egg reduction

[ttimmerman]

I have 8 chickens total. One R.I. Red, three barred rocks, Three black sexlinks and one red sexlink. The R.I. red and one of the barred rocks are over a year old. The others are 6months old. We were getting 6 six eggs a day. In the last week we have only been getting 2 or three a day at most. I did give my flock a strawberry smoothie with oj and yogurt last week. Not very much. Could this be the reason the egg production has gone down? All are eating and drinking. Help.

 

[ChickenPeep]

Hello, and welcome to BYC!!

Because it is fall, most chickens will be going through a molt. During this time, your chickens are trying to get rid of their old feathers and replace them with new ones. Have you seen a lot of feathers around their run and in their coop? Because their little bodies are working so hard to grow more feathers, they slow down on egg production, and sometimes stop laying completely. You can help your chickens molt quicker by supplying them with extra protein. Black oil sunflower seeds are inexpensive and are full of protein for your birds. Molts can last from 4-6 weeks, but sometimes shorter (especially if you give them extra protein). After they are done molting, they will go back to normal and begin laying again. I hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[memphis]

With days getting shorter I'm seeing a slight decrease in eggs. I don't light my coop.