5 chickens.....1 egg a day???

[Malynda]

Hello! I have a question about my chickens and egg laying. I have 5 RIR's that are 21 wks old and only one is laying. About one egg every day and its a little on the small side but good form and good shell and even color. I determined that the one that's doing the laying is the dominate one, BabyMama (there is a story behind the name LOL) but none of the others. They are in a temporary coup outside till we can get the other one built so I make sure that they have a good diet of fresh greens and veggies to go with the commercial feed since I cant free range them yet.

Should I be worried or just have more patience since its only been a lil less than two weeks?

Thanks!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Patience, grasshopper.

 

[Mark_Khrushchev]

Oyster shells, layer feed, grit, mealworms, all of these are needed for good layers. Some chicks might also be late maturing hens. Be patient. Also, make sure they are not stressed.

 

[momoftwinsinwi]

I have 29 hens and 3 roo's and are about 5 months old, I am getting about 12-13 eggs a day and feel like I should be getting 2 dz LOL.....like the previous poster.....patience grass hopper

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Are you providing oyster shell in a side dish? Also, go easy on the fresh greens and veggies, that's snack food. Everything they need for making eggs is in the commercial feed and should comprise the main part of their diet. Speaking of, what are you feeding them?

 

[Malynda]

Patience, grasshopper.[/QUO

ahhh yes, one of my greatest downfalls!! LOL

 

[Malynda]

Are you providing oyster shell in a side dish? Also, go easy on the fresh greens and veggies, that's snack food. Everything they need for making eggs is in the commercial feed and should comprise the main part of their diet. Speaking of, what are you feeding them?

So I have the commercial feed ( I get layer crumble from my local feed store since its limited on whats near me) that I leave out all day for them so that way they all get a chance to eat since BabyMama has a tendancy to hog the feeding dish. Then at night I just bring them out a plate of greens only once a day. I do also have two separate plates for oyster shell and another for grit and make sure that its stocked all the time.

 

[mdquilts]

We have 6 RIR about the same age as yours. Our dominant one started laying 2 weeks ago and we’ve had an egg every day from her. Another started yesterday. I’m practicing my patience and waiting for the day they all lay and enjoying the pretty little eggs we do get.

 

[imnukensc]

Oyster shells, layer feed, grit, mealworms, all of these are needed for good layers. Some chicks might also be late maturing hens. Be patient. Also, make sure they are not stressed.

Mealworms aren't needed.

 

[Ebony Rose]

So I have the commercial feed ( I get layer crumble from my local feed store since its limited on whats near me) that I leave out all day for them so that way they all get a chance to eat since BabyMama has a tendancy to hog the feeding dish.

An extra feeding location that BabyMama cannot see while she's hoarding the one would be helpful to your flock. If you're feeding oyster shell & grit on the side, you can buy an "all flock" feed instead of "layer", which will be good for roosters and chicks too and typically has higher protein than the layer feed.