Is it winter or is it worms?

[beeconeofhope]

Hello I am wondering a few things. I have had my chickens sense feb. when i first got them they weren't in good condition i nursed them ,lost some,and got the rest healthy they layed like crazy most spring and all summer ,well here in Texas it is starting to get hot in the daytime(80-85) and cold at night(48-65) as it does every year in the fall . I have 9 hens a turkey and a rooster and the hens went from laying 5-6 eggs a day to 1 or none a day and my Americana aren't laying at all and on top of that they went from eating one scoop of food a day to one and a half or two plus scratch and they are free range all day and cooped for night, Because they are free range i have looked in there favorite spots in the yard to see if they are laying there but nothing .so i am locking them up for a few days to see how many eggs they lay and see if i need to check the yard a little closer, I have also checked their droppings and see no signs of parasites I don't yet own a microscope to check for micro eggs but i just dont know if they are fattening up for the winter and with the colder nights are slowing down their laying My Americana are almost 2 years old ,my buff is 1 1/2 year old, rocks are 9 months and my turkey,sex link and brown Leghorn are 3 months and haven't started laying yet

Thank you for reading and I hope to hear all of your suggestion/responses

Oh i dont know if this would change any thing but i had them on cheaper feed layina crumbles but then I needed to fatten them up "they were skinny when i bought them" so i put them on purina all flock feed and it was good till they started eating twice as much and so i had to drop back to the cheaper feed layina crumbles they layed fine with it before but i figured i would mention it as well just in case

 

[BorneHomestead]

it is most likely they your birds that are 1 1/2 up to 2 years old are going through their annual molt, which can last anywhere from 10 weeks to 6 months. Once they finish their molt they will go back to laying eggs.

Not sure why your 9 month old ones aren't laying, that is odd. With you keeping them locked up for a few days might really see if they are laying and you just haven't found their nest.

 

[cafarmgirl]

It's most likely just the shorter days. My birds also will quit laying a while before they really begin to molt so that could be part of it as well.

It also never hurts to deworm, not seeing worms in their poop doesn't mean they don't have any. You can do fecal samples but if you are going to depend on that you need to do them on a very regular basis and often because if you run the sample and the worms just don't happen to be shedding eggs at the time you will get a false negative. I find it easier and less time consuming to just deworm them all twice a year.

 

[antiqfreq]

I hope this doesn't sound dumb, but I just capture the hen and squirt solution down her throat?

It does seem like the perfect 'yearly' time to do it if we aren't getting any eggs anyway!

Jo

 

[cafarmgirl]

I hope this doesn't sound dumb, but I just capture the hen and squirt solution down her throat?

It does seem like the perfect 'yearly' time to do it if we aren't getting any eggs anyway!

Jo

Not dumb at all.

Everybody does something for the first time at some point.

It's usually easier to have a helper to hold the bird while you administer the wormer. Be careful when you squirt it in their beaks, go slow, a little at a time and let them swallow each time. You don't want to squirt it all in at once and potentially have them aspirate it into their lungs.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Are they molting?

 

[beeconeofhope]

no not at all molting

 

[beeconeofhope]

yeah i am thinking/ hoping thats what it is . they arent molting at all i have just the everyday few feathers here and there but thats it

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I hope you get some advice. My chickens have started eating more as well and although their laying has been less predictable they are still laying four or five eggs a day between the six of them. I think I'm going to give them a few extra hours of light for a few weeks before l let them rest over winter. Good luck!

 

[antiqfreq]

What do I use to de-worm? and how is it given??

Also, any harm in just doing it once a year as a pre-ventative measure?

Thanks,

Jo