Chickens not laying

[RawhideChicks]

I have 26 chickens ranging from 18 months to 7 months. Most of them are 12-18 months. Lately I've been getting maybe 10 eggs a day. I had been getting 17-18 early this year even when the youngest weren't laying yet. I've checked for parasites, lice, mites etc. Also no worms. A couple have been broody but I broke them. They eat Purina layer food. What's going on? What am I missing??

 

[Pyxis]

You don't have your location set, so I can't tell where you're from, but if you're in my half of the world, right now is when your girls over a year old would most likely start molting. Chickens don't lay when they're molting, so that could well be the cause.

Also, with daylight hours dwindling, hens that aren't in their first year are going to be slowing down on the egg production, too. They don't lay when they aren't getting ~14 hours of light a day, so that too could be the cause. In fact, the dwindling light is also what triggers the molt.

 

[RawhideChicks]

I'm in Alabama. There are a couple that may be beginning to molt but I'm not seeing a lot of feathers. They actually laid great throughout the winter. This has been at least the last month. 7 of them are 18 months old. But 14 will be a year old in Oct. Then 5 are 18 Weeks and I'm not 100% sure they are laying. I haven't caught them on a nest. One of the 14 is a partridge cochin who has yet to lay an egg! What's a reasonable number of eggs to expect from 21 pullets/hens?

 

[junebuggena]

So you've never actually experienced a full molt yet. Last winter, they were all pullets and too young to fully molt, so they laid all winter. 21 birds in your flock are old enough to start shutting down production and going into molting mode. Consider yourself fortunate you are still getting 10 eggs a day. Come November, your egg numbers will be about 5 a week.

 

[RawhideChicks]

Oh wow! What's the best thing I can do for Them during molt? I've read to back to grower food or use other special foods?? Thank you

 

[junebuggena]

Oh wow! What's the best thing I can do for Them during molt? I've read to back to grower food or use other special foods?? Thank you

PROTEIN. Layer has too much calcium for non-laying birds and not enough protein. I like Flock Raiser since it's 20% protein content and most starters are 18%. Make sure you have some crushed oyster shell set out for the pullets that will be laying this winter.