3 hens not laying

[vicky01242]

Hi I have 4 hens, yet I only get 1 egg per day. I think its from the ginger coloured hen (sorry, I don't k ow the breeds as new to this). Why would only 1 hen be laying?

 

[loveourbirds]

several things can keep hens from laying.

if your in the U.S. its the prime season for molt (you will see a lot of feathers laying around).

they could also be going broody, they will stay in the nest boxes almost all day if this is the case.

worms or parasites, usually combs will be light colored. inspect around their vent (butt) and look for small bugs or eggs. sometimes the eggs look like manure stuck to the feathers.

nutrition issues can cause it too. sometimes just changing the type of feed you use will get them laying. they don't appear to be underweight in the pictures, to fat is a possibility too.

other factors can be lack of light, and to cold or to hot.

 

[vicky01242]

I'm in the uk. I've seen a few feathers laying around but I don't know if they're malting as I thought they'd lose a lot of feathers. Oh great, I have to look at their bums lol. They like to stay in the run for most of the day and chose to only go in the coop at night. We have had hot weather lately, hotter than usual but its starting to cool down now. What sort of feed should I be feeding them as they're on pellets at the moment. Thanks for your reply

 

[loveourbirds]

any good quality layer crumble works well. in high temps i lower the amount of corn i feed - they wont eat it anyways in hot weather.

with you being in the UK i have a little trouble with advice, as a rule of thumb just stick with a quality feed; and make sure its fresh.

one other thing i didnt mention, sometimes you will get a hen that eats eggs; if 3 of them shared the same nest the "egg eater" will eat all the eggs in that nest.

it sounds to me like your having troubles with temps. keep cool water into them, with the cooler temps they should pick back up.

 

[vicky01242]

Thanks very much. I've just found the Facebook page, so have joined that now.