Day 177

When we got our new girls, we had already prepared and learned about how they might respond. Moving birds causes them stress so we needed to make sure their new space was ready for them to make the transition as stress-free as possible. We also had to learn about how to integrate our already established girls with the new group. Ultimately, we wanted happy, healthy girls who would produce eggs.

But there are a lot of factors that play a role in that happiness and egg production.

Chickens molt. Mooting is the process of replacing their feathers. This is not the prettiest phase for them but it is necessary. During molting, they can be ornery and do not lay.

When chickens move to new homes, they can stress out. This impacts their diet, their behavior, and their ability to produce eggs. When stressed, they might not eat, they can be feistier, and they usually don't lay eggs.

When there are any weather extremes, chickens can behave differently. They tend to avoid rain, snow, and wind so any of these incidents might force these outdoor-loving birds inside. Anyone who is stuck inside knows how it can change the way you behave. Whether too hot, too cold, too wet, or too windy, a chicken's productivity and behavior is most certainly connected to the conditions.

Age also comes into play. Like human bodies slow down and lose ability as they age. Chickens do too. While some can lay laterin life, they definitely slow down if they don't stop altogether.

And don't forget about the pecking order. It is most certainly a real thing. Chickens establish hierarchy and social systems when together. Introducing new birds can only complicate this system and the chickens adjust accordingly. These adjustments can lead to disagreements and squabbles among the birds. These can cause stress and behavior changes, which impact productivity.

Eggs aren’t as easy as one might think. A lot of preparation, planning, and adjustments are made to make the birds a happy and healthy flock which can and will produce eggs.

When we got our new birds, we saw all of these factors come into play. 

We learned more than we expected.