My hens have stopped laying

[Luv Ducks]

I was getting up to 7 eggs a day from my 8 duck hens but now am lucky to get two. Some are molting and it has finally started to cool off here in Ohio so I think that is the reason they have not been laying much. It is probably the same for chickens when the weather gets cool and they start to molt. I have 2 that are 6 years old and the rest are 2 years and 1 year old.

 

[Kgroves57]

Yep, sounds like the right time for their first molt. Treats, such as mealworms, should only be given occasionally and in small amounts.

I mix the mealworms in with their food. It's like a 10 to 1 ratio. I just want to make sure they are getting enough protein.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

I mix the mealworms in with their food. It's like a 10 to 1 ratio. I just want to make sure they are getting enough protein.

The feed you were using is already high in protein (you said it is 22%). By putting in almost 10% mealworms you are diluting a lot of their other nutrients.

 

[Kgroves57]

Please expand on what other nutrients I am losing by giving more protein. There are probably 10 meal worms per quart of feed. I mix 3 small bags of worms with a 50 lb bag of feed.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

You said you were mixing 10-1, that is almost 10%. If it is actually less than that the effect will be lower. But mealworms are higher in protein and fat than most chicken feed, and also have a different ratio of things like calcium and Vitamin D3. So you are raising the protein, fat, and possibly some other nutrients, while lowering the calcium, vitamin D3, and likely many other nutrients. If you are giving any other treats in addition to mixing in the mealworms then their overall intake will be even more out of proportion to the amounts in a balanced chicken feed. Which is why it is frequently stated that total amounts of treats or other items fed in addition to their regular feed should be no more than 10%. And there is also the risky when mixing it with their feed that they will pick out and eat more of the “candy” (mealworms) and eat less of the pellets.

That’s just my opinion, but I have seen many other people say the same thing about mealworms and other treats. That they should never be mixed in with the regular food and only provided on an occasional basis.

 

[Kgroves57]

Well I guess what's done is done. It's mixed. I followed advise on UTube about mixing them. They actually mixed, meal worms, oyster shells, sunflower seeds and corn! Their trough is empty every morning so they are eating all the pellets that are a high quality brand.