John Polk wrote:Sounds pretty normal to me. Spring chicks normally will not molt their first autumn.
Next year, they will probably go on strike for a couple of months once the days turn shorter/colder.
Yeah. Any change will cause some stress to their tiny brains. Stress will slow down egg production.
Often it is cheaper/easier to fence them out of areas (like gardens) than it is to fence them in areas.
My girls are free range in the back yard but do get locked in at night - too many night critters here. They still lay through the winter, but not much, but I have to clean the coop a lot more often to keep them happy. Once in a while I find an egg in one of three nests outside the pen but even frozen they are edible when they thaw.
