Chickens stopped laying possibly Feed associated?

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

I was going to run a poll but was unsure of how to ask the question that has nuanced and varied answers. I caught a thread on twitter and there were many surprising answers.
Has anyone had their chickens stop laying and knows its not winter, molt & less sun?
My dominique is in her 1st year & hasnt laid all week but I'm not concerned so much, however did see MANY people mention theyre getting up to 80% less eggs since October. They found a common factor amongst the group... a specific brand of commercial which had changed formulation due to shortages. Some mentioned changing and issue resolving. Twitter can be a cesspool of misinfo so Im just curious...
Is anyone else is experiencing this and what kind of feed you're using?

Thanks for input

 

[MityLucky1]

I was going to run a poll but was unsure of how to ask the question that has nuanced and varied answers. I caught a thread on twitter and there were many surprising answers.
Has anyone had their chickens stop laying and knows its not winter, molt & less sun?
My dominique is in her 1st year & hasnt laid all week but I'm not concerned so much, however did see MANY people mention theyre getting up to 80% less eggs and it in October. They found a common factor amongst the group... a specific brand of commercial which had changed formulation due to shortages. Some mentioned changing and issue resolving. Twitter can be a cesspool of misinfo so Im just curious...
Is anyone else is experiencing this and what kind of feed you're using?

Thanks for input

I have not had any problems with my little batch of 30. I get my feed from tractor supply (pellets) and even though it’s winter they are still laying 14 a day on avg. It’s a mixed aged group with 2 Roos, and about 10 older retired hens lol

 

[charlie1051]

Howdy Ho, We feed the gang Dumor from TSC and haven't had any issues. I've read many posts of folks being concerned about their feed but for us the Dumor has been A-OK.

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

Howdy Ho, We feed the gang Dumor from TSC and haven't had any issues. I've read many posts of folks being concerned about their feed but for us the Dumor has been A-OK.

Ive used Dumor and had no issues that could notice either. We did switch to Nature's best organic layer crumble & suddenly my 9month old black star we thought may be barren happened to give us her 1st egg a couple days later. Could be a coincidence and she's a late bloomer

 

[charlie1051]

Hope4, that's great she's just a late bloomer and not barren! I did have some Ameruacana's that took 9 months to start laying.

 

[Mrs. K]

Unless you have chickens starving to death, then really egg production is MUCH more about genetics, day length, and some climate.

Seems like a rather unfair attack on a company, unless there is documented research, a bit more than, I am getting less eggs than before.

 

[ChirpChirp963]

I've had a few people ask me about this recently and I read some stuff on the interwebs, so I wanted to check Backyard Chickens, and see what everyone on here had to say, and I figured I would add our info to the group.

BACKGROUND INFO
We currently have 24 chickens and we live in Illinois so it does get pretty cold sometimes and it's getting dark around 5pm. We used to have 12 chickens and they never laid enough during the winter, so we always used a light to get them to lay more. We eat at least 6-9 eggs per day and then we also feed some to our dog if we have them available, but that wasn't possible when we had 12 hens, so we picked up 12 pullets in March 2022. Our birds free-range throughout the day in our forest and roost in a locked shed at night. This is the first year we haven't used a light at all and we are averaging 9 eggs per day. I have a spreadsheet tracking egg production for the past 2 years and this average is only from 1/1/23-1/26/23.

AVERAGES
January (2023): 9
December (2022): 8
November (2022): 11
October (2022): 12
September (2022): 11
August (2022): 7
July (2022): 9
June (2022): 9
May (2022): 9
April (2022): 9
March (2022): 10
February (2022): 8
*Everything looks pretty normal based on the data.
**The 12 new birds from March started laying on 7/25/22

FEED
We feed them a mix of Dumore Organic layer pellets, whole corn, Purina Layena layer pellets, and household fruit & veggie scraps. I usually try to eyeball a 3:1 ratio of the Organic to the non-organic because I don't like giving them non-organic feed. I'm sure I can get them to increase their production if I turn on a light but we are fine with an average of 9. Today we received 11 and yesterday was 13. I forgot to mention, 6 of our birds are 3-4 years old, 6 birds are 2-3 years old, and 12 birds are less than a year old.

