How can I tell which hens are not laying?

[greenmulberry]

me&thegals :

Is it just me or is it a little disturbing to think about "vent checking" all my chickens? I don't think I can even catch them, much less do a "finger check" to see if the opening is large enough to be passing eggs. Am I completely misunderstanding this whole process?

Whew, well then it is a good thing you missed the "vent photo" thread that was going last year!

I find the idea of looking at the vent area a little off putting, but now way would I ever do a finger check! ​

 

[newnanchic]

Try This.... Go to walmart and on the spice aisle get you 6-8 bottles of cayennr pepper the ground stuff not flakes!!! Then get a 5 lb bag of cheap cornmeal and mix it all together put it out for them . It does work!!! That comes from my PawPaw who raised chickens many years ago and is now in his 70's . It sounds funny but it does work. It does not change the taste of the eggs and It does not hurt the chickens but in just a few days you will notice egg laying going up. Hope you try it and it will be alot better for you!!!!

 

[Cassandra]

Could the rats be stealing the eggs? Lemme tell ya my logic, which may be totally flaky and way off base. LOL

I also started raising chickens last year (in March) by the way.

From what I have read, it looks like you got your chickens in the spring and started getting egss from them in the summer. Then in the winter time, production started decreasing and by this spring (now) you were short about 30 eggs a day. Is that about right?

At my house, I notice as the weather starts to get colder that the field mice (and big rats!) start looking for warmer shelter. I get a lot more in the traps in the house.

So, is it possible that the rats seeking warmer refuge stumbled upon your chicken coop during the winter and found it a tasty place to get breakfast? If they are nesting in there, they would naturally increase in number over time which might explain the increase in the number of eggs you are missing.

Earlier this week, I got two eggs one day (down from 5 or 6 a day.) I didn't think much of it. I know production waxes and wanes. But the next day, I went out to collect eggs. There were five, but one of them was out of my reach. So I left it and went to get something to rake it over to where I could reach it. I got distracted and went back about 15 minutes later. The egg was gone.

I know some kind of critter stole it! There is no other explanation. Whatever it was took it away and left no trace (didn't eat it right there and leave shell fragments or anything.) What eats eggs but not chickens (if not rats)?

Cassandra

 

[me&thegals]

Hey Cassandra--I got my chicks the same time as you last year

I think your idea is NOT flaky and makes complete and total sense. I am really hoping it's the rats! We are working hard to seal all the access holes into the chicken coop (part of an old pig barn). The rats are just as desperately chewing through the not-quite-hard concrete! The nesting boxes are 3-5 feet off the ground. Do you still think it could be the rats? Also, the rats have free access to all the chicken feed that the girls strew all over the ground. Not sure what to think... I have found evidence of something eating eggs (moisture, shell remnants), but don't know if the chickens sometimes step on their eggs and then eat them. Thanks for your input. We will hopefully soon find out once the rats don't have quite as easy access.

These same rats, by the way, ate 21 of our 50 new chicks last week! We didn't realize we had a rat problem until it happened and my husband saw 5 at one time. We moved all the remaining babies to our garage in a kiddie swimming pool, where they are having way too much fun

A neighbor is giving us more chicks this Sat and we're quickly trying to eliminate rats before some of the bigger chicks get moved back to the barn.

Does anyone have an answer on whether chickens temporarily stop laying? I appreciate all the help on checking their current status, but then what? Might they start again anyway like a bird would do in nature?

Sorry for such a long post!

 

[samsmama]

I think it's possible that the rats are a good part of your problem. We've also had skunks get in our nests and eat eggs.

Also, vent checking isn't as bad as it sounds.

You can wear gloves and your fingers stay on the outside of the body in the abdomen area and you're just feeling how far apart the hip/pelvic bones are. You're not checking IN the vent or anything.

Tammy

 

[Beekissed]

hey, guys! I used all these "signs" to cull a hen who wasn't laying....checked all six hens and put plastic zip ties on the legs of the hens with "all signs say go"....the one hen who had a narrow pelvic, small round vent and extremely yellow legs....the one I NEVER saw on the nest...we killed. We found 3 eggs in production inside her and the long, tubular egg we had been getting every day disappeared! We still have at least 2 hens who are not laying regularly and I'm scared to trust these signs anymore. ALL the hens have nice, big, red combs and wattles....except the little hen who I know for sure lays the biggest brown egg we get! Any suggestions for a tried and true, without a doubt, way to tell before you kill a perfectly good layer? ALL their vents are moist and oval-shaped, they all have at least 3 fingers of space in the pelvic.....now have 6 hens, we know for sure of 2 eggs that belong to 2 hens. We are getting 3-4 eggs per day. Noone's eating them and they aren't laying anywhere but the nest. Hate to feed hens that don't lay but now am scared to cull one for fear of losing eggs!

 

[Jashdon]

I am also curious if a hen that stops laying could begin laying well after a period of time. If a hen goes broody will she outgrow it or move past being broody and start laying well again or will she always be a poor layer after that?

 

[Cassandra]

me&thegals :

The nesting boxes are 3-5 feet off the ground. Do you still think it could be the rats?

I feel like they could probably get up there. Motivated rats are pretty crafty. Plus, they manage to get into kitchen cupboards and high cabinets and things like that. Unless you have a really smooth wall in your barn, they can very likely climb it--or even drop down from the ceiling.

But like you, I have been wondering how long a hen might quit laying before she starts back. Like how long for a molt? How long for broody? Maybe someone with more than a year experience might help us out.

Cassandra​

 

[me&thegals]

Also, vent checking isn't as bad as it sounds.

You can wear gloves and your fingers stay on the outside of the body in the abdomen area and you're just feeling how far apart the hip/pelvic bones are. You're not checking IN the vent or anything.


Tammy--oops! I was thinking along the lines of a pelvic exam (I work in the healthcare field) when I read your original post

So, I'm just using pressure to feel the width of the area right between the hen's legs? Is this right?

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

The best and most accurate way to tell if your chickens are laying is to put on some gloves and do a finger search you will be able to feel the egg.