Unpopular take: that perfect week I had 12 eggs a day was actually a bad sign

All my hens laid like clockwork for 7 days straight last June (which felt amazing at first), but it turned out they were stressed from a hidden mite infestation that I only caught because one girl started losing feathers, and now I actually worry when I see a super consistent lay rate - has anyone else had a great laying week that was really a health red flag?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles67823d ago

12 eggs a day from your own hens?" That is wild. Wait, you're saying a hidden mite infestation caused them to lay like super chickens? I always thought steady laying was the gold standard, never would have pegged it as a stress signal. How long did it take for you to spot the mites after that perfect week ended?

graym4923d ago

Wait, are we really calling a week of peak laying a full blown crisis? @charles678, I get that you found mites, but maybe those hens just had a really good week before they got stressed out. My buddy's birds will pump out eggs like crazy for a few days if the weather shifts or I toss them extra scratch. Might be worth checking if something else changed instead of jumping straight to infestation panic.