desparate for help_ egg production went almost to nothing!

[cackleberryhead]

New at posting. I have 110 Plymouth barred rock layers. 12 months old. They have sharply dropped the egg production in just a few day to only a few eggs a day! They haven't been as ambitious to eat I have noticed in the last week or so too. I noticed it all happening at the same time when we got a cool snap here in Southeastern NC. Thought it was the weather. I'm not sure what to look for in the flock!! Worried to pieces.

I bought 50 new pullets a couple of weeks ago. They are separated by a fence. The new ones aren't quite laying yet...
Someone suggested to look around the vent for lice....I really don't see anything and not sure what they look like.

Please share ideas if you have had this experience or know what I should do.

Thanks so much.

 

[Judy]

Well, here's what to look for, for lice and mites:

http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8162.pdf

Do you add light in winter? I imagine the temp drop is part of it. Might be time to lengthen their AM a little. I don't know how well BR usually lay in winter.

This is also typical molt time. Are you seeing an increase in feathers on the ground? Molting is a great time to worm because you don't lose so many eggs. I'm going to give Valbazen soon for this reason.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5770173#p5770173

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=423023

eta another thread currently running about this, with different info:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=254277

 

[cackleberryhead]

Thanks so much for your quick reply. I see the lice pictures your recommended and went to check my flocks....Yes. Lice are there. Now on to treatment. I'm driving into the city today to deliver eggs and will try to pick up something organic for my girls. *sigh* At least now I know what the problem is. Thanks so much. I have about 230 chickens all together on my little farm. SO...treatment will take while to do each one individually I suppose.....
Here we go...

 

[Judy]

One of the pyrethrin/perethrin sprays or dusts may be as close as you can get to organic (Adams' flea and tick spray, poultry dust or spary, garden preparations, etc.) Don't be sucked into believing that DE (dioatomaceous earth) will do it; it may kill them when the are in a soft bodied stage but will not treat an infestation. If there is an effective organic treatment, it is probably discussed on BYC somewhere.