How can I get more eggs

[NatJ]

Corn does not have really any nutritional value on it's own.

I would not put it quite that way. It is a pretty good source of energy (calories), which is part of why it is so common in commercial chicken feed and in homemade feed recipes. Energy (calories) is one of the things needed in a chicken's diet. It's just not the only thing.

If fed on it's own, it can cause problems.

I definitely agree there.

 

[Santamanhank]

I thought you meant they were directly playing with each other like a dog would do, sorry for the misunderstanding.

I should of better ment what I ment by playing

 

[Quail_]

So I have been getting 1 egg for the past two weeks what can I get them that will help boost egg production it can not be too expensive tho

How many birds, breeds and age? If you dont know the breeds i would try to find out. Ages is hard but i just go off of when you first bought them and add a week or two depending on how big they are. Egg production when you first get chickens is slow and a bit frustrating. But it could also be daylight time and stress factors.

Soon you will have so many you wont know what to do with them

 

[BelovedBirds]

They are just getting ground up corn from last years harvest

This is a recipe for disaster, corn is okay as a treat like others have said. But the chickens need chicken feed and the ducks need duck feed or you're going to have a lot more than infrequent laying to worry about. I'm talking serious nutritional issues.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

This is a recipe for disaster, corn is okay as a treat like others have said. But the chickens need chicken feed and the ducks need duck feed or you're going to have a lot more than infrequent laying to worry about. I'm talking serious nutritional issues.

I agree, but my Pekins were fed duck feed and the female always produced eggs daily and both of them were healthy. Ducks don't always need duck feed.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I agree, but my Pekins were fed duck feed and the female always produced eggs daily and both of them were healthy. Ducks don't always need duck feed.

I'm confused, did you mean they were fed chicken feed?
Anyway, I agree they don't always need duck feed, but they do need a balanced feed with the right nutrients and protein. Certainly not just corn. Ducks can develop issues like niacin defences, especially while really young, if they don't get duck appropriate food. My girls were raised on chick crumb, but I supplemented it so that it had everything they needed. Just depends on the food etc. Now they're on a general Waterfowl feed and I occasionally supplement that.

 

[Santamanhank]

Ok I did give them chicken feed and I stopped three weeks ago since I started getting one egg so I was not spending money on them and not even breaking even

 

[BelovedBirds]

Ok I did give them chicken feed and I stopped three weeks ago since I started getting one egg so I was not spending money on them and not even breaking even

Firstly, swapping their diet around can reduce laying until they adjust. It's best imo to make gradual changes to diet. So stopping the proper feed and just giving them corn isn't going to help, especially since corn isn't adequate.

Secondly I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly or if this isn't what you meant, so forgive me if I'm incorrect- but are you saying that you stopped feeding them properly due to not getting enough eggs and not wanting to spend money on them? You need to make sure your animals are fed properly regardless of what they're giving you. Is selling eggs a source of income for you? Because if so I can understand your view especially with how pricy animal feed can be. But feeding them just corn isn't going to help. Their health will eventually suffer and you'll get even less eggs.

 

[Santamanhank]

Firstly, swapping their diet around can reduce laying until they adjust. It's best imo to make gradual changes to diet. So stopping the proper feed and just giving them corn isn't going to help, especially since corn isn't adequate.

Secondly I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly or if this isn't what you meant, so forgive me if I'm incorrect- but are you saying that you stopped feeding them properly due to not getting enough eggs and not wanting to spend money on them? You need to make sure your animals are fed properly regardless of what they're giving you. Is selling eggs a source of income for you? Because if so I can understand your view especially with how pricy animal feed can be. But feeding them just corn isn't going to help. Their health will eventually suffer and you'll get even less eggs.

At first they were laying eggs like crazy so we started selling them and my great grandma gave her chicken s corn so I figured it was fine to do and with the price of feed

 

[BelovedBirds]

At first they were laying eggs like crazy so we started selling them and my great grandma gave her chicken s corn so I figured it was fine to do and with the price of feed

It is safe for them and I'm sure they love it, but corn is really just a treat. It's like us just eating candy or fruit instead of balanced meals. We can survive for a while for sure but it's bound to cause problems longterms. Now imagine poultry which have to create eggs, eggs made up of protein and calcium and all sorts of vitamins. If they're forced to produced eggs and don't get good nutrition into their bodies in return, they'll be sort of running on empty and so their bodies will slow down and put the brakes on.

At what point in time we're they laying a lot, and when did that start declining?
Poultry slow down in fall and may even stop laying completely throughout winter. That's mostly due to daylight hours getting less and less. And imo this is a good thing, our birds benefit from the break. If you put them on a proper feed (or at least look into better food options) they'll likely pick up production again this spring/summer.
Are you offering them oyster shells? Just checking as having that available always is important too, they need the calcium.