4 Hens- 1 egg per day...at the end of my rope

[Sandychic]

Background on the hens: we got them at about 5 months old. 2 of them were laying and continued to for about a week or so, then 3 of them were and was consistent for a few days. then all of them stopped for almost a week. (breeds: 2 barred rocks, 2 red sex links)

Now they are about 8-9 months old. only one of them is laying(barred rock) and that has been going on for almost a month. One other is laying blobs of egg white with no shell every few days or so but that is it.

I have asked for advice on here several times, and have followed a lot of it. they have been wormed, given probiotic, I changed their feed to Nutrena Naturewise hearty hen 18% protein pellets all day every day, and oyster shell is available to them. my husband is ready to cull the ones not laying, and I cant defend them much longer. Advice??

I have been having a similar problem, My 6 hens are 10 months old and one day I will get 2 eggs and the next maybe 4 or five. Very rarely 6 in one day, then we are back to only 2. I called the hatchery where I got the chicks and was told they need 2 main things to lay, protein and calcium. They suggested adding the oyster shell to their feed rather than separate choice, and also give more protein. They often get treats of broccoli or cabbage and free range all day, so it was also suggested that they may be filling up on veggies first and then not getting enough protein. I have started to give them tuna in water from the can 1-2xs/ week, and meal worms as treats. Its taken a bit of time, but I am getting more 4-5 egg days now. god luck!

 

[aart]

Should I throw some oyster shell in with their feed? I never see them taking any from the trough. Thank you all so much.

Maybe toss some on the ground near the container and a few pieces on top of their feed...sometimes they don't 'get' what it is.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have one bird that refuses to eat oyster shell as-is and was starting to have shell issues (soft egg, fragile shells) so I mix a little of the leftover oyster shell powder into a tablespoon of fermented feed and then lock her in my unused brooder until she eats it. I do this about 3x a week. She gobbles it up in a minute or two and her egg shells are now improved in quality.

 

[Trux]

A couple of things:

- I'd put the fake eggs back in. Some chickens get upset by not seeing them there because that makes the spot look no longer safe to lay in (someone ate my eggs!)

- If they're actually emptying the feeder then try providing more feed during the day.

- You mentioned you're free ranging. Are you 100% sure (i.e. you follow them around during the day, you have cameras) that they aren't laying elsewhere? I'd advise locking them in the run for a few days... they'll be a bit cranky but it's a surefire way of making sure they're not laying elsewhere.

Good advice...if you lock them in so they have to lay in a area where you can find the eggs then you will know if they are laying or not!

 

[Lisa-Lu]

Ok, I have spread some oyster shell crumbs and smaller bits in with their feed. Today, I found this on the poop board. This egg was a hard shell and looks like it was trampled and pecked to death?

 

[Lisa-Lu]

I also added fake eggs into the nesting boxes today, so hopefully the egg eater will try those and stop.

 

[aart]

his egg was a hard shell

Looks pretty thin.....will take time for added calcium, at least a few days, to work.

 

[Trux]

Agree with aart, thin shell...I have had those a few times myself. Go to pick them up out of nesting box and finger goes right through them. So if a hen would step on it it will collapse

 

[cheekychick3]

Hi,
I also had the same problem, as you a few months ago. We bought 12 POL in
March. Like you could not understand why they were slow laying. Especially when we
were doing everything right. Then i came on here, and read another Lady was also having
similar problems, she also read advice on here. And it worked, so then i tried it. It worked
for us. We were feeding them Layer pellets in morning. Then later they would have treats, cabbage any fresh greens. Other treats were mealworms all on diffrent days.Then late
afternoon they had a few handfuls of good mixed corn. They also had plenty of Oyster shell. Anyway listening to advice on BYC we changed their diet, And WOW we are now
overun with beautiful eggs. With lovely strong shells. Instead of us giving them Layer pellets, we changed it to Layers Mash with added worming pellets. We mix it with warm water. Within a month the eggs were flowing. Yes, it costs a few pounds extra but worth
every penny. As we do not need to worm them every few months, because it is included
in the mash. And also the mash is balanced out, so they are not overwormed. Our girls looked healthy to us, but within a month on the mash, you could see the diffrence in them. I am not stating our girls needed worming, as we already wormed them all. So
we believe the Layer pellets was not suiting them at all. They love their mash, even the
Layer mash without included wormer is worth a try. But this advice on here, defo changed
our girls to laying beautiful eggs with strong shells and golden yolks. Maybe it will not
work for you, but i thought i would let you know. Anything is worth a try. Good Luck.

 

[cheekychick3]

Forgot to tell you, we also bought rubber eggs, and left them in nest boxes. Think that
helped them as well.