My Bantams arent laying

[SpringbankFamilyFarm]

Hi all, i have two bantam girls and when i first got them they laid about 6 eggs a week between them, but now they dont seem to want to lay anything...am i doing something wrong? Pictures of each girl below

 

[AmyJane725]

They're very cute.

What do you feed them?

 

[SpringbankFamilyFarm]

They're very cute.

What do you feed them?

I feed them a mixture of layers pellets and corn, they have access to grass and i sometimes given them some sweetcorn as a treat...

 

[AmyJane725]

I feed them a mixture of layers pellets and corn, they have access to grass and i sometimes given them some sweetcorn as a treat...

I wouldn't use corn as a staple of their diet. It's delicious, and they love it, but it's like potato chips for humans. Junk food. Just carbs and sugar.

This is my (future) method:

My birds eat chick starter (18% protein) and will for their entire lives. Once my birds get to laying age, I will have a container of oyster shells for them so they can take as much extra calcium as they need. They know how much to eat.

The calcium in layer pellets isn't enough sometimes, and once they're too old to lay the extra calcium built into the layer feed can actually cause kidney damage and kill them. It's also harmful to birds too young to lay, and any boy chickens that will never lay. Basically, layer feed is ONLY appropriate for hens of laying age. It's bad for everyone else. Not sure if you have a mixed flock or not, but something to consider.

Bottom Line: Get them whatever feed you want at the moment since they're supposed to be laying, and offer oyster shell free choice on the side. Cut out the corn entirely and see if they start laying. If you want to start giving them a little corn as a treat once they've started laying again you can, but don't make it a major part of their diet.

Hope this helps

And may I say again how flippin' cute they are? I just want to cuddle them

 

[SpringbankFamilyFarm]

I wouldn't use corn as a staple of their diet. It's delicious, and they love it, but it's like potato chips for humans. Junk food. Just carbs and sugar.

This is my (future) method:

My birds eat chick starter (18% protein) and will for their entire lives. Once my birds get to laying age, I will have a container of oyster shells for them so they can take as much extra calcium as they need. They know how much to eat.

The calcium in layer pellets isn't enough sometimes, and once they're too old to lay the extra calcium built into the layer feed can actually cause kidney damage and kill them. It's also harmful to birds too young to lay, and any boy chickens that will never lay. Basically, layer feed is ONLY appropriate for hens of laying age. It's bad for everyone else. Not sure if you have a mixed flock or not, but something to consider.

Bottom Line: Get them whatever feed you want at the moment since they're supposed to be laying, and offer oyster shell free choice on the side. Cut out the corn entirely and see if they start laying. If you want to start giving them a little corn as a treat once they've started laying again you can, but don't make it a major part of their diet.

Hope this helps

And may I say again how flippin' cute they are? I just want to cuddle them

Thank you very much for your help, i have given them some chick crumb and stopped giving them corn, cleaned out their cage incase there was anything in there upsetting them - no red mite at all but just wanted to check - so hopefully they’ll lay soon they LOVE cuddles!

 

[AmyJane725]

Awesome! I'm sure they'll enjoy the clean house and crumble feed. Get yo'self a dish of oyster shells and you should be good to go.

Keep us posted on if they start up laying again.

 

[aart]

i have two bantam girls and when i first got them they laid about 6 eggs a week between them, but now they dont seem to want to lay anything

How old are they and how long have you had them?
Are those two your only birds?
Could be the diet.
If you free range, they may be laying out in range area.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!