HELP!!

[Myst4]

I have just been outside to watch through the window of the coop. There were about 4 hens in the nests and a couple that were doing the "I want to find the right nest" squak outside of the the nests. I noticed that there was a hen, one of my neighbors hens(an EE) walking along the edge of the nesting boxes and pecking at the hens that were laying in them until they had enough and got out of the boxes...then she jumped down and layed on the floor. I wonder if that's one of the reasons that they aren't laying. I wouldn't want to be pecked at while trying to lay an egg either. I'm going to have a word with my neighbor and see if he can find another place for "his" chickens to live.

 

[ginasmarans]

o.k. I can see several "reasons" that may effect egg laying. The first is that some of your girls may not be old enough, 2nd-there have been alot of changes going on-chickens leaving and chickens coming. The most obvious would be the time of year. As the daylight hours decrease,so does egg production. I have 35 hens-total and I get between 8-10/day. It takes about 25 hours to produce an egg and the process slows down when it is dark. Next,what is their diet? They should be on a good layer and may need a little extra protein. I mix my layer feed with gamebird breeder feed. I also feed black oil sunflower seeds and D.E. I don't feed scratch. The last could be a parasite problem. Now would be a good time to treat for internal parasites,especially if you use something that calls for a withdrawel time.

 

[shelleyd2008]

You could try putting those nests in that are made to deter egg eaters. They have a slanted bottom, with a small compartment in the back so the egg rolls in there once it is laid, and the eaters can't get to them. You might want to think about making a different coop for the new ones, since you had such good production before.

 

[Myst4]

Quote:
We are going to make a new coop...within our big barn(for the winter at least).My husband is going to build the nesting boxes with flaps at the back for easy access to the nests. Right now their coop is an attachment to the outside of the barn. It can get quite chilly in there(someone else built it and didn't do a great job,threw it together. Anyway, we just had a chicken die yesterday of old age, maybe the original chickens that we bought were old and with some of the others that are molting and also young ones that haven't started laying are factors.