Need help with 1 yr old hens not laying. Never been good layers

[shine389]

I'm seeing seriously poor quality birds coming from the poultry houses the past few years. I bought 15 Gold Laced Wyandottes from Myers 3 years ago. Poor feather production, small birds, poor disposition and some NEVER laid. The best bird out of the group was the rooster. Two years ago I got 6 Easter Eggers from Cackle. The Roo is Awesome. The Hens started laying at 24 weeks. Laid for 6 months and Haven't Laid Since. One hen died two days after swelling up with fluid this past Jan. I doubt it was egg bound or egg peritonitis. She hadn't laid an egg in 18 mos. None of that group has.

I just got a mixed batch of 10 from Hoover's Hatchery. Four were supposed to be a Bantam mix. Two turned out to be ENORMOUS Silkies. And the other two could be wrens for all I know. They're 3 weeks old and the same size as the day I got them.

I'm thinking my next batch comes from a local breeder and I pray for a broody that raises her own.

This is what I have been wondering. Nothing is making sense.

 

[shine389]

What do you feed them and where about in the world do you live?

good feed, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm trying to update info, but have spent a precious half hour of my life trying to get that info in my profile, but not sure how to do it.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

The problem here is you don't know what you don't know. So when you say "it's all in order" we can't really help you identify the problem. You may be facing something you're unaware could be a problem or feel overconfident about.
They could also just be bad birds. But I don't think many people can help you find a cause without more information about the environment they're in.

If you just need to vent about how bad they are... Consider mentioning that. There's a lot of compassionate people here that feel your pain of getting a crummy bird. If you want solutions more info is probably a good place to start.

 

[shine389]

The problem here is you don't know what you don't know. So when you say "it's all in order" we can't really help you identify the problem. You may be facing something you're unaware could be a problem or feel overconfident about.
They could also just be bad birds. But I don't think many people can help you find a cause without more information about the environment they're in.

If you just need to vent about how bad they are... Consider mentioning that. There's a lot of compassionate people here that feel your pain of getting a crummy bird. If you want solutions more info is probably a good place to start.

I was just stating that because I wanted to save time. They live in the same coop and have the same run space as my other flocks of similar size have. They eat the same food from tractor supply, that my other hens have eaten for years. Same with the occassional scrap. They aren't eating their eggs. There are no predators, as their home is well protected. No bumble feet, no pasty butt, no mites, clean coop, nice dark beds. Clean water, Red combs, Etc. They just don't seem like good hens, and I wondered if that was a possibility. They are a nice a size though. I don't want to get rid of them if I don't have too. I know it's winter, but my experience with my other 1 year old hens is that they lay pretty well their first winter. Not these girls.

Is there some other info you need? the days are getting longer now, but still no eggs.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Er.... It's just.... Literally all the questions from every previous post? Saying 'They eat the same food as my other birds' doesn't actually tell us what that is. Different birds have different needs.

If you don't want to share that info and you just want to know if it's possible to get bad hens... Yeah, that's a real possibility. We have no way of telling if that's what's happening with you, but it's possible.

Good luck. I hope you figure it out.

 

[wleigh1021]

Sorry if I missed this, but did you buy them as grown hens? is it possible they were sold as POL pullets but are actually older? I only have 1 BR but she lays consistently every day except when she went through a hard molt this winter she was out of commission for almost 3 months. She's definitely my best layer and always has been. Large eggs too now that she's on her 2nd laying year.

 

[shine389]

could a slightly muddy run be part of the problem. Also I bought wood shavings from a woodmill that works with mostly pine, but it is possible that there is small amount of cedar in there. I didn't know that was a problem or I would have asked to be sure. The chickens appear healthy though, by every means.

 

[Mosey2003]

Try a higher protein feed, especially if they're molting.

 

[shine389]

Sorry if I missed this, but did you buy them as grown hens? is it possible they were sold as POL pullets but are actually older? I only have 1 BR but she lays consistently every day except when she went through a hard molt this winter she was out of commission for almost 3 months. She's definitely my best layer and always has been. Large eggs too now that she's on her 2nd laying year.

No they were purchased as peeps.

 

[shine389]

Er.... It's just.... Literally all the questions from every previous post? Saying 'They eat the same food as my other birds' doesn't actually tell us what that is. Different birds have different needs.

If you don't want to share that info and you just want to know if it's possible to get bad hens... Yeah, that's a real possibility. We have no way of telling if that's what's happening with you, but it's possible.

Good luck. I hope you figure it out.