Hens Stopped Laying...

[WoodwardRooster]

My 6 Faverolles have all stopped laying. I used to get about an egg a day from them, now I am down to maybe 2 a week. They are 15 months old. I haven't had hens molt that young before. The Polish and Silkies were still laying at the same rate they always have, except yesterday I didn't get any from them either. Are they starting to molt? I am finding feathers but I think it's usual that they have all stopped.

About a month ago I added 12 eight week old Australorps & Araucanas with them, now everyone is being fed chick starter/grower 18%, but they have free access to oyster shell. However a couple of weeks before I did I gradually changed my hens feed to starter. Is that the problem? I figured that as long as I offered oyster shell, the lack of calcium in the chick feed would be made up for. I also thought that the extra protein in the chick feed would be beneficial to the hens. Also, I have a light on a timer in the coop and they are getting 16 total hours of natural & artificial light per day.

Should I switch the older hens back to layer feed? Are the 12 week old pullets to young to be fed layer? If they are starting to molt should I do a forced-molt routine to try and get them back to laying again?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'd say it's the feed and the addition of new birds. (chickens HATE change) If you buy Flock Raiser, then all of them can eat it. That's what I use in my coop with birds of all ages.

 

[BarefootMom]

My chickens don't mind the feed change. They never know what they are going to get lol

Could they be laying somewhere else? Do they free range at all?

I thought mine had stopped laying and then yesterday I found an egg stash....

oh and I have had hens molt at 1 year. so they could be molting.

 

[cluckcluckboom]

i'm having the same problem. we moved ours to a new coop a few weeks ago and our production has went down also. i wasn't sure if it was the move or just maybe the heat

 

[Merryment]

How's your heat up there? Hotter than normal? It has decreased our egg production here. Also, 'hotter' feed won't help. Just a thought.

 

[sherylreno]

Quote:
First thing to do is to change them to flock raiser feed for your whole flock. The 15 month olds are in their 3rd molt now which is very normal, they are now getting their adult feathers. Everything that is happening is normal.

 

[WoodwardRooster]

Thanks for all of the responses. It's been in the high 90's here last week, maybe that did shock them. Their coop stayed pretty cool though, its completely shaded and has fans. I didn't think about the the chick starter being hot, I don't feed them scratch or corn now as I do in the winter. They just get feed and the typical kitchen & garden scraps/leftovers. I buy my feed at TSC, is flockraiser sold there? I have to drive an hour to get out of the city to the closest farm store, lol. That would probably be good for me to get because in addition to the chickens I have listed, I also have nine 2-week old welsummers in the brooder with their foster mom (a blue silkie,) and 3 buff ducklings in the brooder in the basement (until this weekend, they have to go outside.)
My hens don't free range, and have always been good on laying in the nest boxes. When I added the new pullets, it did throw off their pecking order, but I also sold a few hens too so my total number didn't grow too much.