Slow Time of the Year for Eggs

At this time of the year, egg production really takes a hit.  The shortened days and dark and gloomy weather coupled with not much grass to eat and bugs to munch on means that if we pick up seven or eight eggs, it is a big day.  In the springtime, we'll pick up ten times that amount in a day.

We have around 100 hens and during the big production months, we give away or sell the eggs our family can't eat.  We bring some to church and then we'll normally have our sign out by the road selling our excess, but these days, we pulled up our egg sign and brought it back to the house.  It'll go back up in the spring.  Maybe we'll have to touch it up a little!  It is looking kind of rough...

Speaking of eggs and chickens, as I was opening up the egg boxes in the hen house last Saturday, I glanced in the woods behind the hen house and something caught my eye.  Something seemed out of place.  I opened the back gate and walked and found this grisly sight:

It was a fresh kill.  Overnight some predator feasted on one of our Rhode Island Red hens.  If I had to guess, I would assume an owl or a hawk did this as it took the hen over the fence in order to feast on her.  The predator didn't even finish eating.  If you look into the center of the photo you can see the hen's untouched gizzard.  Further to the right, you can see her liver. 

Especially during this time of year, we lose a few birds to predators.  That's going to happen.  I don't get too worked up about it.  I did set up our cage trap in the woods near where I found the remains of the hen and the very next night, I caught a big, fat possum.  I don't thing the possum was responsible, but let's just say there's one less possum roaming around at night.  Normally the chickens run into the goat barn when predators are in the area.  This one just wasn't quick enough, I guess.