How to get my hens laying again??

[booklover]

My girls' laying production slowed drastically. Any tips on how to get production up again?? I tried Cayenne peppers today - it's too soon to know the results, but is there anything else I can try that wouldn't be very expensive?

 

[HappyClucker7]

How old are your hens? As chickens get older, the production rate will go down.

 

[booklover]

They are barely a year old.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

My girls' laying production slowed drastically. Any tips on how to get production up again?? I tried Cayenne peppers today - it's too soon to know the results, but is there anything else I can try that wouldn't be very expensive?

How many birds do you have? Where (roughly) do you live? Has it been hot? Have they been eating and drinking well? Are there any signs of broodiness? Do they have mites?? Any of those things can deter energy resources away from egg making. Are they free ranging or in a run? If they free range, any possibility they've been hiding eggs? Do you have a camera in your coop (try Wyze, cheap and can watch live stream from your phone) to see if they are eating their eggs? I'm sure there are other things, but those are just some things I personally know off the top of my head.

 

[booklover]

I have 25 hens in the coop. I'm in south Tennessee. They've been eating & drinking well, and they are red Stars so they've never been broody. No sickness. They are locked in a run where they had been cage free before; and they are picky picky about where they lay. They only eat shells of busted eggs - they won't bust a whole one.

I think they are just being stubborn. Or maybe close to a moult?? I've never had chickens that did a full moult before; once several partly moulted at the same time and my production slowed about a week before.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I have 25 hens in the coop. I'm in south Tennessee. They've been eating & drinking well, and they are red Stars so they've never been broody. No sickness. They are locked in a run where they had been cage free before; and they are picky picky about where they lay. They only eat shells of busted eggs - they won't bust a whole one.

I think they are just being stubborn. Or maybe close to a moult?? I've never had chickens that did a full moult before; once several partly moulted at the same time and my production slowed about a week before.

It would be unusual for a hen to molt this time of year. Usually young hens won't molt their first winter (Which would be 2019/2020 winter for your birds) and should start this fall or late summer. What are you considering to be a slowing in production? How many eggs did you normally get from your 25 hens? How many are you getting now? I definitely see fluctuations in the amount of eggs I get on a week to week basis. I have 9 hens currently laying, sort of 8 because one hen is old, and I can get 6-7 eggs a day for 3-4 days in a row, and then go a week only getting 3-4 a day. I don't really know what "normal" is, but I'm just sharing my own observations from my flock. And the hotter the temperature, the less likely they are to lay.

 

[booklover]

Well I didn't think it was time for them to molt...
I had been getting 15-16 daily but now I get 5-8.
It hasn't been too hot lately.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Ugh I’m sorry. I have no idea what could he the problem. What do you feed them? Do you give them a lot of treats? Too many treats can sometimes cause issues. If they are eating enough good nutrition their egg laying will decrease.

 

[booklover]

They have the nutrition they need and I only feed them healthy treats (such as lettuce and celery) every now and then