MY QUESTION
My question to the people that aren't getting eggs is, where are you located and where do you get their water? We live on a well & septic and give them well water mixed with Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother). We give them filtered water during the summer but it's too much work in the winter with these temperatures and dumping/refilling the water so often. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the city water is contaminated with something that is affecting the birds' reproduction. Especially, if we are all using the same feed and getting different results. Plus, I've read many articles about chemicals in the city water like fluoride, chlorine, pHarmaceuticals, pesticides, and all sorts of other chemicals from runoff, so it would make more sense if it was in the water...

I hope this info is useful to some of you! Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

Unless you have chickens starving to death, then really egg production is MUCH more about genetics, day length, and some climate.

Seems like a rather unfair attack on a company, unless there is documented research, a bit more than, I am getting less eggs than before.

I hear what your saying... but please see the video and thread above. It cannot be only coincidence that chicken keepers with decades of experience are reporting anomalies theyve not seen before. It's been discussed on multiple socials, people not at all related. Which is why Im trying to get a feel for it here. There is a lot going on right now with food supply plants, chickens, egg production, other shortages, etc. Some is legitimately man-made. Others natures cycles

 

[Hope4Hennsyvania]

I've had a few people ask me about this recently and I read some stuff on the interwebs, so I wanted to check Backyard Chickens, and see what everyone on here had to say, and I figured I would add our info to the group.

BACKGROUND INFO
We currently have 24 chickens and we live in Illinois so it does get pretty cold sometimes and it's getting dark around 5pm. We used to have 12 chickens and they never laid enough during the winter, so we always used a light to get them to lay more. We eat at least 6-9 eggs per day and then we also feed some to our dog if we have them available, but that wasn't possible when we had 12 hens, so we picked up 12 pullets in March 2022.
This is the first year we haven't used a light at all and we are averaging 9 eggs per day. I have a spreadsheet tracking egg production for the past 2 years and this average is only from 1/1/23-1/26/23.

AVERAGES
January 2023: 9
December 2022: 8
November 2022: 11
October 2022: 12
September 2022: 11
August 2022: 7 (all of the new birds weren't laying yet)
*Everything looks pretty normal based on the data above.

FEED
We feed them a mix of Dumore Organic layer pellets, whole corn, Purina Layena layer pellets, and household fruit & veggie scraps. I usually try to eyeball a 3:1 ratio of the Organic to the non-organic because I don't like giving them non-organic feed. I'm sure I can get them to increase their production if I turn on a light but we are fine with an average of 9. Today we received 11 and yesterday was 13. I forgot to mention, 6 of our birds are 3-4 years old, 6 birds are 2-3 years old, and 12 birds are less than a year old.

MY QUESTION
My question to the people that aren't getting eggs is, where are you located and where do you get their water? We live on a well & septic and give them well water mixed with Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother). We give them filtered water during the summer but it's too much work in the winter with these temperatures and dumping/refilling the water so often. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the city water is contaminated with something that is affecting the birds' reproduction. Especially, if we are all using the same feed and getting different results. Plus, I've read many articles about chemicals in the city water like Fluoride, Chlorine, pHARMaceuticals, pesticides, and all sorts of other chemicals, so it would make more sense if it was in the water...

I hope this info is useful to some of you! Please let me know if you have any questions.

I love that you keep impeccable records! Awesome. Please take a look at the link ive attached to ny 1st reply and give your feedback. Your feed choices i Dont believe were named as the problematic ones

 

[ChirpChirp963]

I love that you keep impeccable records! Awesome. Please take a look at the link ive attached to ny 1st reply and give your feedback. Your feed choices i Dont believe were named as the problematic ones

I don't see a link in the first post but I saw the Twitter video in your 2nd post. I'm very curious to see the list of feed that is causing this issue and that video was the reason I came on here tonight. Please send me the link to a list of the commercial food, so I can make sure we avoid buying it.