New chicken house.. no eggs..now what?

[wastintime202]

We built our four hens a new chicken house. It is a nice and gives them plenty of room to roost..which they did not have before. They love the roost and go in every night ..no problem there..the problem is that they have stopped laying. Only one hen has laid two eggs in a weeks time. I was getting three or four eggs a day. Their nest box is bigger then the old one.. We also built the house right next to them. They did not seem stressed by the noises or us out there for days. Suggestions needed..thanks

 

[ruthless]

You have changed things in their routine, so it will take them awhile to adjust. Chickens like many people don't always like to change, even when it makes things better.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sometimes a change like new diggs will cause a pause in production. Is it possible they are hiding some?
Put a fake egg or golfball in the nest box.
Just continue to provide lots of clean water and high quality layer feed keeping treats and scratch to under 10% of their total intake.
They should kick back in soon. lulls usually last a couple weeks.

 

[wastintime202]

Thanks so much..I didn't realize that I may have been giving them too much scratch.. Still learning how to take care of them..but loving the process..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Look at the nutrition on the feed label and look up the nutrition of the scratch elements.
Corn is high in fat, and carbs, low in protein and not the best source of vitamins.
I make my own scratch from mixing BOSS, oats and wheat depending on the season. BOSS is high in protein and vitamins.

With treats, in addition to giving a TREAT, you're trying to provide protein and vitamins. In the winter, added fat and carbs for heat.

 

[TigerLilly]

Quote:
x2

 

[Judy]

Mine have slowed down since it's gotten very hot here, which I've read happens often, so depending where you live, this may be a factor as well.

 

[wastintime202]

Thanks all..I hate to have to admit that I have no idea what BOSS is. The man I got the hens from told me to feed them scratch twice a day and keep one feeder full of laying crumble. This is what I was doing until getting your advice. They seem to be even happier then they were before. Still only one laying..but I was given two more hens, RIR and dominic(I know I screwed up that spelling..lol) so now they are all adjusting to each other althought the new ones are laying daily. Please tell me about BOSS. Thanks

 

[purelypoultry]

BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, a great treat for your birds used in many scratch recipes.

 

[wsmoak]

BOSS is just black oil sunflower seeds. You'll usually find it with the wild bird seed. Expensive, but they love them! (Tractor Supply had them on sale last December for $10 a bag and I'm wishing I had bought more.) -Wendy