Drastic Reduction In Egg Production

[16 and me]

Have you checked for predator stress? Mites?

I have. No predator issues, no mites, but with the hard molt, and 10 chicks, 4 that turned out to be cockerels, there has been some stress as they disrupt the roosting routine. One cockerel went into the crockpot last week. 2 that are 12 weeks old will be going to freezer camp soon. The other is a calm quiet boy and will stay as long as he doesn't cause trouble. Same thing happened last year.

 

[Toothpick]

Will LED light be fine for supplemental light? I read that it will be but mainly curious on the lumens.

Also, I understand you should add the light gradually? Say 15 minutes extra a day until you are up 14-16 hours? I hear this is better than blasting them with 5-6 extra hours of light all at once.

 

[Mrs. K]

You take what you get. There is a difference in production due to the light. But each chicken is an individual, and how they react is unique.

I had a 2 year old BA - molted hard, grew in her feathers, did not expect an egg from her until mid January, but she is laying BEFORE the solstice. We have had a lot of sunny days.

But the thing is, even when they are technically laying, they are not laying every day.
December 21 is getting closer!

 

[Tahai]

Hens need 14 to 16 hours of light to produce eggs, so in winter most birds stop or drastically reduce egg production. If you add a small light on a timer in their coop 3am to 8am daily, egg production will increase.
Often pullets continue to lay better their first winter, but as hens, not.
Mary

Folly, this is not quite accurate. Hens need 14 or so hours of light for optimal production, but can and will still lay with less light. I'm getting about 10 hours of light right now and girls are still laying. Also, some breeds do better with low light than others.

 

[Folly's place]

Very true, it does 'just depend' on several other factors. But adjusting the lighting makes a big difference!
Mary

 

[jreardon1918]

Very true, it does 'just depend' on several other factors. But adjusting the lighting makes a big difference!
Mary

Adding light does help. My 4 pullets & 8 hens all slowed to their laying as follows. eggs in:
September = 167 October = 84 November = 54 December = 27 January 1-12 = 54

I started the lighting program on 11/23/2023. The lights come on at 4:30 am each morning. They turn off just after sunrise. The lights are a few stings of Christmas icicle lights they are strung mostly in the windows that face east. My "theory" is this simulates sunrise. The girls move to the run shortly after the lights come on. This has worked for me. YMMV

 

[Babel22]

Last year there were people reporting that their hens stopped laying and they blamed Tractor Supply feed. I remember one lady said she switched from their layer feed to goat feed and the girls started to deliver eggs again.
Was it true or just fake stories going around the internet? I don't know. I generally do not use Tractor Supply feed as they are 50 minutes away and local True Value has feed at about the same price.
You could experiment and try different feed.
It would be interesting to see if it makes a,difference.

I have been looking for an explanation of the same. 10 years we have had hens. Buy from TS, and now my two year old hens have stopped laying except for one thin egg shell egg, that is often broken in layer box.

 

[Bruthabuz]

I had a similar problem a few months ago. I was getting 25-30 eggs a day. Then suddenly, it dropped to 5-10 a day. I heard the rumors about TSC feed, but I have had no problems with feeding my flock for many years Dumor All Flock (because we also have ducks), sold at TSC. It has 17% protein, as opposed to 16% in layer feed.

Recently, though, my girls have started eating their eggs. I go out several times a day to gather the eggs before they lay in the nests too long. I also read an article here on BYC that one cause for this might be not enough protein. Today, I found a feed that has 20% protein, so I'm going to try it out. It's sold at my local Walmart, of all places. Time will tell. Good luck in finding out why your hens have stopped laying.