Especially when it comes in December!

How do chickens know when to start laying their eggs again each year? They stop in mid-October and then moult. It’s horrible – there are so many feathers lying around everywhere that it looks like a Bernard Matthews factory around these parts. Not only that but the chickens spend a month or so wandering around naked or nearly naked and believe me that’s not a good look for a chicken! Then they start to get their new coat, which starts off looking like they’ve got a load of short drinking straws hanging off their skin – the feathers emerge from the holes in the centre of the “straws”. Eventually they start to look like chickens again and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

During this period they’re too busy using energy making feathers to worry about laying eggs so they don’t bother for a while. At some point, they decide they’re properly attired and their blood goes up, giving them a lovely red comb then you have to watch out for them to start to lay. They usually wait until the nights are drawing out then somehow they know that spring is around the corner so that’s their signal.

This year they got a bit previous and we’ve been getting eggs since before the solstice instead of at the beginning of January. January is really great when it comes early…it means that spring can only be just around the corner.