All my chickens have stopped laying

[shodack]

I have had tremendous success with fermenting feed, and wonder if you have considered giving it a try? It breaks down the food to allow for easier digestion and therefore better absorption of available nutrients. It's a really simple process that might help some, and also brings down the cost of feed after a while, since the chickens need to eat less to get the same nutrition (I can't even imagine the cost of feeding 200 birds!!).
The other thing I was just reading about in another thread is how availability of one nutrient can affect absorption of another (I'm a horticulturist, and the same is true for plants, so it made a lot of sense to me). So Vitamin C is really important for protein absorption, which could be added to their diet through veggies and fruits. Just a thought.

 

[allpeepedout]

Just an additional thought: While I understand that most pullets will lay continuously through the winter their first year, my first flock did not. They were February chicks, came into lay very early at 15-16 weeks, laid like crazy through summer, then molted in late Sept. of that year.

Maybe some of yours are going into moult.

 

[lilbeastpdx]

It is my impression that the total square footage including the run and the sleeping quarters is 210 square feet, total.

Yes, true. But, if the birds are CONTAINED in a 5x10x5 coop, as many chickens are in the evenings, then it's too small.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

What do you provide to supplement protein in your layer feed? Just curious

There should not be any need for supplemental protein in a good full ration chicken feed. However there are some 'artisan' chicken feeds on the market that omit the expensive animal protein and instead charge more for vegetarian chicken feed.

There is nothing wrong with this except that chickens need, want and got to have animal protein but the poor chicken has no voice in the matter but instead depends on its owner to supply a complete ration. If however i was trying to supplement my chickens' protein i would likely use canned dog food, a good quality kibble style dry dog or cat food, or lean ground beef or diced beef liver. Another option is Calf Manna or other milk by products.

 

[Spartan22]

What do you provide to supplement protein in your layer feed? Just curious

A few of my hens are molting right now and I used Purina flock raiser that has 20% protein w/ optional calcium on the side for layers as opposed to layer feeds that has 16%(I'd been feeding them organic manna pro) as lindalouli also mentioned meal worm gives extra protein supplement but a lil pricey if you don't raise your own meal worms, some people also supplement w/ cat food.

 

[acts4me]

If they have all stopped at the same time perhaps you have a predator, either animal or human, just a thought.

This was my first thought as well I set up my trail cams and came up with nothing. Also it is all my chickens, the ones out at the big house and the bantams my son has in the show pens which are inside the garage.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Have you considered that you have an egg eating habit forming in the birds?

 

[acts4me]

That's all good information to work with, thank you for the answers. Sorry I didn't get back to this faster, but I had lost track of the thread a bit and then it seemed to have blown up and I wasn't sure you were going to be coming back to read.

Which of the birds (breed wise) had started to lay? Were the brahmas actively laying and stopped as well or just the ones that had started are included in the ones that stopped? You mention you are feeling laying pellets "now" - was that a recent change and, if so, how recently was it changed? Given the ages involved I would imagine those that had started did not lay very long at all prior to stopping as it's been two weeks since they stopped laying - how many days/weeks was it you actually got any eggs from them?

Not to belabor the point, but the fact is that your birds are in a situation where the space available to them is not optimal. You have about 1.5 square feet in the coop and 5 square feet per bird in the run given the measurements you've given (and that's assuming that your feed and water stations are located such that they are not occupying any of the internal space). While industrial poultry farming will often assert that such an amount of space is sufficient, or even generous in comparison with the conditions of battery birds, from a practical standpoint it could definitely give you happier, healthier birds to increase the amount of space the birds have to themselves. A more commonly accepted guideline (outside of commercial producition or the horribly misguided measurements quoted by the pre-fab coop industry) is to try to allow at least 4 square feet inside and 10 square feet outside for each bird for standard large fowl birds - more for larger breeds (which you do have). While birds can certainly survive in less space than that, the goal (especially when you are wanting to increase production) is to have them thrive - rather than looking at meeting minimum standards, providing more than squeaking by (or cramming in).

Really, most of your birds are still very much within the window where a lack of production is not all that concerning - except for those birds that did start and then stopped. While starts and stops are normal when a bird first enters production, the fact that it has been two weeks with no eggs is a bit outside the norm for even the rather erratic production you can see at first. There are many factors that can contribute to a lack of production - for your birds it may be that most of them (after all, 15 out of 200 total is not that many birds to have seen start/stop and assume there is a more generalized/flock-wide problem) simply are not yet ready. You have a bit of a mix of breeds as far as the expected point of maturity. Do you ahve photos of the birds that you can share so that we can help you assess where they are in regards to closeness to production? If the birds truly are at the point where they *should* be producing and are not, that is when you start looking at the other factors that can cause issues - internal/external parasites, stress, nutritional issues, etc.

Thanks for your post and yes all my chickens. I'm sorry everyone is getting hung up on the 200 number. I messed up on actual count per coop because I did not feel it was pertinent. The most I have in any one coop after counting today is 31 not 40. I realize they don't have the maximum space required but it has never been an issue in the past. Also my Brahmas have quit laying as well they have been faithful for eighteen months but I believe they are going through their first molt( as I am noticing extra feathers in their coop. As to reason I have so many chickens is simple Chicken Math LOL.

 

[acts4me]

Have you considered that you have an egg eating habit forming in the birds?

Yes and I had that problem last year with the Brahmas and solved it by building rollout nests for them.

 

[Sjisty]

My chickens have also slowed way down. I got five eggs today with 60+ chickens. I think it's the time of year - molting, especially. On a high note, my almost 10-year-old Jersey Giant just started laying again!

I feed my girls Flock Raiser. It has higher protein than layer.

I have mostly Brahmas, and they are all molting and/or broody right now.