my chickies are on strike!

[Crickett]

Yes, they still get layer feed, plus oyster shell grit, and plenty of treats and water. Perhaps I have an egg thief? Would a rat eat the eggs? I'm not even finding shell remains. I'm at a loss. Today we ate store eggs. Small and not near as good!

 

[appps]

You could try putting one of your store eggs in there and if it vanishes there's your answer.

 

[Crickett]

I'll try that. Nothing ventured ,nothing gained!

 

[momtocritters]

Yes, they still get layer feed, plus oyster shell grit, and plenty of treats and water. Perhaps I have an egg thief? Would a rat eat the eggs? I'm not even finding shell remains. I'm at a loss. Today we ate store eggs. Small and not near as good!

I agree with apps. If you have a (or multiple) chicken snakes, they wouldn't leave any trace because they swallow the eggs whole. Try putting out the store bought eggs - as an added bonus, if it isn't a thief, maybe it will prompt the hens to lay again! If not, and it disappears, you will know the answer is a culprit of some kind. Have you noticed your neighbors frying a lot of eggs lately? LOL

 

[Crickett]

Put out a couple of store eggs. Either I have a very discriminating egg thief, or the girls are still on strike. I started them on some vitamins today. I thought it couldn't hurt

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If they aren't laying I would stop layer feed.

 

[momtocritters]

Put out a couple of store eggs. Either I have a very discriminating egg thief, or the girls are still on strike. I started them on some vitamins today. I thought it couldn't hurt

Well, it's stumped me, but I am inexperienced so I am not a good source for information. Good luck. Keep us posted. I hope it's just some kind of natural "break" on their part. I'm worried about one of my hens today. She isn't acting normal at all. Gotta do some research on this site and see if I can get a clue.

 

[Kernel Cluck]

I you pay close attention.. you will notice that "Hens not laying egg's"... this time of year is a common theme. It is probably a combo of molting (even if its so light you can barely noticed), the decrease in sunlight and the cooler temperatures. I have gone from 5 eggs a day to one egg a day. My neighbor was getting 7-9, he is down to 2.

 

[Crickett]

Do you think they'll start laying again soon? Or should I just plan on store eggs til spring?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If you want eggs soon and they aren't actively or recovering from molting, I would add a light on a timer to up the day length to 14 hours and within 2 weeks you'll get eggs and all that haven't molted will be laying soon. Otherwise they'll start slowly through the winter.

However, if you haven't done so yet, I'd switch them to a grower feed till they all start laying. two plus months of not making egg shells is a long time to be getting 4% calcium.

I know people start layer feed at 18 to 20 weeks and continue throughout a hens life. IMO that doesn't mean damage isn't being done to birds not actively laying.

Excessive calcium can cause kidney stones, renal failure, gout, decreased semen health in roosters and worse. The level of calcium that can do damage to a non-laying bird is quite small. Birds that have renal disease may be poor layers or not lay at all. Putting 2 & 2 together, I always wait till onset of lay to switch them to layer feed or keep them on a grower while providing oyster shell on the side if any are not actively laying.

This is a quote from the following citation: "The calcium requirement for egg laying in a laying breed chicken is at least 100 times the requirement of the same hen when it is not laying."
http://www.roudybush.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=birdBrain.articlesRead&article_id=10

Another good article
http://www.nutrecocanada.com/docs/s...-formation-and-eggshell-quality-in-layers.pdf