Laying and treats

[ashyannehand]

Good morning all. First let me say that I LOVE this site. I have become a little addicted!

I have one roo who is what I think is a Jersey Giant and one hen to match him. Also 3 Barred rock hens, 3 Buff orpington, 2 easter eggers and 2 what I think is hubbard browns. All are hens except the one roo. My father in law and I got ours at the same time from the same order. He has 14 hens all of the same breeds as mine except he has no roo. They were born on Febuary 14. (How sweet!). They began laying on the exact same day. I have been getting one to two eggs a day. He was getting one a day but all of a sudden he is getting 5 or six a day. I am still stuck at one to two a day.

The only diffrence in our hens is I give mine treats. They get the same feed, since I buy it all from our local co-op. I have given my girls and roo watermelon (so hot here), cabbage, carrotts, lettuce greens and grapes. Also I give them grass every day. Am I just being paranoid? They are the same hens with the same diet except for the treats. I was hoping by giving them treats every day I was bribbing them into more eggs!

Ha Ha

But really - I am a newbie to this whole thing. I am not slowing their egg production down with all the extra treats am I?

Thanks for all of the advice in advance.

 

[ashyannehand]

I also want to clarify that I give them clean cool water every day. I have a three gallon waterer but I rinse it out every day. I live in south Mississippi and right now our temps are in the 90's all day. The water will be yucky pretty fast. Thanks again!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Sounds like you're doing everything right. Some hens lay at different times-they lay when they want to. Another thing you could evaluate though is: air circulation. Hot weather will slow down egg laying. If your FIL has them in an area where they get more of a breeze or if he has a fan for them they maybe cooler and therefore not so heat stressed which in turn could mean more eggs.

 

[ashyannehand]

Thanks for the advice. They are in a covered area and the sides are open to the breeze. We live close to the coast so we have thunderstorms almost everyday that have somewhat of a cooling affect. Although the humidity is terrible. I may try the fan. Otherwise, I will wait it out!

 

[Wynette]

Are you feeding oyster shell also? And, I assume they are on layer feed? I've heard that feeding fruit can slow egg laying, but I have not noticed that with mine. Also, if they are getting "too many" treats, they will not be as encouraged to eat more layer feed, which has everything they need to lay eggs. So, while treats are great, be sure not to overfeed them the treats. Glad you're enjoying BYC! I love it here, too!

 

[ashyannehand]

They are on oyster shell and I have only been giving them fruits or veggs about three or four days a week. They are on laying feed which is avaliable 24/7 via a 5 gallon bucket feeder that I found instructions for on this site. I did end up with 2 eggs yesterday instead of just one. Either way - I love my girls!!

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. I needed the reassurance that I am doing things correctly.

God Bless!

 

[gypsygirl1421]

Your situation sounds similar to mine. Mine were also hatched on Feb 14. I gave half the chicks to my friend. In this case, mine were the ones to get treats. My hens laid their first egg on May 27. Hers still have not laid an egg yet. I get about 6 eggs a day from my 9 hens. What we determined was that it may be the amount of sunlight. My coop had a huge picture window. They love to sit there and look out of it (spoiled) and their run is in the yard against the garage. It gets a lot of sun. Her coop only has a tiny window and is in the shade underneath some large pine trees. Her hens rarely got a lot of sun. All things otherwise are the same. Since the amount of bright daylight is an important factor to laying, that was the only conclusion we could come to.

 

[ashyannehand]

Our coop is all open. The top is covered with a tin roof but the sides are just fencing. We live in the hot south and do not have to worry about very cold winters, snow and so on. The sun comes up around 5:30 am here and does not set until about 8:15 pm, so I would think that they are getting plently of sunlight. I am just going to wait it out. I love my girls, eggs or not!

Thanks again for all of the advice.