion....
laying down and gnashing teeth rather than the usual rowdy game of chase.


It's been a while since giving you an update on our rooster that we placed in 
witness protection.
Kenny Rogers (reformed gambler) continues to make the barn his home....


spending his days outside and his nights in a stall.
Every morning he greets me with a hearty cock-a-doodle-doo.

I just love chickens and their comical ways!
As long as we have the farm, we will always have a flock.
Their antics paired with delicious fresh eggs makes the work required to keep them
completely worthwhile!

By the way....Happy September!!

Comments

jaz@octoberfarm said…
this is so interesting. do they shut down because if the eggs were to be fertilized, the chicks would have trouble surviving in this heat? i feel like i need a dust bath.hot hot hot and no rain at all!
Tricky Wolf said…
Hi, the drop in egg production is actually due to the hours of daylight the birds receive, if there is anyway you could rig up some cheap LED lights to ensure the birds get 14+hrs of light a day then you will get eggs straight through the winter no problem,
really hope this helps, great blog post and really nice pictures, keep up the good work! :)
colleen said…
I love watching our chickens. It would be hard for some to believe that they have their own personalities. On the really hot days I froze and put big chunks of ice in their water and mixed ice cubes in with their kitchen scraps. We only have 12 chickens and we have had enough eggs with some to give away this summer. Production was down some but could of been way worse.
Happy September to you too.
Anke said…
Our 5 girls are pretty much on strike, too. Right now we're getting one or two eggs at the most, yesterday there were none. :-(
Lynne said…
Loving your photos I usually learn something too . . .
The dog antics and smiley like faces gave me an early morning smile too.
This N That said…
Happy September to you too!
Every girl needs a day off!
jerilanders said…
I have a love-hate relationship with my chickens. Being free range, they get up to all manner of mischief; they love to take dirt baths at the base of my lavender plants, they think the wicker porch chairs are a dandy place to perch and poo and they will devour the outside cat's food in 2 seconds flat whenever possible. BUT, they are so funny, so family oriented and, although they don't provide nearly the amount of eggs as your girls, I still have fresh eggs for breakfast every day. So, I won't ring their necks... I could NEVER!
deodar said…
My 4 girls seem to be on sabbatical too though Gretchen and Sylvia are dropping lots of feathers so that's probably their reason. Odette and Berniece probably figure as long as the other two aren't laying they don't have to either! Prima Donnas, all of them.
I was wondering how your driving training with Red is going. I found a sweet little mini cart on Craig's list and have ordered a driving harness from Ozark Mtn. Mini Tack. My little mini donk, Winston doesn't know what's in store! My hubbs is quite skeptical but we shall see, I told him with equines in particular you must always win to keep your ranking in the herd.
Bee Haven Bev said…
We actually still have 14 hours of daylight. Once autumn arrives, we use a light in the henhouse....our hens are actually more productive during the winter months than the summer. We always seem to have a reduction in eggs in the late summer for whatever reason....but then mid-September, our newest hens will start to lay and our numbers will increase. Thanks for the kind words!