Not laying

[MedChicken]

Quote:
I'm not so sure about that. As I understand it, laying is a hormonal thing, much like the menstrual cycle in women, and it's not like women stop menstruating in an all-female environment.

Something else to consider: I thought my hens had gone on strike a few days ago when we had a cold snap, but yesterday I found all of the eggs - they had been burying them at the very bottom of the nest box, under all of the bedding, to keep them warm. Once I started patting down the bedding, I found 3 eggs and my decoy in a neat little cluster under 1.5" of bedding. If you have deep bedding in your nest boxes (I have 1.5-2"), you might want to pat it down gently and see if you find any hidden gems in there.

 

[Kyle E]

I have two roosters in there

 

[paulandashia]

Sorry to bring this post back, but I am going to make a suggestion....

I had the same issue for months. Out of about 40 birds, I was getting 1-2 eggs a day, 3 if I was LUCKY. This lasted for about 4-5 months, and all the girls were under 2 years of age, most were about 1 year old...

I tried searching on the internet for answers, with no luck...
I have NOT introduced any new animals into the coop for about 2 years, and I was baffled...
We're poor folk, and in order for me to be able to feed my babies, they HAD to earn their keep, and that's by LAYING so I can sell their eggs!!! This "Failure" was eating away at the pathetic savings we didn't even have!
It got SO bad, that I thought about selling ALL my babies.!!!

Then, by sheer luck, I came across an article about LICE and Mites....

"Lice???" I thought "NO Way! Not in MY coop.!!! I keep it CLEAN, and there has been NO new birds brought in! NO WAY..!!!"
But I thought, what the heck, I'll go out and check, and what do you know, they were INFESTED.!!! I was in SHOCK.!!!
I went back on the net, did some more research, and decided the best, fastest, most effective route for ME, would be Ivermectin. So I went out and got some, and treated all my birds... 3 days later, I got 5 eggs, then 9 the following day, 15 the next, and within a WEEK I was getting 2 dozen eggs a DAY.
I treated them again 10 days later, and not had a problem since....

I think I figured out where they came from (the lice)...
I had a friend who just HAD to have chickens, but could not find any adult hens at the time, and I offered to "lend" her 8 of mine. They were there for a few weeks, during which, she brought home hens from 2 separate homes, and mine were mingling with hers. My problems started a few weeks after I brought MY hens home from her house.... And I KNOW she had lice too (she checked after I found lice in MY coop!)

So yeah...

I am not saying that this is what is going on in your coop, but I thought I would throw it out there....
I am in Alaska, and lice are NOT common here, and it was the LAST thing I expected.... So you never know....
Good Luck, I hope things are going better.!!!

PS: Do NOT worry, Chicken Lice are SPECIES SPECIFIC.! They won't infest you, your home or your cats and dogs!

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

WOW! Ok, so what kind of Ivermectin? Is it especially for chickens? Do you put it in their water? I've only heard of that for horses? Shows how much I know. LOL ! How much do you give them? I didn't even know that Ivermectin would kill lice and mites? Thanks!

 

[paulandashia]

LOL It's ok, I have not heard of it either, but a friend is a Vet Tech, and told me about it, and said that is what she uses on her birds.
I used it on mine, and it worked beautifully!

*runs to the kitchen to grab the Ivermectin box and read it*

Ok, here it is:
(from durvet)
IVERMECTIN
POUR-ON for Cattle
Contains 5 mg ivermectin per mL

Kills Roundworms (including Brown Stomach Worm), Lungworms, Grubs, Sucking Lice, Biting Lice, Mange Mites, Horn Flies

It's a Parasiticide (I hope I spelled that correctly)

I was told to mix it 1 part Ivermectin, to 50 parts Water.

I used syringes, and used 1 FULL syringe of Ivermectin, and 50 full syringes of Water, mixed well, then put in a spray bottle, and went out to the coop. I grabbed each bird, and sprayed this around their vents (on the skin), under each wing (on the skin), and on the back of the neck (you guessed it, on the skin! LoL). After each spray, I rubbed it in a bit.

I let them be, and repeated 10 days later.

I hope it works for you.
That is, if Lice or Mites are your problem.