My Buckeyes not laying....

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EmmaRainboe said:
It can be a habit and they know that they lay yummy treats.

BUT

A lot of the time it's because they aren't getting enough protein or calcium. What do you feed them? Do you give them oyster shells on the side?

Also welcome to BYC! So glad you decided to join us! :celebrate
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Thanks for your reply! I feed Purina Layena pellets, I also supplement with scattering oyster shells...
 
Jammom said:
we have seen the remains of 3 or 4 other eggs, broken. A couple in the nesting area and the others down below on the ground.
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Does the nesting area have an edge or lip, to keep eggs from falling out?
If an egg falls on the ground and breaks, of course they will then eat it.

Do you have any kind of fake eggs in the nestboxes? If not, I suggest you add fake eggs. Use nice sturdy ones that won't break, like stone or wood or ceramic.

If your chickens have learned that pecking an egg-shaped thing makes it break so they can eat the inside, fake eggs will give them a chance to peck egg-shaped things and NOT get anything yummy to eat. They can do this over and over again, as many times a day as they think of it-- peck, peck, nothing tasty here. They eventually decide it's just not worth the effort of pecking egg-shaped things, because those fake eggs are always there and never break open to be eaten. (Not a perfect fix, and some individual hens may be smart enough to learn which eggs are real, but fake eggs are easy to add, will do no harm, and for many hens the fake eggs are enough to change their habits.)
 

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