23 laying hens and only 7-10 eggs a day. why not more.

[blueseal]

i have 23 laying hens and 1 rooster. i have a big 10x12 gambrel barn coop. a big fenced in 300 sq ft run. plenty of fresh water and layer mash daily. i have 15 hens that are 17 months old they are 6, cinnamon queens, 4 rhode island reds, 2 barred rocks, 2 white leghorns, and 1 delaware, only the delaware has molted so far . just got done. i have 8 other hens 4 are rhode island reds and 4 are sexlink crosses they are a year old. i got them 6 weeks ago and they were in rough shape when i got them. i think 2 of them are laying. they were under fed by previous owner . might be why the arent laying good now. what can i do to up the egg production. my original flock was laying good until the new ones came. i was getting a dozen a day from them.then it dropped to half when the new birds came . its been 6 weeks since the new birds came. im starting to see a few more eggs a day the last 2 weeks.

 

[math ace]

So, you have answered your own question - - - why aren't I getting more eggs - - - I was before, but not now . . . .

STRESS such as what can occur when you merge that many birds can upset the laying ones and stop the process for a while.
ALSO, you have had one bird just finish molting, so the others may be doing a mild molt.
Additionally, the 8 you just got were not in good shape and need to eat and grow before their bodies are strong enough for the egg process.

FINALLY, I have to ask how HOT has it been in Maine the last 8 weeks ? ?
We are setting records for extreme heat in North Florida this year. We have been in the 90's all week and my girls egg production drops dramatically as the temps go up . . .

 

[blueseal]

Quote:
its been in the 70s and 80s all but one week this summer. wich was 90s 2 weeks ago.

 

[Samilitant]

I heard that many will slow down egg production after the first year of laying to one every couple or more days. Could be part of it?

 

[SC_Hugh]

Adding more chickens will upset the happy flock dynamic for sure

The established hen group is wondering why you weren't happy with their production and you had to go add some strange, under fed chickens to their happy home? So now they go on egg laying strike, they are sending you a message and it will take a little time for them to forgive...

My $0.02,

Hugh

 

[drunkdog]

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I bought a poultry conditioner by manna pro the other day, it might help your new flock its a supplement you add when feeding. I don't know if its a gimmick but adds extra protein. I'm not going to be the only one to ask but did you think to isolate the new flock to make sure there wasn't any illness your old birds could contract if not you put your whole flock at risk

 

[walfarmchiks]

Our chickens are about 15 months old. We have nine birds, all healthy, but right now they have started filling in their old feathers (the up side of a molt, apparently) Up until about 6 weeks ago, those 9 birds were very reliably laying about 7 - 8 eggs (average) a day, but right now it's dropped precipitously to 2 or, occasionally, 3 total.

As well, the first part of that 6 weeks was quite warm, with the ladies often actually panting and drinking a lot of water. Even in the shade. (we had 98˚+ here for a few weeks. Youch!)

So, I'm assuming this reduction in laying activity is typical and just the time of year, or the heat, or the molt, though i didn't notice it last year, but in fairness they had only just started laying for the first time in their lives back then. Is it also possibly a photo-period issue (with shortening days and all..).

Or (horrors!) is there possibly something going wrong here with my lovely ladies? Help!

 

[tuesdays chicks]

When bird moll they the energy used in egg laying goes to growing feather its normal for less egg production

 

[walfarmchiks]

How long does this fall egg-laying hiatus usually last? Weeks? Months? (I'D HATE TO HAVE TO BUY STORE-BOUGHT & TASTELESS EGGS!)

BTW, I understand that you can feed them some cat kibble as a source of extra protein. As well, I have some powdered mineral supplement that I have recently been adding to their drinking water. So at least they'll be healthy during this slight stress.

You know, as a biologist, I sat here thinking about the physiology of it all. Of course, as long as they are producing new feathers, this will impact them. At the current rate of new "featherage" I'm seeing, I'd have to say it should take another 6 weeks I'll bet. (that'd mean a total of bout 2.5 months of very reduced egg laying. I'm surprised they are doing it at all, frankly!) By then, it will also be a tad bit cooler here in Washington State, so they'll need those new fluffy feathers.

BTW, I'm going to design & build The Ultimate Coop with all I'e learned to date. They need more individual floor space plus I need to be able to separate some of teh henpecked birds apart [kept that way only by a chicken wire fence of course] (coop III we call it because it will be my third time doing it. Who'da thunk chickens would need psychological counseling and interventions! They are highly social,

obviously, and they grow to "appreciate" their owners [Q: do chickens know "luv"?] The previous housing unit, a combined assembly (coop I and coop II) are conjoined, and look a lot like The International Space Station as a cobbled-up & added-to conglomerate as I realizd they needed more room, a separate egg laying hutch, etc. etc.. This is my first experience with these lovely birds [why didn't I do this a long time ago? They are absolutely fascinating!].

The new house part [approx 8' X 3' X 6' tall, housing 5 birds, leaving the remaining 4 in the now luxuriously uncrowded Ci/Cii complex of The Intl. Chicken Station...] will, of course, be totally insulated with sandwich board (1" styrofoam between sheets of marine grade plywood), and will be temp controlled with two thermostatically managed 150amp ceramic radiators mounted about 5 feet above the roost area. The thermostat does not provide too much heat; they go on at about 34 - 35˚ F, and off at 45˚ F. I may place a small 40 watt bulb under the nestbox area as well, but insulated so that the heat thus generated is quite broad-spread and minimal. It's just that we can and do get v. low temps out here in Jan & Feb; down to -20 or so from time to time. Oddly, these birds handled it no problems.

Well, it's off to tend to my peeps. I'll say hello from everyone to them!