Confession time.
If you’re one of the minority out there who actually checks the Morning Bray Farm egg counter, you might have noticed a recent drop in the number of eggs that Emmy and Izzy have been laying.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, the girls were laying eggs for us like gangbusters. But so far in March? Only four eggs. And three of the four eggs didn’t have a shell, only a rubbery membrane.
While Emmy and Izzy otherwise seem fine, the sudden change was very worrisome. I scoured the Internet for possible reasons, but wasn’t able to find any good answers.
Earlier this week, I took a trip to the feed store to see if Junior; our local expert, had any ideas. When I explained that our girls had laid like crazy over the winter and had suddenly stopped, a puzzled look came over his face. “Your girls should just now be starting to lay. They shouldn’t have laid eggs over the winter,” Junior said. Uh-oh.
Our duck expert’s first question to me related to *light*. It was then I had to tell him (shamefully) that our ducks were kept in lighted conditions 24/7 the entire winter. “Yes, we keep heat lamps on in the barn when it’s cold – for both our goats and the ducks,” I said.
Junior explained to me the significance light has on egg production, and we figured that Emmy’s and Izzy’s sudden decline in laying coincided with when I stopped leaving the heat lamps on overnight a couple of weeks ago. Crap.
An increasing day length (January – June) brings sexually mature ducks into egg production and a decreasing day length (July – December) slows or stops their egg production. When I started leaving the heat lamps on, I increased day length for our girls and they ramped up their egg laying. When I stopped leaving the heat lamps on, I decreased their day length and they stopped laying eggs.
If only we knew what we don’t know. Junior said it’ll be a little while before they start laying again. Uh-oh.
March 17, 2012 at 4:23 am
I never would have known that about keeping the lights (heat!) on. Very interesting. Guess you will be buying your eggs for a bit then? 🙂
Hey, just to let you know. I’ve seen and heard several flocks of Sandhill Cranes here in WI this past week. Don’t know about Limpy, but a bunch of her friends have returned to brighten our trail rides once again! Happy dancing in WI.
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 5:05 am
Lol Makes sense. Duckie parents just trying their best.
Would it be the opposite in people? I guess this is why fewer babies are born in Vegas? All that lighting?
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 5:19 am
Y’know what we all were saying about the change to Daylight Saving Time?
Your duckgirls were saying that all winter!
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 5:45 am
. We are very cold here and do not use heat lamps at all. Mainly because of the risk of fire. But in late late winter I will begin to light them from 4 in the morning to bring them into production a little earlier. Never mind. The birds will rattle their way through it and start laying again at the right time. And the wonderful thing is how we are all learning so much so fast in this lifestyle.. c
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 6:07 am
Uh huh…. I so often take it for granted that I know the way of the world. Then… sometimes I get that V-8 moment and realize I have been way off base! And so many times it’s a heel-of-hand to the forehead moment where I realize it all makes sense!
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 6:38 am
Don’t beat yourself up. The first time I raised chickens, I left a light on in the coop intentionally because I was greedy and wanted fresh eggs year ’round. My payback was no eggs for months in the spring. Those girls needed a break. You just can’t fool mother nature.
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 6:55 am
I learn such neat things from you!!
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 7:39 am
Here is a thought that might cheer you up some…you could do away with the lamps altogether next year and save yourself a bundle in electricity costs. The lights affect not just the poultry but the goats as well. The extra light will inhibit the growth of winter coats, hence the need for heat lamps. If you leave the lights off, everybody will grow the extra hair or feathers they need to stay warm. All of these critters do fine here in NY during the winter with no extra help from us. Mother Nature takes care of all of them just fine:)
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 8:53 am
Aha! That is why the hens don’t produce in December/January! I thought it was because of the cold weather and had no idea it was the amount of daylight. They are just starting to lay once again. Thanks for the info. Amazing what you can learn from MB!
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 9:50 am
Live and learn! 🙂 That info makes total sense to me. People with show horses leave lights on in the evenings and blanket their horses to keep them from growing heavy coats. I say, it’s not nice to fool mother nature. 🙂 They’ll get back on track soon enough.
LikeLike
March 17, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Ah well, guess you’ll have to buy chicken eggs for a while. By the way, Happy St. Patrick’s day, especially a big hug for Patrick on his slightly belated anniversary.
LikeLike
March 18, 2012 at 6:40 am
Ooooops. Well who knew, right? At least ya’ll had eggs this winter. Now the girls get a ittle spring vaca.
Happy coming to the farm Patty Pat, the amazing fuzzball donkey. He’s the whole reason we even know ya’ll. Yeah Patty Pat.
XOXO Oma Linda
LikeLike
March 19, 2012 at 6:19 am
Wow, I had no idea. I knew day length has a big effect on plants and cat shedding, so I guess it makes sense.
LikeLike
March 24, 2012 at 12:47 pm
We used to do the same with our hens when we first started out and ended up pickling 175 eggs! Now we go with nature with both hens and ducks and everything happens at the right time. We all make mistakes but it’s fun learning!
Christine
LikeLike