No eggs...what's the deal!?

[feathersnuggles]

Just give them an extra protein treat, separate from their feeder. For example, I give my girls fish scraps, or scrambled eggs cottage cheese, yogurt, mealworms, etc. Depends what I have. Some people give cooked meat scraps, etc. You can offer them an extra protein treat a day in addition to the feed in their feeder. Do that for about 2 weeks and see if you start getting eggs more frequently. If you want more details on percentages of feed, see the BYC thread about protein, linked above. Some people purchase gamebird feed or calf manna and mix it proportionally. Personally, I wouldn't bother with that. If you're experimenting to see if your girls just need a little extra protein right now, try giving them something you already have available.

 

[Anny]

The problem with that is I don't eat meat, so I never have meat just sitting around, I'd have to go out and buy meat for the chickens...and that would feel a little silly.

 

[write2caroline]

Please only read this if first you acknowledge it is sent very tongue in cheek

Maybe the chickens are getting smarter and this constant refusal to lay eggs is part of some devious plot to take over the world....Or they don't like the weather.

CAL
JAX FL

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Oh don't worry, there's lots of things you can give them besides meat. Cook some soy beans up and mash them for the girls. Eggs, hard boiled. Cottage cheese is good. Tofu is great. Regular cheese is pretty high in salt, so I wouldn't do too much of that. You can sprinkle their treats with nutritional yeast, too. Another thing, if they free range and your yard has lots of bugs, they will pick up a bunch of protein when they eat insects, insect eggs, worms, spiders, bugs, etc. The longer they free range, the less you have to supplement.

You can grow your own high-protein mealworms for your girls, too. The results take a few months, but I've got a bumper crop of them right now which I feed handfuls to my hens. I started my mealies in August and they live in a large tub of wheat bran with a carrot for moisture.

What else? Well, pretty much anything YOU eat for a protein source, except hard cheese, is a good protein supplement for them.

ETA: I forgot a few more things...
Black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) are great and hens LOVE LOVE LOVE them. You can get them a feedstores or where they sell wild bird feed. Be sure to get BOSS, tho, because it's got the best nutrition for them. My hens nearly tear the flesh off my fingers when I have some BOSS to give them!

Dry cat food...some people give dry cat food as a protein supplement for chickens (although there are warnings about your hens getting too much salt and some other minerals if you feed them a lot of cat food). My hens eat about 1/2 c. per week of a really high quality dry cat food. They really love it, but, b/c I'm not sure how much is too much cat food, I keep their overall volume low.

Peanuts...some people give unsalted peanuts. I haven't tried them.