Feeding a nonlaying hen

[Casa de Pollo]

Thanks everybody, maybe Ill cut back a bit on treats. I don't suspect that my birds are forgoing their food because of treats, but I was often opening the coop door early, and throwing some scratch down as a habit. It makes sense to me to stop that and let them fill up on their layer feed. My birds are healthy, and not fat, so I'll not make any big changes, someone else suggested scratch be no more than 10% of their overalll diet.

 

[Casa de Pollo]

If you have 7 chickens, how would you feed one a different feed? Especially if they all have the same living quarters. Unless completely separated, my experience is that everybody eats everything.

Right? I was really hoping that I didn't hqve to try to separate one bird. Wouldn't be easy.

 

[Cryss]

You don’t have to separate them. Don’t feed layer blends. These are meant for large corporation production farms because they actually do separate layer/non layer birds. So instead just give them all flock grower blends with plenty of oyster shell on the side 24/7. Non layers won’t be interested in the shell so no worries there. Don’t worry if they eat a pi ce or two. They’re just curious and checking it out. Don’t worry too much about no eggs yet. It’s still short days and they need 14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. In spring they’ll start up again. Btw I have an EE that quit laying after her very first season. Many people said she should be culled rather than waste feed on her. 22 months later she started laying her beautiful green eggs again almost every single day. EEs can be funny that way.

 

[Casa de Pollo]

You don’t have to separate them. Don’t feed layer blends. These are meant for large corporation production farms because they actually do separate layer/non layer birds. So instead just give them all flock grower blends with plenty of oyster shell on the side 24/7. Non layers won’t be interested in the shell so no worries there. Don’t worry if they eat a pi ce or two. They’re just curious and checking it out. Don’t worry too much about no eggs yet. It’s still short days and they need 14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. In spring they’ll start up again. Btw I have an EE that quit laying after her very first season. Many people said she should be culled rather than waste feed on her. 22 months later she started laying her beautiful green eggs again almost every single day. EEs can be funny that way.

Thanks, my EE quit laying righr around winter solstice, Im sure she will get going again. Im in NW where days are very short now. I feel lucky some of my other birds are still laying regularly. This is the first winter for all my birds.

 

[Cryss]

It’s not unusual for them to lay eggs now although if they do it’s not usually as many as usual. New layers can go any direction, none, tons, or status quo.