Not laying many eggs, and mucky bottoms spreading

[calamitykate]

My ten chickens, ex bats, are now only producing 1 - 4 eggs per day now. Its spring, they are approx two years old. 2 are not laying at all and have been separated from the group as they were being bullied, tails plucked raw. They now free range on the farm and look well and run about happily, they only ever produced yolkless eggs, very small and sometimes with soft shells. The other chicken are in a 100m enclosure with the rooster who is only a few months old. They are all fed layers mash, mixed corn and household scraps, bread, porridge with egg added, and occasionally sweet corn and butternut squash, cucumber and greens. They look happy enough, but the low egg yield is bothering me. I don't really want just pet chickens. Does anyone think they will start laying soon, or its it all over and I should cull/kill them and get younger ones. I do get on average 2 wrinkly/ deformed eggs per week also. I had one mucky bottom chicken, I now find my best looking chicken is afflicted, she has been bathed and I've bought some live yogurt for the flock to start tomorrow. I added cider vinegar to their water as well. They were last wormed with Flubenvet in Feb, but I did not think they needed regular worming after that. Advice needed please!

 

[Mrs. K]

As chickens age, they drastically drop in their egg production. Battery chickens (I think that is what your are referring) are chicken bred to be fantastic layers for about two years. So yours are at the end of production. However well you are feeding them, it won't make them younger. I think yours are pretty much done.

To have a good laying flock, it is good to have a 3 year rotation, a couple going on 2, a couple going on 1 year, and new chicks. Personally I find chickens age very fast once they get over two. This keeps your over all flock producing. The older hens, produce very large eggs, but not many. The younger hens produce lots of eggs, and the replacement hens are growing up ready to replace the older hens. To do this, you need to cull each year and add each year to your flock.

so yes,if you are interested in a laying flock, I think I would get rid of the sick, or mucky chickens, and anything not laying...... and get some chicks and start over.

Mrs K