My theory on why my hens suddenly stopped laying

[goats-n-oats]

My hens were laying very well during the winter, then in the last couple of weeks, since the weather got warmer, egg size has steadily decreased, as well as production, from 6 dozen jumbo eggs per day to 2 dozen small eggs per day. My flock includes 175 chickens ages 6 months to 3 years. My indoor hens are still laying at about 75%, as well as my ducks and quails are laying at 100%. (Incidentally, my rabbits are spontaneously aborting, and my pair of 2yo in-tact Anatolian shepherds have never conceived.) I tried bringing the flock back indoors for a day, and set up a HEPA filter indoors. Production increased to 4 dozen. Let the flock back out yesterday, production dropped to 2 dozen.

I googled 'which chemicals affect chickens but not ducks' and this was the result: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/poisonings/poisonings-in-poultry#v87394350 : Dioxin Poisoning in Poultry Dioxin is a fat contaminant of poultry feeds. In young pullets, it decreases growth, delays sexual development, and increases mortality rates. Hatchability is decreased. Turkeys and ducks are less susceptible than chickens. Signs of intoxication include ruffled feathers, droopiness, and dyspnea. Associated lesions include ascites and hydropericardium, liver necrosis, subepicardial hemorrhage, and bile duct hyperplasia.

My farm is located about 100 miles from the East Palestine train derailment site from 02/2023. Large quantities of vinyl chloride were burned, which releases dioxin.

I am going to try adding activated charcoal pellets to their feed, and turmeric powder to their water, to detox.

Go ahead and call me a conspiracy theorist, I don't care. DYOR (Do your own research.)

 

[NatJ]

That is an interesting idea, but this point makes me look another direction:

I tried bringing the flock back indoors for a day, and set up a HEPA filter indoors. Production increased to 4 dozen. Let the flock back out yesterday, production dropped to 2 dozen.

If you brought them in for just one day, the eggs you got were already being formed before you brought the flock in. The yolks had been growing for weeks, and the egg whites were forming the day before the eggs were laid (while they were still outside). Bringing them in for one day made a difference in how many eggs you collected, but could not have caused the egg formation that happened before you brought them in.

I would go searching for hidden outdoor nests, and for egg-eating animals that might get the eggs when the birds are outdoors.

If the hens are hiding their nests, you may be able to keep them shut indoors for a week or two, so they get used to laying in the nests again, and then try letting them out again.

My indoor hens are still laying at about 75%, as well as my ducks and quails are laying at 100%. (Incidentally, my rabbits are spontaneously aborting, and my pair of 2yo in-tact Anatolian shepherds have never conceived.)

Obviously my explanation (hidden nests) would not explain the rabbits or the dogs.

The indoor hens cannot hide their eggs, and outdoor hens hiding nests would have no effect on the ducks and quail, so those birds could support either explanation equally well.

 

[saysfaa]

It could be more than one cause at the same time.

 

[chicken1234]

Mine quit laying when I moved them to a smaller temporary coop while we tore down the old coop. Then they were moved to the new permanent coop. I've had zero eggs in months. My girls are also older though 4 and 5 years of age. If you think yours were contaminated by toxins maybe it is time to bring in new livestock and let the others retire?

 

[goats-n-oats]

That is an interesting idea, but this point makes me look another direction:


If you brought them in for just one day, the eggs you got were already being formed before you brought the flock in. The yolks had been growing for weeks, and the egg whites were forming the day before the eggs were laid (while they were still outside). Bringing them in for one day made a difference in how many eggs you collected, but could not have caused the egg formation that happened before you brought them in.

I would go searching for hidden outdoor nests, and for egg-eating animals that might get the eggs when the birds are outdoors.

If the hens are hiding their nests, you may be able to keep them shut indoors for a week or two, so they get used to laying in the nests again, and then try letting them out again.


Obviously my explanation (hidden nests) would not explain the rabbits or the dogs.

