Help me!!!

[Litch]

Folks, I don't even know how to say this, im worried, Anxious, distressed, upset, concerned, just everything..Just don't know what to do..

Everything was cool and perfect at first,Laying was good, I was getting 9 crates a day,my parents stock was about 500,(450layers and 50cocks)... and hatching was good, I could set and 1500 eggs and get 1000 chicks , it was cool..

Two months later, things started turning around, laying dropped down to 7 crates and so many infertile eggs, I don't know where I went wrong,..I did some research and found out it would be better if I change the cocks, I bought new 50 cocks and I sold the older ones,..this worsened my case...

Now the layers are About 410 and guess what I get 5 crates a day with a whole bunch of infertile eggs, my incubators are working fine but hatching rate is very low..very bad..I can set eggs like 1000 and get 500 chicks in return..so poor

Right now I'm broken, I don't know what to do, im stuck and fed up,..I just wanna start everything from scratch, how you guys, take care of parent stocks,collect eggs,store eggs, set and hatch eggs,

Please Help me

 

[RoosterML]

What has changed? How old is stock? Where are you from? What time of year is it?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You bring up good points. Parent stock, incubation, etc..
I have to ask what breed/s?
How old are the hens? How old were the original cocks?
What have you been feeding?
How do you disinfect the incubators?
Don't distress, you can figure it out.
There is also possibly an underlying disease that has become pervasive and yet only affected fertility.

 

[Litch]

What has changed? How old is stock? Where are you from? What time of year is it?

Well, laying rate, hatching rate and everything has changed..They're 59 weeks old, im from Ghana.. This year

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Welcome, @Litch !

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So it is warm there year round and they've been laying around 8 months.
We need to know about their nutrition. That can definitely affect hatchability and laying.
Do you know crude protein/amino acid content, vitamin A, D, E and K levels?
Do any chicks hatch with deformities? Are the ones that don't hatch completely clear?

 

[Litch]

You bring up good points. Parent stock, incubation, etc..
I have to ask what breed/s?
How old are the hens? How old were the original cocks?
What have you been feeding?
How do you disinfect the incubators?
Don't distress, you can figure it out.
There is also possibly an underlying disease that has become pervasive and yet only affected fertility.

My breed is Plymouth Rock

Hens are 59 weeks old

The original cocks were of the same age as the hens..the newer ones were younger than them

I use Champrix concentrate from holland

I disinfect the incubators every Monday

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That looks like a good product. I guess you are mixing it with a grain blend. Is that right? Do you mix it at the ratio on the directions? What kind of mixer do you use?
Do you have any of the concentrate that is over 6 months old?
What do you disinfect with?
This hatchability guide may give you some ideas.
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00004437/00001

 

[RoosterML]

Is molt a possible issue here or are the hens still looking good?
To me your roosters were in there prime. I would not have changed them. Now they all need to figure out the whole flock dynamic which likely caused the drop in egg production.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good points. Changes in flock dynamics can frequently cause a temporary suspension of ovulation.
It isn't a bad idea to change out roosters. Other big operations like yours do that regularly. But I think your problem came about prior to the rooster change.
Since you are so close to the equator, what months do they start molting?