GC girls production is off in under two years

[OhanaFamilyFarm]

We have 6 Golden Comet ladies that we are scratching our heads over. We brought these girls home almost two years ago as pullets. They started laying as expected and we had a great first Winter, awesome Spring and Summer, okay Fall, okay second Winter, questionable Spring this year, and are currently having a terrible Summer. Last year, we added four Barred Rocks and three Rhode Island Reds. They are also in the midst of the "Terrible Summer". We have 13 laying hens in their peak or near-peak laying years, and we are getting five to seven eggs per day average. Oh, and we also recently added two Australorp and two Speckled Sussex pullets.

The Summer here in NC has been outstanding. We have had zero days above 100 degrees so far, we have had plentiful rain. We are feeding what we have long considered to be the best feed available (Southern States 3-grain scratch and Layer Pellets) and are supplementing with alfalfa pellets (these are coop/run hens, not free range) and oyster shell. They get table scrap treats regularly and they get the grass clippings on occasion from when we mow the lawn. Our Brahma rooster has been good and bad. He is extremely roosterish - killed one of our new Australorp pullets just after she laid her first egg my mating her to death (broken neck), but feeds the ladies first and does the whole coop general thing. We have him sequestered currently, in a cordoned part of the 40x40 run, because he mates so violently (he's quite a bit larger than the girls).

What in the world is going on with our flock? Last Summer, in days that were so hot we put barn fans on the run, we were getting a dozen eggs a day - sometimes more. Now, like I said, five to seven. They aren't even two years old yet! Please help.

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

I don't think we've had a 100 degree day here in Missouri, either. Crazy. Anyway, my hens started this summer with broodiness, but still had egg laying in overload.

Today was the first day in months all of my Marans laid an egg in the same day. Sometimes they take shifts. Maybe they are slowing to every other day, which is not bad.

It sounds like you are feeding them well. I feed Feather Fixer year round, and it actually smells like alfalfa and good stuff. Kind of a weird note, but I go on rants when I don't.... I mean my hens don't... get it. The regular stuff just smells like corn.

 

[aart]

We have 6 Golden Comet ladies that we are scratching our heads over. We brought these girls home almost two years ago as pullets. They started laying as expected and we had a great first Winter, awesome Spring and Summer, okay Fall, okay second Winter, questionable Spring this year, and are currently having a terrible Summer. Last year, we added four Barred Rocks and three Rhode Island Reds. They are also in the midst of the "Terrible Summer". We have 13 laying hens in their peak or near-peak laying years, and we are getting five to seven eggs per day average. Oh, and we also recently added two Australorp and two Speckled Sussex pullets.

The Summer here in NC has been outstanding. We have had zero days above 100 degrees so far, we have had plentiful rain. We are feeding what we have long considered to be the best feed available (Southern States 3-grain scratch and Layer Pellets) and are supplementing with alfalfa pellets (these are coop/run hens, not free range) and oyster shell. They get table scrap treats regularly and they get the grass clippings on occasion from when we mow the lawn. Our Brahma rooster has been good and bad. He is extremely roosterish - killed one of our new Australorp pullets just after she laid her first egg my mating her to death (broken neck), but feeds the ladies first and does the whole coop general thing. We have him sequestered currently, in a cordoned part of the 40x40 run, because he mates so violently (he's quite a bit larger than the girls).

What in the world is going on with our flock? Last Summer, in days that were so hot we put barn fans on the run, we were getting a dozen eggs a day - sometimes more. Now, like I said, five to seven. They aren't even two years old yet! Please help.

Welcome to BYC!
When you got the pullets how old were they and when did they start laying...fall of 2015??

When did this happen?
"recently added two Australorp and two Speckled Sussex pullets."

How big is your coop in feet by feet?
How many nests?

Do you know the total protein your providing them with,
by calculating the feed and alfalfa percentages?
How much(more then 10% daily feed ration volume?) and what kind of table scraps?

GC can start to burn out around 2 years...have they ever molted?
Are you using supplemental lighting?

Could be the cockbird is stressing them all out...after a couple weeks of him being confined you may see a change in production.

Just some thoughts...and one last thought,
like @Blooie sez: They aren't pez dispensers! Hope you have a sense of humor.

 

[OhanaFamilyFarm]

The girls are always 8-10 weeks when we bring them home. They started laying in their fifth or sixth months. The coop itself is 8ft x 12ft and they have two natural (cut wood trunk) roost bars. There are three covered cat boxes for laying - we found those are their preferred. We don't calculate out the percentages of feed, but would guess that protein is somewhere in the 10-12% range on average. The GCs have all molted, one Barred Rock has and none of the RIRs. Roodor (the roo... you'll get it if you're a GOT fan) has been sequestered for about three weeks. Oh, and I definitely have a sense of humor. We have Roodor, Booty White, Beep Beep and Meep Meep (the Sussex twins), and my blog - which isn't public - is called "What the Cluck?". Thanks for responding... it's great knowing that BYC might provide answers and is a great community!

 

[aart]

somewhere in the 10-12% range on average

This could be the problem...minimum is about 15-16%.
Also the less of the balanced chicken ration they are eating,
the less vitamins/minerals/amino acids they are getting(the stuff they need to best absorb all the nutrients).
I'd suggest cutting out everything but the layer feed for a week or two.

(Southern States 3-grain scratch and Layer Pellets)

I couldn't find the nutrients levels for this feed online. Should be on a tag sewn into bottom of bag.
Also older feed can lose it's nutrients, so look for manufacturing dates on bags as well.

.

 

[OhanaFamilyFarm]

Sorry... it's a two grain blend right now. The layer pellets are 16%, the two-grain is 8.5%. The alfalfa pellets are around 19%. Considering the daily blend we give the chickens, a better stated average would be 12.7%. We'll surely give your suggestion a try!

 

[Sara Ranch]

One of my Barred Rocks (cockerel) has decided that two of my hens are his girlfriends. He courts them extensively and walks them everywhere. INCLUDING in the coop. The girls started stressing cuz he wouldn't leave the coop for them to lay. Once I got him out of there, one of my girls took about 30 minutes to lay an egg. I have to check to see if any more have.

Lol - one of the first times he tried to mate with one of his girlfriends, she pooped an egg on the floor of the coop. Scared the shiggens out of him! He went outside the coop and paced and paced and paced and called for help, help, help. Oh my lordy!

The last two days I have given him the "talk" about being a responsible guy, getting a girl pregnant, being a daddy, and all that.

Anyways, having the rooster in the coop was the stressor that affected my layers. The girls got to have privacy to do their business! And they shouldn't have to worry about being jumped (to be mated) when they want to do their business....which this rooster was doing. (I'm working with the rooster, one on one, to change his behavior.)

Maybe your girls need to spend a little time with the Roodar? But limited co-ed time.