I have 4 chickens (RH Reds) and 3 ducks (pekin) living together, all female. The ducks are 3 years old and the chickens are 2. They live in an enclosed run approx 1200 sq ft with a small pond and a large coop.
Up until about 6 months ago, I would get at 3 eggs from the ducks and at least 3 from the chickens daily. Suddenly the egg production began to drop. Now I get 1 duck egg every other day and 1 or 2 chicken eggs per day.
They all seem healthy and active with no signs of disease. The all get along. They are appropriate weight and size, go through their molts normally and they eat and drink a lot. I give them only Layena pellets and crumbles (2 separate feeders) and they forage in the run all day. They have fresh water in the coop which they have unlimited access to as well as the water in the pond which they seem to prefer. There is always a dish of oyster shell available to them. For treats, they get peas, carrots or corn once a week.
My entire run is fenced in and covered with orchard netting to protect from predators which has been effective.
Originally I would confine them to the coop at night and let them out in the morning, but after the egg production started dropping, I decided to keep the coop open all night to see if that changed anything. It did not, although the ducks will sleep floating in the pond while the chickens return to the coop to roost every night. The ducks return to the nesting box early each morning and nest unproductively.
I have tried adding more calcium directly to their diet, adding vitamin D, and sprinkling rooster booster on their feed all without effect. I changed the feed to Dumor for a couple of weeks and nothing changed. I have checked and the nesting boxes are clear of snakes, rats etc.
Can someone give me some clues as to what else I may look for that may be causing this problem. I have considered stress but with a life like they have, I do not know what could be more stress free.
All advice is welcome and appreciated.
Up until about 6 months ago, I would get at 3 eggs from the ducks and at least 3 from the chickens daily. Suddenly the egg production began to drop. Now I get 1 duck egg every other day and 1 or 2 chicken eggs per day.
They all seem healthy and active with no signs of disease. The all get along. They are appropriate weight and size, go through their molts normally and they eat and drink a lot. I give them only Layena pellets and crumbles (2 separate feeders) and they forage in the run all day. They have fresh water in the coop which they have unlimited access to as well as the water in the pond which they seem to prefer. There is always a dish of oyster shell available to them. For treats, they get peas, carrots or corn once a week.
My entire run is fenced in and covered with orchard netting to protect from predators which has been effective.
Originally I would confine them to the coop at night and let them out in the morning, but after the egg production started dropping, I decided to keep the coop open all night to see if that changed anything. It did not, although the ducks will sleep floating in the pond while the chickens return to the coop to roost every night. The ducks return to the nesting box early each morning and nest unproductively.
I have tried adding more calcium directly to their diet, adding vitamin D, and sprinkling rooster booster on their feed all without effect. I changed the feed to Dumor for a couple of weeks and nothing changed. I have checked and the nesting boxes are clear of snakes, rats etc.
Can someone give me some clues as to what else I may look for that may be causing this problem. I have considered stress but with a life like they have, I do not know what could be more stress free.
All advice is welcome and appreciated.
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