Green Urban Living- living the good life in my backyard

The day of reckoning is here. Today we start our challenge. Breakfast was a lovely poached egg served on some homemade bread I had baked in preparation the night before. I make the most of the taste as in the last couple of days I have noticed that our chooks have started to moult. Talk about bad timing. I am not too sure why they have chosen now to lose their feather, grow some new plumage and in the process stop laying! Maybe someone has put them up to it? Chooks normally moult once a year, often in Spring. Their old plumage falls out, they start looking like moth eaten feather dusters until new feathers start making an appearance. During this time they are putting all their energy into growing feathers rather than laying eggs. Needless to say they generally stop  laying for around 6 weeks.

A chook in lay will have a bright red comb

I have had my chickens for over four years now and really I should get some younger hens which will lay more eggs. The problem with chooks is they are easy to become attached to, each having their own unique personality. I have been avoiding a culling session for this very reason. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that it is only a few hens moulting and the rest keep producing an egg most days.

Looking at the chooks it looks like there are only two hens that appear to be moulting. Hens that are laying well have a bright red comb which is firm and, depending on the breed, stands upright. When hens are moulting I feed them extra protein in the form of meat titbits or cottage cheese. This helps them grow their feathers fast and get back into their laying routine. Hopefully I will be able to feed them the whey from the cheese making as an extra treat too.