egg laying doing down.

[happyhens44]

idk why but I did have 7 eggs a day out of 9 hens now I get 1 every other day from one hen. Its starting to get cold because winters comming, my friends chickens are slowing down too.
do you know why this?

 

[mmtillman]

Hope someone has an answer.....as you are not alone !!!!

Out of my 18 hens who are 18 months old .....I got 2 or 3 a day this past week

....last month I was getting 6-8

....before that 12-14...

.before that 16-17....

Dont know how long this so called MOLT is supposed to last...but if they dont begin laying again...I will have to sell them....I feel like I am working for them, instead of them working for me....my egg business is ruined....my customers are all looking elsewhere for dependable weekly eggs.....I just cant keep feeding this hens like queens if they are not going to earn their keep!!!!
Hope we can both see more eggs being laid soon!!! Good luck to you !!

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Egg production slow down or stopping at this time of year may have to do with the length of daylight hours. I just put 60' of LED Christmas Lights on the ceiling of their coop/run to see if they will get back up where they were. The timer turns the lights on at 4am and off at 8am...I do it in the morning hours so that they can go to bed at twilight so they can see to get on the roost. At 5pm today they were already getting on the roost. I put feed & BOSS in their feeder 4 - 5pm daily so they go to bed with plenty in their crop...they hurried off the roost to get their BOSS.

 

[missy5]

I am verry new to all this. I'm still trying to figure out what some of you are talking about. My problem is I just got four new hens and two of them are proven layers but I waited five days and then finally an egg.

I don't Know what happened the shell was soft. Two days later it happened again. I removed the first egg right away and I left the second egg thinking somehow it would harden if a hen sat on it. (Told you I was new) Well someone ate it.

I think I broke my chickens.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Quote:
They need some calcium; offer oyster shell. I just found one that had been broken in the nest and the yolk eaten. It was a softshell. I brought oyster shell in and tomorrow when I mix up their mash, it will contain some oyster shell.

That shell is as hard as it is going to get when it comes outta the chicken.

 

[nuchickontheblock]

After reading tons of posts, the wisdom seems to be that to keep egg production up during the shorter light months, they need about 14 hours of light a day. Because our coop is dark (no real windows) I have a 60 watt bulb on a timer from 4 am to 6 p m. The bulb is protected so that the birds can't get burned by it. They mostly free range around, but when the weather isn't so good and they are in the coop, for me and them it helps to have the light. Within a couple of days of starting the increased light, every hen started laying almost every day. Also, when they first are moved to a new place there is an adjustment period when they stop laying for a while until they get used to their new surroundings. I also mix oyster shell in with their feed. I've read some people offer a bowl with just oyster shells as a supplement for them to eat as they choose, but mine never seem to eat it that way.
Good luck and welcome!

 

[Bryannjamie]

They do need 14 hours of light a day, and regardless of what anyone tells you, too hot or too cold will slow them down too. I dry out the egg shells, roll over them with a rolling pin and throuw the chips in with any other "good" food trash ( vege/fruit left overs, grains) for their evening dessert. Its healthy, chemical free, and inexpensive calcium.

 

[turtlebird]

My ladies are really slowing down also. I do provide some artificial lighting, enough for about 12 hours....I don't like to push them, as they are pullets. I get between 9-12 eggs/day from 17 ladies. Once the days lengthen, the egg #s will increase.