black hens

[Donnah23]

i have 8 hens, i have only been getting 4 eggs a day? some days just three, i believe that the 3 black hens are not laying? and one hamburg,hen,not laying? i do not no much ,but are these black ones only meat birds that dont lay eggs?

please help...

 

[iwiw60]

How old are your hens? What do you feed them? Do you give them oyster shell on the side?

 

[Donnah23]

my hens are 22 -24weeks? i feed them layers pellets,lots of fruits, layers crumbles mixed, cracked corn, sunflower seeds. ..i let them free range, later in in the day, but a couple get out. only one girl, and a rooster, and the hamburger one.

now the light coloed ones have been giving me one each a day, sometimes one egg less,every other day?

 

[iwiw60]

You didn't mention that you feed them oyster shell...laying hens need high amounts of pure calcium to help them produce...

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

At 22-24 weeks they are still within the age-range where they can be expected not to have started laying just yet. Your light colored birds look to be Red Sex Links (sold as golden comets, cinnamon queens, red stars, etc) - which are known as egg laying machines and it is not surprising to me that you would see eggs from them first. You are in that "wait patiently" part of the whole process where you have to just let the girls mature and lay in their own time.

 

[Donnah23]

Yes, I do mix a little in food, and a can nailed inside. I have also giving them broken crushed egg shells. ? My. Girls eat well. Thank you for helping.

 

[Donnah23]

Thank you for your reply, I will wait. Last night there was a lot of squawking went out was a coon. He went in the coop. Going to have to keep their door closed. May be stealing eggs? Will a raccoon go after my girls? To eat them?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Thank you for your reply, I will wait. Last night there was a lot of squawking went out was a coon. He went in the coop. Going to have to keep their door closed. May be stealing eggs? Will a raccoon go after my girls? To eat them?

That is a big concern - yes a raccoon will go after chickens (chick and full-grown) and yes he would also steal eggs -- and now that he has been in there he WILL come back, he sees your coop as an all-you-can-eat buffet now. Is that your run fencing in the pictures of the chickens - and your coop sets inside of that? The wire has openings large enough for almost any predator to go through - and the structure of the wire provides a "ladder" effect for those that don't go through to climb over. Because you have now seen a predator you need to beef up the security of the run or prepare to lose birds. Is the run covered or open topped? What sort of latch system is on the chicken door to the coop? Raccoons, in particular, are crafty and can work several latches thanks to their "thumb" which gives them hand ability like a human - so even with the pop door close they can access your run and open even some fairly complex coop doors and wipe out a flock in one night (or return over several nights for free nightly meals). While it would be easy to jump to "eliminate the raccoon" the simple fact is for this one you have seen there are likely 10+ more you haven't seen that also visit your property -or will gladly move in if you remove this one from the territory....that is why beefing up the enclosure is the more effective course of action.