I know this topic has been discussed a lot, and I have read a lot of the threads regarding this, but I still can't figure out why my hens aren't laying.
I have 2 EE's and 2 OE's, hatched July 2022. We lived in Florida when we got them and they were laying great once they were of age. In May, 2023, we moved to NW Alabama, and they handled the move with barely a break in laying. They laid throughout that summer with no issues. There was a noticeable drop in egg production over the winter, which is to be expected due to the decreased daylight. However, the OE's never really got back to laying come spring. The EE's did, though not as well as they had been laying previously. We've been getting 2 or 3 eggs a week from the EE's all summer. None from the OE's.
We got 4 new chicks from a breeder in May, and added them to the flock in mid June. We later sold 2 of them that were cockerels, keeping 1 pullet and 1 cockerel. It took some time, but they all seem to be getting along fine.
They are not overcrowded; they have plenty of roosting space, 3 nest boxes in the coop, and a huge run, but no place to hide a nest.
They are occasionally let out to free range, but only if we can keep an eye on them because we have had issues with a neighbor's dog. Last summer, it killed 2 pullets that we had had for just a few weeks. Another time, it cornered an OE hen and pulled some of her feathers out, but she recovered.
We thought something might be stealing eggs, so we got one of those plastic owls. No change. I discovered that the chickens were afraid of it when it fell on the ground near the door of the coop, and none of them would walk past it to get out of the pouring rain. So it's out of their sight now.
They have been wormed with safeguard.
I thought I saw lice on the hen that will actually let me pick her up to check, so they were all treated. I haven't seen any parasites since.
Summers are hot here, but I wouldn't say it was any hotter this year than it was last year. They have shade and plenty of water. It has started cooling down in the past few weeks, but the OE's still have pink combs.
They each appeared to go through a molt this summer, but none at the same time. That confused me because I always thought they molted in the fall. (Perhaps they were just losing feathers because of the parasites). One of the EE's is molting now, so she's not laying either. And now I can't remember the last time the other EE laid an egg. Her comb is still red and she goes in the nest box, but I think we've gotten maybe 1 egg in the past week.
They all act normal. I couldn't tell you how much they're eating because I think the squirrels eat more than they do, but they don't seem to be underweight. They get mealworms and watermelon for treats, but not an excessive amount. I stopped giving them scratch for the summer since they don't need it. They're on Naturwise all-flock right now since we have the pullet not yet laying and the rooster. They have free access to oyster shell as well as grit.
My husband is convinced that the food is the issue and wants to switch back to whatever they were eating back when they were all laying well. I don't remember what that was, and I'm not even sure if that would help. I'm hesitant to feed layer ration to a rooster because I've read that it's not good for them, but my husband thinks it's more important to get the girls laying again.
Is it possible that they just prefer crumbles over the pellets? When the chicks moved in with them, I had starter crumbles in a separate feeder, and they all ate it.
Is it possible that we just got poor quality layers and they've exceeded their peak production?
Is there something else I'm missing??
Sorry this is so long. If you've read this far, you deserve a treat...maybe a new chicken.
I have 2 EE's and 2 OE's, hatched July 2022. We lived in Florida when we got them and they were laying great once they were of age. In May, 2023, we moved to NW Alabama, and they handled the move with barely a break in laying. They laid throughout that summer with no issues. There was a noticeable drop in egg production over the winter, which is to be expected due to the decreased daylight. However, the OE's never really got back to laying come spring. The EE's did, though not as well as they had been laying previously. We've been getting 2 or 3 eggs a week from the EE's all summer. None from the OE's.
We got 4 new chicks from a breeder in May, and added them to the flock in mid June. We later sold 2 of them that were cockerels, keeping 1 pullet and 1 cockerel. It took some time, but they all seem to be getting along fine.
They are not overcrowded; they have plenty of roosting space, 3 nest boxes in the coop, and a huge run, but no place to hide a nest.
They are occasionally let out to free range, but only if we can keep an eye on them because we have had issues with a neighbor's dog. Last summer, it killed 2 pullets that we had had for just a few weeks. Another time, it cornered an OE hen and pulled some of her feathers out, but she recovered.
We thought something might be stealing eggs, so we got one of those plastic owls. No change. I discovered that the chickens were afraid of it when it fell on the ground near the door of the coop, and none of them would walk past it to get out of the pouring rain. So it's out of their sight now.
They have been wormed with safeguard.
I thought I saw lice on the hen that will actually let me pick her up to check, so they were all treated. I haven't seen any parasites since.
Summers are hot here, but I wouldn't say it was any hotter this year than it was last year. They have shade and plenty of water. It has started cooling down in the past few weeks, but the OE's still have pink combs.
They each appeared to go through a molt this summer, but none at the same time. That confused me because I always thought they molted in the fall. (Perhaps they were just losing feathers because of the parasites). One of the EE's is molting now, so she's not laying either. And now I can't remember the last time the other EE laid an egg. Her comb is still red and she goes in the nest box, but I think we've gotten maybe 1 egg in the past week.
They all act normal. I couldn't tell you how much they're eating because I think the squirrels eat more than they do, but they don't seem to be underweight. They get mealworms and watermelon for treats, but not an excessive amount. I stopped giving them scratch for the summer since they don't need it. They're on Naturwise all-flock right now since we have the pullet not yet laying and the rooster. They have free access to oyster shell as well as grit.
My husband is convinced that the food is the issue and wants to switch back to whatever they were eating back when they were all laying well. I don't remember what that was, and I'm not even sure if that would help. I'm hesitant to feed layer ration to a rooster because I've read that it's not good for them, but my husband thinks it's more important to get the girls laying again.
Is it possible that they just prefer crumbles over the pellets? When the chicks moved in with them, I had starter crumbles in a separate feeder, and they all ate it.
Is it possible that we just got poor quality layers and they've exceeded their peak production?
Is there something else I'm missing??
Sorry this is so long. If you've read this far, you deserve a treat...maybe a new chicken.