The indoor hens cannot hide their eggs, and outdoor hens hiding nests would have no effect on the ducks and quail, so those birds could support either explanation equally well.

The egg white comment is interesting; the smaller eggs are showing regular sized yolks but very little white.
Of course without a lab test to confirm the presence of dioxin, this is all speculation.
It's possible that 5-10 hens are laying outdoors, because last summer I lost about 6 hens to foxes and found a few crushed eggs of different colors on the creek bank. I suspect they were just too hot inside the barn and sought out a cooler place (the creek bed) to lay. However that does not account for the other 100+ hens.
The control group referenced here are my Tetra Browns, that lay distinctive terra cotta, XL, roundish eggs. Their eggs were so big in January that they had to be packed in tri-fold plastic cartons, because the regular cartons would not close. Now their eggs are either missing, or are size Med-Large. Also, the remaining eggs are so small that I am selling them at a discount labeled as 'medium' sized.

 

[goats-n-oats]

Mine quit laying when I moved them to a smaller temporary coop while we tore down the old coop. Then they were moved to the new permanent coop. I've had zero eggs in months. My girls are also older though 4 and 5 years of age. If you think yours were contaminated by toxins maybe it is time to bring in new livestock and let the others retire?

OK, but if there is an ongoing environmental toxin then won't the new flock be affected as well?

 

[NatJ]

The egg white comment is interesting; the smaller eggs are showing regular sized yolks but very little white.
Of course without a lab test to confirm the presence of dioxin, this is all speculation.
It's possible that 5-10 hens are laying outdoors, because last summer I lost about 6 hens to foxes and found a few crushed eggs of different colors on the creek bank. I suspect they were just too hot inside the barn and sought out a cooler place (the creek bed) to lay. However that does not account for the other 100+ hens.
The control group referenced here are my Tetra Browns, that lay distinctive terra cotta, XL, roundish eggs. Their eggs were so big in January that they had to be packed in tri-fold plastic cartons, because the regular cartons would not close. Now their eggs are either missing, or are size Med-Large. Also, the remaining eggs are so small that I am selling them at a discount labeled as 'medium' sized.

If you want to test, you could alternate keeping them in vs. letting them out. If you always get eggs when they are in, but not when they are out, it is definitely SOMETHING about outdoors.

But outdoors contains many things: different dietary choices, places to hide nests, creatures that eat eggs (could be small ones like rats or snakes, that don't bother adult hens), possibly toxins, etc.

I think researching dioxins is very sensible, but I think it's a bit too soon to be SURE they are the cause.

 

[goats-n-oats]

If you want to test, you could alternate keeping them in vs. letting them out. If you always get eggs when they are in, but not when they are out, it is definitely SOMETHING about outdoors.

But outdoors contains many things: different dietary choices, places to hide nests, creatures that eat eggs (could be small ones like rats or snakes, that don't bother adult hens), possibly toxins, etc.

I think researching dioxins is very sensible, but I think it's a bit too soon to be SURE they are the cause.

Ok.
FYI my neighbors (within 20-40 miles radius of me) are also complaining that their hens have stopped laying suddenly.

 

[chicken1234]

OK, but if there is an ongoing environmental toxin then won't the new flock be affected as well?

I imagine it depends on where you source them from I'd avoid buying them from neighbours if you think they could have been exposed. Are you sick from exposure?

 

[goats-n-oats]

I imagine it depends on where you source them from I'd avoid buying them from neighbours if you think they could have been exposed. Are you sick from exposure?

I just buy from NPIP hatcheries, or hatch my own.
Actually I have been sick since last summer. I assumed it was lyme, because doxycycline resolved most of the symptoms (chest pain, fatigue, blood clots), and my dogs all tested positive for lyme, but, my arms and fingers are still numb, mostly at night, and sometimes while driving. I read this specific symptom (arm numbness particularly at night) occurs with veterans exposed to dioxin (Agent Orange), and can also occur with lyme patients.