What happened to the spring chickens?

Where have all the baby chicks gone?This has been a very challenging year for breeding chickens. The cold and snow seems to have affected the laying and hatching rate in both small operations and larger hatcheries.

Even though we keep the coops at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, some of our birds have yet to lay an egg. Other eggs are freezing before they're collected.

Blame the polar vortex, since this seems to be spread throughout the cold weather states. The hatcheries that don’t have a problem are running out.

My best advice is to hang in there. Things will get better with the warm weather.

  
As always, post questions in the comment section.

--Dale, aka Turkeyman