List of egglaying factors

[outdoorsii]

Saw this thread this morning and thought I would comment. during molt, stress, etc hens will not lay as well. When in molt, I mix my magic mix: spinach leaves, yogurt all natural, mealey worms and fish packed in water for them every two or three days for a wk. They will put on the nicest feathers ever and are not as irritable during their molt either. I have had hens for 4 yrs.
In the winter the christmas lights are great for getting them to go in on the late evenings. They are not too bright and you can use the color you like , red or blue. Either is said to prevent pecking and irritability of chicks.
I also use the natural ACV. In the winter I use the cookie pan heaters to keep the water from freezing. The ACV prevents bacteria growth too.
During the fall i routinely worm my hens. Its also a good time to use the ivomec by dropping on them to prevent lice, mites etc. from driving them crazy during the winter .Loved reading these comments . Gloria jean

Yea I agree with ya on all that, I finally realized why my whitey isn't laying eggs right now, although the other day she did lay a dbl yolker after not laying 2 days in a row!!! even when she's starting to molt....so she must be full of protein! LOL

 

[CityGirl35]

I would definitely suspect they've found an alternate laying place. I have 5 birds. After a couple of weeks with below-par production (I usually get 5 eggs a day, most days of the week), I got concerned and started looking around. Sure enough, behind a piece of plywood propped against the house, under my deck--and there was an old inner tube behind the plywood--real nice set-up!---there were 13 EGGS in there! The rascals. It was very very hot at the time and I think going upstairs to their nesting boxes, even though I had a fan in there and bottles of frozen water set around, did not appeal. I kept them locked up (when it got cooler) for a few days until they delivered their eggs in the nesting boxes. I also put fake eggs in both nests. And they do need lots of high quality feed, enough protein in it, and I do put vinegar in the water (Bragg's), good for them and I think maybe mosquitoes won't lay eggs in there? But look around your property; you might have to get on hands and knees under bushes, and look behind places. Good luck!

 

[bruceha2000]

i just got distracted by my daughter asking me a cooking question!!

Must have been that darned spell checker tsp, tbls, cup. Very confusing.

Quote:
How many chickens do you have? There is a group of families in the neighborhood that have a "chicken co-op" going. They have 20 chickens, most of which are over 1 year old. They only got 4 eggs yesterday. I got the impression they aren't producing as expected. I don't have any details though so I can only guess.

I could go with the stress thing slowing them down, I don't think the coop is big enough for a dozen chickens let alone 20. They do have an outside area, but again, not real big for 20 chickens and they've turned it all to dirt anyway so there is no "good, healthy, catch it yourself" food. They do get kitchen scraps from a lot of people. I wonder if they wouldn't get twice as many eggs with half as many chickens.

 

[bruceha2000]

During the fall i routinely worm my hens. Its also a good time to use the ivomec by dropping on them to prevent lice, mites etc. from driving them crazy during the winter. Gloria jean

How do chickens get worms? Just from being outside in the world and eating whatever they can find?

Should we routinely worm them or should we find evidence of worms before subjecting the chickens to treatment?

 

[wcntygl]

I have a Buff Orpington who has been laying for almost 6 weeks. I noticed about 2 weeks ago no more eggs and that she had become broody. I try to make sure she does not stay in the nest box because I do not want a broody hen. Yesterday my husband found her in the nest box and picked her up and discovered that most of her feathers on her belly/chest were gone, it does not appear that any other feathers are missing. The only way you can see this is to pick her up and look at her chest/belly. She is only 6 months old and to my understanding is too young to molt. Should we be concerned about the bare underside? Thanks for any advice in advance.

 

[wood&feathers]

You say she is acting broody? It is normal for broodies to pluck a brood patch on their tummy.

 

[wcntygl]

Yes she is very broody. If we allowed her to she would stay in the next box ALL day. I take the eggs every time I see one. I also make her leave the nest box and coop as much as possible. She hates it when I make her get out. She puffs her feathers up and has a major attitude.

 

[blondiebee181]

I saw this & failed to comment glad you did. I agree if you don't know the answer giving out false information is not what BYC is about & you could possibly have others harm their flock. People come here to get answer to better raise there birds & I'm one of these people & have come here for awhile & have learned a great deal here.

ummm...NO!!!

Please stop disseminating information unless you are certain you are correct. At least information that can kill someones flock

1 cup in one gallon is enough to lower the PH of the water significantly and could do serious harm. The correct dosage is 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Although I agree that ACV is in fact good for chickens and can make the water acidic enough to help with the slime and other undesirable organisms.....it is a fairly strong acid with a PH of about 2.4
if you were to add too much, it WILL do damage.

Normally I would assume you made an innocent mistake, but I have looked at your other posts and see that you are trying to educate folks when you still have a lot to learn. I.E. someone asked if their young bird was a boy or girl and you answered cockerel because roosters have a u-shaped back. It would seem that you may not know a cockerel is a young rooster.

Ease up guys, It was a mistake. Number one, if you know that much about chickens you will know not follow this information; number two, if you are a new egg following this thread you need to get second and third opinions on everything; and number three, you don't have to crush down on someone like that. The point of this site is to share and educate not scare. If you want to help someone be a better husbander then help them and be polite, tell them if some info is incorrect but don't get all eggsasperated.

 

[blondiebee181]

thank you for your kindness. i just got distracted by my daughter asking me a cooking question!! i am however getting overwhelmed with the egg laying!! lol. i can't give my eggs away fast enough! they lay about 8-12 a day!!

We forgive ya, and good to hear you are getting eggs. Always do indeed be very careful about what you post. If I am trying to give info I am not 100% sure on, I always end it with "...I'm no expert so if someone else who has dealt with this issue would like to chime in..." It helps in case someone else is following the post and has totally different info. It also encourages someone who is curious about the issue to feel better that you have a suggestion, but also to seek a few more opinions. As I think we all can agree, proper communication solves a lot of problems. Good luck michellekelly10

 

[Betsy57]

Yes she is very broody. If we allowed her to she would stay in the next box ALL day. I take the eggs every time I see one. I also make her leave the nest box and coop as much as possible. She hates it when I make her get out. She puffs her feathers up and has a major attitude.

When mine try to go broody, I put them in a separate small cage for a day or two and it stops them. Sometimes they'll get real puffy and want all the attention from the rooster without staying on the nest. Again, I'll put her in the cage (about 2'x2') and it has so far, cured their broodiness. Yes, the missing feathers are part of their broodiness. They're making sure their warm body is in touch with the eggs.