hens stopped laying

[Ducksandchickens]

How old are your hens?

 

[redneck rooster]

I guess sooner or later one of us will give up, hope its him and not me. I like the eggs. He likes the chickens. We also have seen a red fox, (the murderer is gray) with a couple pups but she not been a problem...yet. she don't like the electric fence.

 

[redneck rooster]

spring makes them a year

 

[redneck rooster]

The neighbor brings his grandkids to feed the goats and chickens, they were feeding them corn, and I was only getting 9-10 eggs from 15 hens. so I cut out the corn and they started feeding them regular laying pellets and production went up to 13-14 eggs a day. Guess they were filling up on corn and not the good stuff. now I only have 10 hens and was getting 8-9 eggs but last Friday I only got 4 and Saturday 5 Sunday 4. Thanks to you all for your comments and advice. I will remain diligent in my pursuit of the chicken murderer.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

Snakes can also be a problem OR hens eating eggs. Some hens develop a taste for eggs and start cannibalizing the nest boxes. This can happen if they don't have enough oyster shell or other calcium supplement available. Or sometimes if one gets accidentally broken they develop a taste for them and will just break and eat eggs on purpose. You can try those nest boxes that collect the eggs and keep them safe from cannibals (and snakes) and see if the numbers go up. This would be an odd time for molting...usually it's fall.

 

[redneck rooster]

Well we are up to 6 eggs a day and I don't think that snakes will eat that many eggs would they? 2 or 3 a day? Usually i will find that an egg has broken and the shell is gone there is a mess in the nest, but haven't found that either. I do give them oyster shell, but I haven't for a couple months. How often shoul I think they are mad at me. I cut out their corn.