no eggs for 5months

[lorain's fids]

hi i have 4 chickens which have'nt laid eggs for about 4-5months. 1chicken wanted to be a mom 5months ago so i let her and gave her some fertilized eggs to sit on, she ended up with 1 chick which we still have and believe its a girl . 2 other chickens decided they would mother the chick as well so i had 3 moms 1 chick and 1 chicken who could'nt care less for the chick.

in the mean time whilst the chick was young the cold started to come and all the chickens seem to start to moult feathers everywhere lol. in the s**t tray in the there sleeping box was alot of small white bits which i believe is from the base of the feathers there pulling out.

now about 5months on winter is here in the uk and have'nt had an egg in about 3months from any of the chickens. the chickens don't seem to be loosing anymore feathers but theres still plenty of those white bits in the s**t tray. is there something wrong mites or something? i seen somewhere before chickens dont lay when there moulting?chickens dont lay in winter?chickens dont lay if they have young chicks? the chick now is at least 4months old maybe 5.

ill post a couple pics of the s**t tray and chickens if you want? any help would be fantastic, buying eggs for past 5months seems a bit crap when i've got 4 chickens in the garden eating like machines but give no eggs lol.

cheers si

the white bits are probably the plastic like tips of the new pin feathers that are coming in on the hens. When the chickens preen the feathers the plastic like things( I am not sure of the actual name for them) fall off the new feathers.( I go through this all the time with my Macaw, who is always preening his new feathers). Since my chickens are molting too I have this stuff all on their roost in the morning., no lice, no mites, just plastic like tips from their new feathers. And just like you. I have not been getting any eggs.

 

[DianaMallory]

Try the high protein diet. How short are your days in the UK? You might need to add some morning light.

 

[simonj1]

8hours of light a day, probs need a light ye. thanks for the reply's ill go buy some high protein foods then.

si

 

[epeloquin]

My girls just went through a moult too. When they are in the moulting cycle their bodies are using up all the protein they have to make the new feathers. I even noticed that my girls' combs and watlles shrunk by 25-30% in size. I began supplementing their diet with meat. Either scraps from the table or, if we don't have that, I give them cat food. If I have to buy iy I just get the big cans of cat food from Walmart for like .59 cents. They absolutely devour it! Within a week of providing this supplement, three of my girls' combs and wattles were as big and bright as ever and they started laying again! We are in the shortest daylight hours of the year and I am still getting some eggs. Supplementing their protein should definitely help.

P.S. I am in New England

 

[epeloquin]

I would not bother with the light in the coop because if they don't have enough protein they will not lay, no matter how much light they have.

If it get's too cold you might need to provide some heat for them. I had a couple who were about half un-feathered and it was down in the 20s here in New England. I made a radiant heater out of an old brooding lamp I had. You can check it out on YouTube. I also have a couple other vids of things I made for my coop that might give you ideas.

Scroll down to "Inexpensive Coop Heater". There are some other helpful vids too.

http://www.youtube.com/user/etpeloquin?feature=mhee

 

[Happy Chooks]

I would not bother with the light in the coop because if they don't have enough protein they will not lay, no matter how much light they have.

This is correct - adding light will do nothing until they are over their molt.

Be careful with cat food, if you use it - it is very high in sodium.