Chickens going into nesting boxes but not laying

[Hannah J]

Does anyone know why my chickens for at least the past month have been going into their nesting boxes like normal but then coming out without laying an egg. My Easter Eggers are laying perfectly normal but my barred rocks and Rhode Island reds are almost not laying at all. I also have 6 new chickens and one off the Easter Eggers just start laying but she keeps laying in the run. Last time, they started laying in the coop on their own. Is there anything I can do to encourage her to lay in the coop?

 

[Debbie292d]

Laying eggs anywhere but the nest is common with new layers. I've never done anything different because after a day or two, they started using the nests. When it's a persistent problem, some I've heard put a couple of fake eggs or golf balls in their nests to encourage them.

There are a lot of reasons why they may have been laying but stopped, but the heat is probably the culprit.

We have an air-conditioned breeding coop, and they are all still laying. In the other coop that's not air-conditioned, they've all but stopped.

Good luck!

 

[Hannah J]

K honestly I’m more worried about why my 2 year old chickens are going into the eating boxes and then not laying. I get maybe 1 brown egg a week and I have 4 brown laying hens

 

[Mother of Chaos]

K honestly I’m more worried about why my 2 year old chickens are going into the eating boxes and then not laying. I get maybe 1 brown egg a week and I have 4 brown laying hens

The first thing to look at, since they are going into the nesting boxes, is nutrition.

What are they eating, exactly, brand name and specific feed name, of any commercial feed? Is it the majority of their diet?

Do they also forage? (yard-ranging or free-ranging) Do you give snacks or other supplements, and if so, how much? (dried mealworms, kitchen scraps, stuff from the garden, etc.)

 

[Hannah J]

Their feed is made locally from a farmer. I try to let them out as often as I can. I give them mealworms, larvae, sunflower seeds, and lettuce scraps when we have them. When we mow the lawn, we also give them grass clippings.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Their feed is made locally from a farmer. I try to let them out as often as I can. I give them mealworms, larvae, sunflower seeds, and lettuce scraps when we have them. When we mow the lawn, we also give them grass clippings.

Is there a nutrition label on the feed? Or has the farmer told you the ingredients of the feed, and (hopefully), the %protein content?

 

[SkyAJK]

That is a mystery going to the nest box doing all the egg laying thing and no egg appears...I have one like that and she was less than a year old, then her stomach got bigger and warmer.....she was then put on birth control, it lasted 6 months no egg laying behaviour. At the moment her vent size is of a non laying hen, her stomach is a bit bigger than normal, and she is back doing laying egg behaviour, but walk out no egg. She is on the heavier size and feed 17.5% protein. It is a mystery for me.

 

[Hannah J]

Is there a nutrition label on the feed? Or has the farmer told you the ingredients of the feed, and (hopefully), the %protein content?

This is the nutrition label. 16% protein

 

[Mother of Chaos]

View attachment 4197250
This is the nutrition label. 16% protein

tl/dr: I think you have decent baseline feed, but it could use some supplementation that’s reasonably inexpensive and simple to provide.
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Ok, that’s not terrible at all. But it’s at the pretty minimal level for protein. And the Ca (calcium) isn’t the highest I’ve ever seen.

The recommended nutrition guidelines for chickens are often on the low side, as the guidelines are traditionally aimed toward mass production growers, giving the absolute minimum to keep the specially-bred production hens alive and laying eggs, until they keel over dead at age 2 - 2 1/2 years or so, or get culled for unacceptably low production. It’s offering the cheapest options for pullets (females under one year of age) to keep them laying and alive. It’s often not enough for them to thrive - they’re still growing, in addition to producing eggs!

The feed looks otherwise decent, but I’d suggest supplementing with *animal* protein, that derived from mammals, birds, fish, etc., plus maybe more calcium (Ca.) Think ground beef, canned tuna and sardines, scrambled eggs, etc. (You don’t want to see my girls when offered deli turkey. ) You also should be offering oyster shells (maybe the flaked ones if they don’t like the chunk version), plus any eggshells from your kitchen. The calcium helps form strong shells, and also helps stimulate the contractions to move eggs along the internal pathway for laying.

Many people say that you should cook the eggshells first, but I just put a bunch of them in a ziplock bag, close it, and crunch the heck out of them.

 

[Hannah J]

Ok, I always give them access to oyster shell, how often should I give them the other supplements