My Flock Just quit on me!!

[thomkatflyer]

I have a flock of 12 layers. All healthy, eating, pooping, drinking. Combs nice and read, and a couple are coming out of a molt. My Ameracauna decided to go broody for about 9 days but now is back in the group and roosting at night. Up until she did this, I was getting around 9 eggs a day but now I'm only getting 3-4 a day. It's like they went on strike!! I'm in central North Carolina and the days get up to the lower nineties and 70 at night. Plenty of ventilation, food, and water. Can't figure this one out. They are all 1.5 years old and have been great chickens so far. Any ideas???

 

[azygous]

Stress and nutrition are two of the most common factors in drop-offs in laying. If the hens are getting a lot of treats, they may be slacking off their feed, causing nutritional deficits. If they are under any stress, the laying will drop off.

Coop mites, predator incursions, heavy rodent activity at night, even naught, noisy children teasing them can all take a toll.

 

[thomkatflyer]

Stress and nutrition are two of the most common factors in drop-offs in laying. If the hens are getting a lot of treats, they may be slacking off their feed, causing nutritional deficits. If they are under any stress, the laying will drop off.

Coop mites, predator incursions, heavy rodent activity at night, even naught, noisy children teasing them can all take a toll.

I'll lay off the kitchen scraps for a while to see if that helps. Also, I did see a mouse coming out of the chicken door around midnight. It showed up really well on the IR camera. I'll thin out the rodents as well. I also built a "Starter Chicken" Coop next to the main coop that shares a common fence wall. I have 18 new pullets in there now next to the older 12. You think the little ones may be stressing them out? They don't mingle but do get to look at each other all day.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A lot of posts recently about reduced egg production and moderately early molts. I've dropped from 18+ eggs per day to just 8 or 9, and my oldest layers are just 14 months, three weeks old. They started slow molting weeks ago.

1.5 years old is more typical range for start of molt, and if they are slow molting, you may see reduced egg production for some time. Heat stress can also negatively impact laying - but your temps aren't particularly unusual (nor are mine) this summer, unlike the West Coast, and part of the North of this nation.

Now it may be that people aren't reporting the normal, expected, 18 month in fall type molts, and that's why the recent raft of threads seem disproportionate - or there may be lots of new backyard chicken owners courtesy pandemic flocks of egg layers who are experiencing first molt and seeking reassurance - or there may be some other cause entirely... Hells, I may be suffering confirmation bias in my readings.

But if the birds are otherwise healthy, and the only symptom is reduced lay in 18 mo old birds in the current heat, I'd chalk it up to molt and continue to monitor, but not worry. If you feed them 15% or 16% layer, I'd consider adding supplemental protein or swapping to an 18%+ All Flock/Flock Raiser, which is said to ease molting by providing additional nutrients for feather replacement. But if you are already feeding 18%+ (as I am), a dietary change would not seem to be warranted at this time.

^^^take the above with a grain of salt - I have more birds than the typical, but am still quite new to this, learning by reading, doing, and by reading about what others are doing (successfully or otherwise).

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

I'm also in central NC and agree that, if anything, we southeasterners are experiencing an unusually cool summer rather than the heat and drought some are experiencing.

1.5 years is about right for a heavy molt, though it would be more likely to happen at the end of summer than at the peak of the longest days. I'm expecting my Ladies to drop feathers in August or September (not that chickens ever do what we expect).

Do your chickens range? If yes, have you hunted for hidden nests?

In fact, you might check to see if they're trying to hide nests somewhere in the run.

Missing eggs can also be a sign that you've got a large snake visiting.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

^^^ now that is an informative post. Mine expressed, mostly, how much I didn't know and couldn't be certain of. But at least, as a collective, we are still in the "Don't Panic" stage, right??

 

[3KillerBs]

^^^ now that is an informative post. Mine expressed, mostly, how much I didn't know and couldn't be certain of. But at least, as a collective, we are still in the "Don't Panic" stage, right??

Thank you. I'm just collecting information lots of highly-experienced people have shared here over years and years.

I have found that neither kids nor animals EVER read the manual about what they're "supposed to" do.

 

[thomkatflyer]

Welcome to BYC.

I'm also in central NC and agree that, if anything, we southeasterners are experiencing an unusually cool summer rather than the heat and drought some are experiencing.

1.5 years is about right for a heavy molt, though it would be more likely to happen at the end of summer than at the peak of the longest days. I'm expecting my Ladies to drop feathers in August or September (not that chickens ever do what we expect).

Do your chickens range? If yes, have you hunted for hidden nests?

In fact, you might check to see if they're trying to hide nests somewhere in the run.

Missing eggs can also be a sign that you've got a large snake visiting.

No, they do not range. As for a snake......No signs of that but will change the camera angles to see if we have an unwanted visitor. Thanks

 

[tigger19687]

WAIT There is a MANUAL ??
no one ever sends me anything
hahahhaa

This group of mine are not laying yet, but when my last set was and the heat got to them they were very slow to lay eggs.
I like to use a higher protein with shells on the side which helps them during the molt too

 

[RojoMarz]

Add me to the list of people getting less eggs than expected. 3 or 4 out of 6. My hens are about 17 months old. I like @3KillerBs though about weather. Our weather (high mtns of Colorado) has been having a very cool temps (high in the 50's) for the last 2 weeks.