Newcomer

Date sort Score sort
WD1953

WD1953

Hatching
5 Years
Jan 17, 2015
3
0
7
Trafford, Al.
We have had our birds about 2 and 1/2 months. We have 3 black crested Marans and 1 Dominique, but only 1 bird is laying eggs consistently, and the Dominique maybe once a week.. They all are about a year old. I put some plastic eggs in their boxes this evening, someone told me to try. Has anybody come up with a strategy to get egg production on from all your birds?
 
Welcome
welcome-byc.gif
I am wondering, , are you giving them LAYER FEED I does make a difference. And also the time of year with cold weather slows many chickens laying habits. ... I don't think those plastic eggs are going to do anything to jump start the laying. Another thing to consider is the amount of light the hens are getting. You know that they wont lay in the dark. WISHING YOU THE BEST
 
Welcome back to BYC. Glad you decided to our flock. Cavemanrich has given you some good advice. Also, check the nest and make sure you don't find any shell fragments there which would indicate you have an egg eater. Your should also check the area where they roam and make sure that they don't have a hidden nest somewhere. A lot of new members complain that their hens aren't laying, only to find the eggs in a hidden nest somewhere afterward (often a considerable distance from the nesting boxes). Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting those eggs soon.
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


I agree with the above posters. Make sure to have them on layer feed. The lack of protein will shut some birds right off. Oystershell on the side. As Michael has said, birds may have a secret nest out in the field somewhere, some critter could be eating these eggs or the birds themselves.

Also, some birds are not great winter layers and do their best laying in the spring, summer and fall.

Good luck and I hope you get more eggs soon!
 
Thanks for all the replys, I am using layer feed, when I got them I was told to turn a light on when I leave for work, before dawn and to turn it on before sunset and turn it off about an hour after dark. I did that, but I didn't think about needing to do it all winter. We moved out to this property in July, there was a coop, and I constructed an enclosure so they could get on the ground and be safe, there is no place for any hidden nests. I will start turning the light on again. What are y'alls feelings about a heat light? I keep telling my wife if they can live in Alaska, they will be fine in Alabama, even though we did some bitter cold last week, and I did turn the heat lamp on for them.
 
WD1953 said:
Thanks for all the replys, I am using layer feed, when I got them I was told to turn a light on when I leave for work, before dawn and to turn it on before sunset and turn it off about an hour after dark. I did that, but I didn't think about needing to do it all winter. We moved out to this property in July, there was a coop, and I constructed an enclosure so they could get on the ground and be safe, there is no place for any hidden nests. I will start turning the light on again. What are y'alls feelings about a heat light? I keep telling my wife if they can live in Alaska, they will be fine in Alabama, even though we did some bitter cold last week, and I did turn the heat lamp on for them.
Click to expand...

Setting the timer where the light comes on well before the sun comes up in the morning is good, but you need to set the timer where it shuts off before the sun goes down or you will mess up your birds roosting cycle. As far as a heat lamp goes, I wouldn't recommend it as they seem to be the cause of too many fires. I've raised chickens where winter temperatures dropped to 30 F below zero, and with a well ventilated, dry, and draft free coop, they did just fine. Feathers are wonderful insulators and moisture is a much greater danger than cold is.
 
Michael OShay said:
Setting the timer where the light comes on well before the sun comes up in the morning is good, but you need to set the timer where it shuts off before the sun goes down or you will mess up your birds roosting cycle. As far as a heat lamp goes, I wouldn't recommend it as they seem to be the cause of too many fires. I've raised chickens where winter temperatures dropped to 30 F below zero, and with a well ventilated, dry, and draft free coop, they did just fine. Feathers are wonderful insulators and moisture is a much greater danger than cold is.
Click to expand...

X 2 - if supplemental lighting for production is used it is best to do so in a way that brings on an early dawn vs. having an extended dusk. Most folks that use lighting set times to come on a few hours before sunrise and go off an hour or so after sunrise because once the sun is up there is no point in running that light and spending $$ on the electric to do so. Allowing for a natural sunset is best for the birds.
The plastic eggs tell birds where to lay (to help train them to use nest boxes) but will not have any impact on the actual production of eggs.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom