LOW # of eggs from HIGH # of chickens!!!

[ther00ster'scr0w]

I have 10 healthy, active hens (all whom have laid an egg at one time or another..) with one rooster. They are almost one year old, so some of them are beginning to molt (this may have something to do with it..)

But my hens have always been poor layers..on average 3-4 a day from 10 hens! I feed them what the local feed store calls hen scratch (a mix with corn in it) and they occasionally free range and also eat their leftover egg shells-so they do get the calcium.

On one occasion I did discover a half eaten egg in one of the nest boxes, and a few days later there was the faint remains of yolk in the hay...but since then no one has eaten any eggs (I have a suspect on who did this)

So...Any ideas?!?! There is plenty of light in the coop/run area (they have a window) Could it be egg eating but they are destroying all the evidence? Or am i not feeding them something important? Any ideas would be great! Thanks!

Ohh..btw not sure if this would be helpful but one hen seems to be *pretending* to lay eggs--she goes through all the acts and sounds as if she is laying (skwaking, sitting in the nest) but no egg from her! (I can tell b/c she lays blue eggs and there are never any blue eggs!)

Thanks!!

 

[KellyHM]

They need to be fed a layer diet...either layer pellets or layer crumbles. The scratch is good as a treat, but is not a complete diet.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

1. Scratch is not chicken food. Ask at another feed store for complete feed for adult chickens.
2. Don't feed them their own shells, this may teach them to eat eggs. Feed oyster shell free choice in a bowl.