Egg Laying Elimination HELP!!!

[Lyons Den]

Hello Everyone! We currently have 11 hens and 3 Roosters (1 Silkie and 2 RIR) at our home . Our hens consist of 7 are RIR, 1 Wyndote, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Dominique, 1 White Leghorn. We are averaging between 4-6 eggs a day. All of their feet are very scaling and pale along with their crown. My dominique is losing a lot of feathers because she is constantly being mounted by the roosters. No one is molting yet. They always have plenty of water, feed, healthy kitchen scraps, and sunlight. We add oyster shell to they calcium based feed. Any suggestions on how to increase production quickly? Or how can i determine which ones are laying? I have seen at least 3 of the RIR laying in the nesting boxes and the Leghorn laying a few as well. Thanks to anyone who has advice.

 

[keesmom]

How old are they? Do the hens ever get a break from the males?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

You have too many roosters for that amount of hens which is stressing them out.

Stress and external/internal parasites cause loss of production.

Overall 4 to 6 eggs out of 7 hens is not a bad ratio. That is generally considered good. Your Wyandotte and Dominique won't be as productive as your RIR or White Leghorn which generally will lay an egg a day for their first laying season (up to the first molt).

Your RIR will lay a medium brown tone and your Leghorn will lay white.

Wyandotte tends to lay lighter tan/beige, and Dominique is often middle brown.

You can check their vents to see who is laying. Their vents should be relaxed and moist and generally in a "smiley" shape. Non-laying hens will have small, dry, puckered vents that are tight and shaped like an "o."

However, I'm more concerned with the over mating, the scaly legs (which could be from scaly leg mites which can cause anemia) and pale combs. It would be good to check and treat them for parasites.

But again, if you are getting 4 to 6 eggs a day from 7 hens, that is good laying for the breeds mentioned. However, you will increase the longevity of your hens by tending to stress and parasites.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[Lyons Den]

How old are they? Do the hens ever get a break from the males?[/QUOTE

The hens are all a 1.5 year old and the RIR Roosters are 8 months. the Silkie is 5 months. He doesn't get in on all the action the others do. He is kind of the outcast of the crowd.. We are planning on getting some Silkie hens for him once we get rid of the RIR Roosters.

 

[Lyons Den]

You have too many roosters for that amount of hens which is stressing them out.

Stress and external/internal parasites cause loss of production.

Overall 4 to 6 eggs out of 7 hens is not a bad ratio. That is generally considered good. Your Wyandotte and Dominique won't be as productive as your RIR or White Leghorn which generally will lay an egg a day for their first laying season (up to the first molt).

Your RIR will lay a medium brown tone and your Leghorn will lay white.

Wyandotte tends to lay lighter tan/beige, and Dominique is often middle brown.

You can check their vents to see who is laying. Their vents should be relaxed and moist and generally in a "smiley" shape. Non-laying hens will have small, dry, puckered vents that are tight and shaped like an "o."

However, I'm more concerned with the over mating, the scaly legs (which could be from scaly leg mites which can cause anemia) and pale combs. It would be good to check and treat them for parasites.

But again, if you are getting 4 to 6 eggs a day from 7 hens, that is good laying for the breeds mentioned. However, you will increase the longevity of your hens by tending to stress and parasites.

My thoughts.
LofMc

Thank you so much for your quick reply! I will check out their vents to see. We haven't seen any or noticed any difference in their behavior as far as parasites are concerned. I will dig deeper into the parasite possibility. We plan on getting rid of the RIR Roosters and keeping the Silkie. And getting him some Silkie Hens. Hopefully once we get rid of them, he will be the Alpha and not have so many stressed hens.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Be aware that at 1.5 years of age, they will all be hitting the first molt here pretty quick, if they haven't begun already.

You'll know...it will look like a feather fight went off in the coop.

LofMc

 

[Lyons Den]

Be aware that at 1.5 years of age, they will all be hitting the first molt here pretty quick, if they haven't begun already.

You'll know...it will look like a feather fight went off in the coop.

LofMc

Thank you! I had no idea what that looked like. Glad to know that as well. If I notice this with a few hens, do i need to separate them and give them protein high food? Is there anything I can do to make them comfortable during molting?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

No need to separate, though molting hens are often cranky and others may wish a roost alone...but it is a natural process that they all suffer together.

I like to feed more protein, such as Nutrena's feather fixer feed as I seem to get better results and finish birds faster.

However many do not change feed.