Mating but no eggs

[chrisarvor]

Hi
I have just seperated my chickens into pens so they dont crossbreed, they have been mating or raping not sure which
What i want to know is now the temperature is rising and i hope they are going to start to lay
do i change the food they have ?
i give them granule food for general as well as extras ,mealworms seeds etc but should i start them on a layer mash ?
I am a bit restricted on named makes but most types are here
I am talking about Dutch ,appenzellers and Yokohamas
They are all adult birds maybe a year or more
Any help

 

[Ridgerunner]

The main concern is the calcium in the feed. When they are laying, they need extra calcium to help form the egg shell. If you look at the analysis of the feed, you will probably find that the various percentages of things are pretty much the same whether it is a Layer or a Grower. Protein is probably around 16%. Protein will be highter in Starter, which is for their first 6 weeks of life. Fiber is probably around 7%. The calcium is about the only thing that should vary a lot, probably just over 1% in the Grower and around 4% in the Layer.

Extra calcium is bad for growing chicks. It can cause kidney or bone damage. But once they are grown, their bodies can handle the extra calcium OK. If I were you, I would probably keep them on the lower-calcium feed until you see an egg, then switch to the higher calcium feed. Just because adults can handle extra calcium does not mean they need to handle it.

An alternative is to provide crushed Oyster Shell free choice to provide the extra calcium. That means do not mix it with their feed but offer it in a separate container on the side. If they need the extra calcium, they will eat the Oyster Shell. If they don't need it, they won't eat it, or at least not very much.

 

[karimw]

I have a mixed age flock, some almost a year and they were laying well on a layer feed and oyster shell on the side. Then I added a bunch of youngsters, now about 4 months old so I switched to a basic multiflock crumble with oyster shell free choice. I think this is working, though I do see the young roos eating the oyster shell on occasion. They have grit available too, so I'm not sure what's up with that.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Too many roos per hens can cause a lot of over-sexed behaviors. I'd make sure those roosters have a number of hens each, 6 or more, to spread their desires around. I also prefer an older rooster who has calmed down a bit. Some of the young roos are simply too over sexed and wear out their hens, especially their favorites.