Chickens stopped laying after... (highly probable due to low nutrition)

[Dephora]

A stressful event can make them stop laying for awhile, were the roosters dispatched in the run in front of the others? I had a bear try to get into one of the coops, weirdly engough the chickens in that coop kept laying, the ones in another run that saw the action stopped laying for a good week.

 

[hysop]

A stressful event can make them stop laying for awhile, were the roosters dispatched in the run in front of the others? I had a bear try to get into one of the coops, weirdly engough the chickens in that coop kept laying, the ones in another run that saw the action stopped laying for a good week.

Not directly in front of them but definitely nearby. Our chopping stump is near the run. But all of them?? Maybe they did all manage a look.

I had mentioned that to my husband but he tried saying he’s dispatched chickens in front of others in the past with no effects like these. But now that I think about it it was during winter so they weren’t laying to start with.

It possibly was due to that traumatic event then. I’ll ask him to dispatch the other cockerels elsewhere.

I’ll keep checking daily and will report back when they finally decide to lay.

 

[bill3607]

Quite a mystery. If some quit laying, well okay then. But, all 18. Very, very interesting.

 

[NatJ]

Not directly in front of them but definitely nearby. Our chopping stump is near the run. But all of them?? Maybe they did all manage a look.

I had mentioned that to my husband but he tried saying he’s dispatched chickens in front of others in the past with no effects like these. But now that I think about it it was during winter so they weren’t laying to start with.

It possibly was due to that traumatic event then. I’ll ask him to dispatch the other cockerels elsewhere.

I have dispatched plenty of chickens where others could see, and it had no effect on egg production. But I know that some chickens react to things differently than others, so maybe your chickens are different.

 

[hysop]

Just returned to update that they haven’t started laying. I’ll be more patient, but now I’m off to do research on how to get them to lay or I’ll have to consider alternatives.

 

[NatJ]

Just returned to update that they haven’t started laying. I’ll be more patient, but now I’m off to do research on how to get them to lay or I’ll have to consider alternatives.

Thanks for the update!

Do they still act normal and healthy? Eating and drinking like normal? No evidence of molting? How many times a day do you check for eggs? I notice this has been over a week now, which is really puzzling

Do you know how to tell a layer from a not-layer by looking at their vents? Do they look like they are laying or not laying? (The basic idea is that a not-laying hen, or a rooster or a young chick, has a small vent that is sort of puckered up and dry looking. A hen that does lay eggs will have a larger vent, and it looks moist and kind of stretchy, as though an egg could fit through. If you have a rooster, you could look at his vent first, then see whether the hens match or not.)

 

[hysop]

Thanks for the update!

Do they still act normal and healthy? Eating and drinking like normal? No evidence of molting? How many times a day do you check for eggs? I notice this has been over a week now, which is really puzzling

Do you know how to tell a layer from a not-layer by looking at their vents? Do they look like they are laying or not laying? (The basic idea is that a not-laying hen, or a rooster or a young chick, has a small vent that is sort of puckered up and dry looking. A hen that does lay eggs will have a larger vent, and it looks moist and kind of stretchy, as though an egg could fit through. If you have a rooster, you could look at his vent first, then see whether the hens match or not.)

I’ll catch one today and check their vent. I used to check for eggs twice a day, but now I check randomly since I haven’t heard the egg song in a while. With 18 chickens we heard the egg song all day.

I think it is due to having culled/dispatched those two cockerels that one day in front of them and not the dairy goat feed (for those following the thread)

They still are acting normal, but the other day when I picked two up and they each felt lighter than I remember. I’m thinking of focusing on upping their protein for now. Or should I treat them for something in specific?

I haven’t seen the roosters mount them either.

I’ll continue to update.

 

[NatJ]

They still are acting normal, but the other day when I picked two up and they each felt lighter than I remember. I’m thinking of focusing on upping their protein for now. Or should I treat them for something in specific?

What food are you feeding them?
Is it always available?
Are there multiple feeders, to make sure that some chickens cannot chase the others away from the feed?
Do you know roughly how much they are eating? (Number of chickens, pounds per bag days per bag would work.)

They could be lighter because they need to eat more.

Or they could be lighter because the reproductive organs shrink when a hen is not laying, and they don't have the cluster of developing yolks inside (this especially happens with broody hens, but I think also with molting hens and ones that stop laying during the short days of winter.)

 

[hysop]

What food are you feeding them?
Is it always available?
Are there multiple feeders, to make sure that some chickens cannot chase the others away from the feed?
Do you know roughly how much they are eating? (Number of chickens, pounds per bag days per bag would work.)

They could be lighter because they need to eat more.

Or they could be lighter because the reproductive organs shrink when a hen is not laying, and they don't have the cluster of developing yolks inside (this especially happens with broody hens, but I think also with molting hens and ones that stop laying during the short days of winter.)

I checked a handful of them. They all looked moist and puckered up. I checked one of my young pullets that I know aren’t old enough to lay and her vent was dry and small. So noticeable difference.

I feed them 3/4 cups of feed per chicken per day of layer crumbles. I’ve tried the free feeding and they eat way more for the same amount of eggs so that’s why I measure exactly how much they get now. Been doing it that way for a year or so now.

I have decided to up their protein today. I gave them 30 cups of 20% starter/grower mixed with cracked corn. I did that for a week before they started laying back in late January so I figured I’ll try again.

Okay so I weighed one of my roosters and he is way lighter than one of my hens even though he’s larger in stature. I’ll just up their feed for now.

We do feed them in different areas so they all get a chance to eat. Usually when I notice one isn’t eating or is at the bottom of the pecking order I’ll hand feed them. I just haven’t done that lately but may start to especially with my giant underweight rooster.

 

[NatJ]

I have decided to up their protein today. I gave them 30 cups of 20% starter/grower mixed with cracked corn. I did that for a week before they started laying back in late January so I figured I’ll try again.

The 20% protein sounds good, but cracked corn is usually pretty low in protein. So the easiest way to raise the protein content would be to skip the corn and just feed the grower food.

I checked a handful of them. They all looked moist and puckered up. I checked one of my young pullets that I know aren’t old enough to lay and her vent was dry and small. So noticeable difference.

If their vents still look like they might be laying, I would be looking really hard at whether anything could be stealing the eggs. (Or maybe it just takes more than a week for the vent change to happen.)

I know you said they've stopped the egg song, but I have sometimes had hens lay quietly.


If you decide to butcher them (because they are not laying), you could look for developing egg yolks inside, which would be pretty conclusive proof one way or another about laying. You could also look at what amount of fat they have, as a indicator of whether they have been getting the right amount of food.