Not laying any eggs

flash5153

Chirping
9 Years
May 23, 2010
155
0
99
It's been awhile since I have been here. lol

My chickens are about 3 years old or so,,and I am not getting hardly any eggs lately.
I have 9 ISA browns. Been going on for over a month and been slowing down the past several months.

Im getting 1-2 eggs a day if even that. It's not worth the feed I am buying at this rate.lol

Are they getting too old to lay eggs?????
 
Generally, hens lay for five to eight years. I wouldn't think yours would stop laying now, however, if the weather is cold where you are, they will slow their production and eventually stop altogether, until it warms up. Also, their food may lack protein. One other problem may be the lack of sunlight. Hens need sunlight to lay eggs, believe me or not. I am going to install electricity to my coop so i can have a light during the cold, dark months, in order that the egg production has a good chance or continuing. If they don't have enough sunlight, you may want to install a light. Hope this helps you out!
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I thought they were not too old ,,,,,,but was not sure.

They have a 20'X20" open run plus a 8"X10" coop. The open run has got allot of overgrowth over it ,blocking the sun,, but I didn't think it was enough to make a difference.

And we let them out free range at least a few days a week.

I don't think the sun is the problem,,it's something else. We feed them the best pellet layer feed TSC has. And I have gave them some other supplements also,,just cant remember what it was.

It was to strengthen eggshell. They ate it,,but didnt really care for it.


And also gave them shelled corn. Which they love.


I have seen them go up and down in production,,but they are at all time low right now.

I'm am about to go buy some eggs!!!! lol If that happens,,they are going to the butcher. And I am not sure if they would be good for eating. lol

This is my first time owning chickens. Started out with 11 of them,,,and 2 died,,in 3 years.

Got allot of eggs from them over that time.

Im not giving up on them yet. They are kinda like pets. We know who is who,,although they all look the same.
 
awwwww! the butcher? that's sad. I really hope it doesn't come to that. My chickens are slowing down in egg production right now too. I was getting six eggs a day, but now i'm only getting 2 or 3.
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i am installing electricity to my coop before winter, so hopefully the light (and heat) will keep them laying through the winter.

Hope they start laying for you again! I really would hate to know they got eaten. My chickens are pets too. So even if they stop laying, there will be NO ONE with a knife standing nearby. LOL. Hope it works out for you and your chickies!
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It's been several weeks and Im still only getting a egg a day,,if even that. Out of 7 chickens(I did a head count) that is terrible. Some days ,,,no eggs at all.

I also noticed the chickens are hardly even eating their food. I have no idea why.

I have also seen some signs of rats in the coop. I am wondering if rats could be taking eggs??? Is this possible????

I never seen any rats around here,,until I got these chickens.

They have a appointment with the butcher in 2 weeks. And are on the list as of today.

I really need to know if a rat could be taking eggs?? I have seen no signs of eggs shells anywhere,,,and there is a 2ft drop from the nesting boxes to the ground. I cant hardly believe a rat could get a egg out of there without breaking it.

It would really suck to butcher these chickens and then find out they were laying eggs the whole time. lol
 
Yes it could be rats. If the eggs break during the move I am sure the girls wouldn't have any problem cleaning up the mess. Also, most layer feeds are 16% protein. I have had a lot better results using an 18% protein (I love Flock Raiser by Purina) and supplement with oyster shell. I swear it makes such a difference! Their molts are a lot easier on them also. Hope this helps.
 
I came back to give a update. In Nov.2013 I gave all my chickens away.

I/we realized that we has a serious problem with rats. We had noticed that there were some signs,but never seen a rat in the past. Until Oct-Nov 2013.
When all the sudden they were everywhere. My gf went out to feed chickens one day and they were running all around her.

I then realized my garage was taken over by them also. Chicken coop is attached to back of garage.
They burrowed under my cement floor. Had tunnels all over,,under my garage. The floor is cracked badly,,,and the removed the dirt from underneath and were coming up through the cracks.
I hunted them for a day or 2,,with a .22. I shot 5-6 of them. But realized it was not that easy. They just kept coming. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I gave all chickens away,,,,,and bought rat poison. I seen no other way to do this. I filled the chicken feeder ,in the coop, with rat poison.(pellets) It was gone in hours,,,,twice,,,maybe even 3 times!!
After a day or 2,,,,nothing would eat the poison I put out. And I have not seen a sign of a rat since.

I have a feeling my chickens were laying eggs the whole time but the rats were taking the eggs. IDK for sure. There was NO sign of broken egg shells anywhere.
These were some big rats BTW.

I now have a problem with ever getting chickens again. These rats have tunnels established everywhere. If I ever get chickens again,,the rats will come back and thrive here.
There is NO way I can fill these tunnels.It's impossible.

(maybe the mods should move my thread to the predator section.lol I had no clue my egg problem was going this direction)
 
And I have to say,,,ever since I got rid of my chickens. I have to buy eggs now,,,and I don't like it at all. lol

Im not sure if I can get more chickens the way this is. I have a great chicken coop,,,and a large fenced in run for them and I cant' use it.

I don't think there is anything I can do as far as cleanliness to stop the rats from coming back. We kept their coop clean anyhow. It's the chicken food that brings them in.
 
U should get a section of pipe or PVC small enough a chicken cannot get into; drill a pair of holes on each side deep enough a dog or a chicken can't get to. Then buy chunks of bait and run a wire in one hole put a chunk in pipe and run wire through chunk and out other hole and tie over top. Holes need to be at 3 and 9 o'clock if looking at it from end. Works great and animal proof.
 

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