Pinless peepers and egg laying

[Bob T]

I have a flock of six hens. I had to put pinless peepers on three of them about a month ago because of pecking issues and they solved the problem. Unfortunately the three with peepers have stopped laying. Has anyone else had the same experience? If so, what should I expect? Thanks in advance.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Stress will cause a halt in laying. I haven't used peepers, so I can't answer from experience. They will resume laying when they feel more comfortable. How old are they? Laying this time of year can be sporadic, or it can even stop.

 

[Bob T]

They are ~8 months old.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would expect them to resume when they adjust. I would imagine it's hard to see the nests. Why did you need to use them? How big is your set up? Generally pecking is from crowding or a protein deficiency. I don't believe peepers are meant to be used long term.

 

[imnukensc]

I've used pinless peepers on a couple hens for a couple months. They continued laying as normal. Certainly didn't have any trouble seeing the nest boxes/nests.

 

[aart]

Why did you need to use them? How big is your set up? Generally pecking is from crowding or a protein deficiency. I don't believe peepers are meant to be used long term.

Ditto Dat^^^

 

[Bob T]

Thanks all for your input. I needed the peepers for pecking issues which have since resolved. The ones with peepers have started to lay again. I guess the initial stress of the peepers turned them off.
They do have enough space and get enough protein so that's probably not the cause of the pecking. The pecking may have been from boredom so I added some things to their run to "shake things up". Hopefully that does the trick.