Cuckoo Marans suddenly not laying.

[ThePhoebeFive]

I have a tiny flock of Cuckoo Marans. 4 girls and 1 rooster. They are just now a year old. To my surprise for the past year they were laying way better than their breed is known for, even through the winter. (Almost an egg a day from each.) Recently they started slowing down, I wasn't bothered by that. I knew they don't lay a ton. It was probably an egg from each every few days. All of a sudden, they have completely stopped.

They live in a dirt run (it used to have grass...), plenty of space per bird, almost 40 square feet per bird. I feed them soaked layer feed everyday and with a handful of crushed eggshell mixed in. They get a couple of hours a day out in the backyard to get grass and bugs. The only treats we give them are fruits and veggies, I had been giving them a tiny bit of corn, but cut that out completely several weeks ago.

I am about to clean the coop to see if the eggs are getting buried. (Don't worry, we won't eat any of them if they were... ) I deep litter, so the bedding is very thick outside the nest boxes. I have sifted through it a bit and don't see any eggs though, so I doubt I'll find anything. The bedding in the nest boxes isn't very thick, so I know they're not buried there.

1) Does anybody know what might be going on?
2) Is this a breed thing? These are my first Cuckoo Marans.
3) Should I increase the eggshell?

 

[FunClucks]

Couple questions: What protein level is your layer feed?

It's coming into spring/summer, so your egg production should be increasing, not decreasing. Have you had a long stretch of dark, cloudy weather? Are your chickens around 18 months old? Have they started losing feathers?

Wondering if they're going into molt.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

Couple questions: What protein level is your layer feed?

It's coming into spring/summer, so your egg production should be increasing, not decreasing. Have you had a long stretch of dark, cloudy weather? Are your chickens around 18 months old? Have they started losing feathers?

Wondering if they're going into molt.

16%.

Up until today it's been nice and sunny. They are just under a year old. And no, they're not losing feathers.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

I forgot to mention our other flock is on the exact same feed. The only difference is that they don't have as much grass and bugs and they actually get a little corn.

And I'm always outside with the Marans when they are out of their pen, so I know they're not laying somewhere else.

 

[nuthatched]

16%.

Up until today it's been nice and sunny. They are just under a year old. And no, they're not losing feathers.

Try a protein boost

 

[FunClucks]

I'd up your protein to 18% or 20% like Nuthatched suggested and see how that goes after a month or so. Purina makes an All-Flock feed (Flockraiser) that is 20%, that's my favorite because of the trace nutrients it has also, and because it's readily available in my area.

If you plan to keep your rooster long term, or raise chicks in your flock, or if you have non-laying hens due to age or molting, you might consider switching to an all flock feed so that the birds who are not laying hens don't get overdosed on calcium. You would feed oyster shell on the side in addition to the all-flock feed (and a separate bowl of grit) and only the laying hens would eat it.

 

[FunClucks]

Have you seen any unexplained wet spots in the coop, run, or nest boxes? Could your birds be eating the eggs? Could you have a predator (snake etc) eating the eggs?

I.E. are you sure they're not actually laying?

Occasionally mine will break an egg by accident and then eat it, and there's often very little left to find to show what happened.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

Have you seen any unexplained wet spots in the coop, run, or nest boxes? Could your birds be eating the eggs? Could you have a predator (snake etc) eating the eggs?

I.E. are you sure they're not actually laying?

Occasionally mine will break an egg by accident and then eat it, and there's often very little left to find to show what happened.

That's another thing I've been watching. And I haven't seen anything. I've also been looking for membranes in case they're laying shell-less.

I'm almost 100% sure they're actually not.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

Try a protein boost

I'd up your protein to 18% or 20% like Nuthatched suggested and see how that goes after a month or so. Purina makes an All-Flock feed (Flockraiser) that is 20%, that's my favorite because of the trace nutrients it has also, and because it's readily available in my area.

If you plan to keep your rooster long term, or raise chicks in your flock, or if you have non-laying hens due to age or molting, you might consider switching to an all flock feed so that the birds who are not laying hens don't get overdosed on calcium. You would feed oyster shell on the side in addition to the all-flock feed (and a separate bowl of grit) and only the laying hens would eat it.

Would giving them mealworms also work as a good booster?

 

[FunClucks]

Would giving them mealworms also work as a good booster?

No, those are typically about 26% fat if I recall correctly. Salt free or low sodium / low fat cooked fish, tuna fish (drained, rinsed), cooked eggs/egg yolks, or any other low fat unseasoned (esp unsalted) meat including fish and shellfish can be fed for a protein boost. It may take a month or more to make a difference. I recommend getting higher protein commercial chicken feed because the trace nutrients are what chickens need in addition to the protein, without added fat, salt, etc. that are in many other things, also it's probably the lowest cost when you compare to feeding people-quality fish, chicken, beef, etc.

16% protein is the minimum amount commercially kept chickens can be given to continuously produce adequate eggs for 2 years. When you have them in a free range environment (e.g. outside), they eat other things, and protein as an overall percentage of their diet can drop below the minimum, especially if you feed treats or kitchen scraps. 16% is not usually adequate to support efficient molting. 16% does not allow for you to feed them any treats and still have adequate nutrition as a whole, including micronutrients. There's a lot of good reasons to feed higher than 16% to your layer flock, especially if you plan to keep them longer than 2 years. Many threads on this forum with more info than I can tell you about here.