6 hens, only 2 are laying

[phil chave]

Hi everyone,
I am in south west England. Day length is currently around 14 hrs, so you'd think the girls should have started laying by now right? 6 hens, unlimited pellets, corn, water and green stuff. 4 stopped laying back in December, and we were getting 2 a day from the same birds. Not unexpected. You get to know marks and shading on eggs so you know its the same ones. They were all POL last year, so I was expecting another few years out of them.
Kept hens on and off for around 30 years, they have a large house and run, 10 times bigger than normal for 6 as some years I used to have 20 or more in there, completely predator protected underground, sides and roof.
Just a little baffling that the days have been getting longer, warmer and no eggs yet. They are Warren's.
Any ideas anyone?
Just a waiting game?
Thanks for your thoughts
Phil

 

[azygous]

Diet can play a role in lack of eggs. Stress such as coop mites, underlying health issues such as avian virus affecting the reproductive systems can affect laying.

It's not going to be easy to nail what's going on, but I would start with things you can mitigate first such as checking for coop mites by looking over the chickens for red, irritated skin and checking the coop at night to see if mites are on the perches and crawling up the legs of the chickens on the roosts.

Look at the nutrients in your feed to be sure it's nutritionally balanced.

If you've had any mysterious deaths in your flock, it could point to an avian virus.

 

[phil chave]

Thank you Azygous for the reply.
Funny thing has just occurred to me, I changed food suppliers before last xmas and they stopped laying which I put down to cold, short days, winter rest etc. The girls ate it ok, but I didn't like the consistency of droppings, being a bit cereally and decided to go back to the previous feed, Henry's layers pellets. There is about 2" left in the feeder and I have bought the new feed to top up the feeder.
But I think I'll tip it and just go back to the Henry's feed.
See what happens.
Just went up with a very powerful torch to check nesting boxes and perches for coop mites. Legs and perches clean as a whistle. I do use dethlac once or twice a year around the nesting boxes, under the carpet and cushions. Don't laugh!!!
The light was so bright 2 jumped down and went out looking for grub, probably thought it was morning. I had a devil of a job getting them back up on the perches.
Thanks again
Phil

 

[azygous]

Don't be embarrassed. My chickens have lounging cushions in their run, too. They feel it's an entitlement, but they don't think twice about pooping on the furniture and expect me to clean them off, which I do. Please tell me, which species is smarter, the human or the chickens.

 

[phil chave]

Ok hopper tipped out and feed changed to the previous supplier. Fingers crossed this is the answer.
I won't waste the old stuff, the wild birds can have it if they have a taste for it.

I know exactly how I changed feed. The country was in lockdown, nothing was open or had a queue a mile long and I saw a pallet of layers pellets in a factory shop. I thought I'll grab a couple bags while I can to see me through the winter because our normal farm shop had run out of both pellets and corn due to panic buying (their conclusion). By the time it came back in stock I was already into the second bag. Damn the blinking virus.

Will keep you posted in case this thread can help anyone else.