Poor Egg Production

[jburd]

I hope this is the right forum for this question. My 13-month-old hens are laying very poorly lately! I have 8 hens and a few months ago I was getting 6 or 7 eggs daily . . . now I'm lucky to get 3. I'm seeing a lot of feathers, so I was wondering if they might be molting, but I've had their lights on 16 hours a day since they started laying last year. They appear normal otherwise, but a few are missing feathers on their backs and wings (not the head an neck, like I've seen in molting birds before). Their production is only getting worse . . . is there anything I can do for them?

 

[ellie32526]

It could be any number of things. What about their diet? Have they stopped eating? Are they getting fresh clean water every day? Have you checked them for worms? Have you had any contact with any other birds and possibly brought an illness to your birds? Can you take them to a vet? How about taking a stool sample to the vet? They may have contracted a virus or parasite.

 

[jburd]

Thanks Ellie!
I feed Purina Layena lay-ration crumbles and supplement with Omega Ultra Egg, Kelp Meal, and Pullet-Sized Oyster Shell. They get fresh feed daily and they have constant access to fresh water. I scrub their feeders and waterers clean on a weekly basis. I also give them some scratch in the mornings and a few table scraps, mostly vegetables (I swear they would kill me for a tomato!) and occasionally some saltine crackers at night. I let them into a spaceous chicken run during the day, but they can go back in the coop whenever they like. They are eating their feed fantastically and they forage all day long! That's part of the problem, actually! I'm spending a ton of money feeding these girls and getting very few eggs.

Fortunately, I work at a veterinary clinic so I have been able to take a few of them in for check-ups on occasion . . . all but one got a clean bill of health. The one girl, sadly, passed away from congenital kidney failure back in the fall. I had a full necropsy done and consulted with a poultry expert - there was no sign of any contagion or potential problem with the flock. I have them tested regularly for parasites - the most recent test was in March. They have a very mild load of coccidia. It was so low that both my regular vet and the poultry expert recommended that I not treat them. I have not brought any new birds into the flock ever . . . all these birds are the first chickens on the property too.

My vet is a bit stumped and I hesitate to do a lot of invasive diagnostics. My one hen became broody about a week ago and I started to wonder if maybe they were all going to go that route. Could it be that I chose breeds that aren't good layers (I have 2 SL Wyandottes, 2 BR, 1 RIR, 1 Buff Brahma, 1 Jersey Giant, & 1 EE) . . . I know for sure that my EE is laying because we get a green egg every day

! I'm pretty sure my RIR is the other consistent layer and I'm not sure about the others. Could they be missing some key nutrient in their diet?

The only other thing I can think of is that one of the BRs is notorious for laying her eggs without realizing it . . . she'll just be walking along and an egg will drop out of her and often smash on the ground. Either that or she will be roosting and it will fall out of her to the ground seemingly without her realizing it. I collect the remains of the egg and the shell is usually thin or membranous. None of the other hens seem to have this problem and I already supplement with tons of oyster shell! Could that be an indicator of something?

 

[jburd]

I'm starting to think it might be my roo . . . I inspected the feathers well tonight and found no sign of lice or mites, but many of the feathers were broken and the girls with the bald backs looked very raw. I have seen nice big feathers coming back in on one of the hens, but when I looked at her tonight they were gone.

Is it possible that he's bothering them so much that they quit laying? I've never seen him be overly aggressive with them, but that doesn't mean he's not doing it when I'm not home.

 

[ellie32526]

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Is it possible to separate your roo from the hens for a short time (a few days) to see if he is causing the problem. Hens that are stressed will quit or slow down their laying. I have to be careful of that too because I have 7 dogs. Most of my dogs are pretty good with the chickens, they're small ones. But I have two - a medium and a larger one that will harass the chickens and try to bite them. I don't let them free range in my yard unless I have those two in a kennel. Keep me posted, I am interested to learn what is causing this.

 

[Debbi H]

Wow, I know this is five years later. Sure would like to know if you found out what was wrong.
I'm having the same problem with low production. I've thought about removing our rooster from the flock because some of the girls really have bald backs and I've already determined it's Archie's fault!
We've had several issues: I live in Santa Rosa and we had the horrible fires here back in October, and we went through a bad mite infestation, which is now controlled. UCDavis took some of the eggs from my backyard flock, as well as others in the area to test. They were looking for heavy metals, asbestos, and whatever else could have been deposited by all the ash that landed on our property. We are still waiting on those results. I've also lost 3 hens since the fires and all had serious bacterial infections through their bodies.
I've always kept records of how many eggs I get each day, and this year we are down a full 35%! These are 1, 2, and 3-yr old hens, so loss of production wouldn't be due to age.
If most of the egg production problem can be solved just by removing Archie from the hens, that would sure be an easy fix!
I feed Layena lay feed, scratch, mealworms, fresh fruit/veggie scraps, occasional sunflower seeds, give the girls 1 tbsp of organic apple cider vinegar per gallon of water, plus probiotics in another 2-gallon waterer, grit and oyster shell. The girls get their henhouse cleaned out and fresh shavings every week. I can't figure out this low egg production!

 

[aart]

I've always kept records of how many eggs I get each day, and this year we are down a full 35%! These are 1, 2, and 3-yr old hens, so loss of production wouldn't be due to age.
If most of the egg production problem can be solved just by removing Archie from the hens, that would sure be an easy fix!

Is Archie new this year?
I'd say the disease may be affecting all the remaining birds.
Your loss of production could be due in part to age,
they slow down as they get older and may start molting earlier each year too.
Do you know which birds you are and are not getting eggs from?
That may pin it down to age.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Debbi H]

Is Archie new this year?
I'd say the disease may be affecting all the remaining birds.
Your loss of production could be due in part to age,
they slow down as they get older and may start molting earlier each year too.
Do you know which birds you are and are not getting eggs from?
That may pin it down to age.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Hi,
Archie isn't new. He's been with us for over two years. He came from the Animal Shelter where someone had dumped the poor guy saying he crowed too much in their backyard. (Here in Sonoma County, we are allowed to have chickens even in city limits). Funny thing was, he didn't crow at all for the first 3-4 months we had him! And when he did start crowing, it's a cute, low crow. But he is quite the little "horn dog", as I call him, always after the girls. He's the only Silkie in a very mixed breed flock.
I can kind of tell some of the ones that are still laying because of egg color. But there are currently 20 of laying age, so it's hard to watch them all.
I did watch the video. I'm not even looking for eggs yet from a few younger ones. I'm trying to figure out why so many of the other hens have stopped laying when they were such excellent layers last year. I had so many eggs last year, I was able to donate over 90 dozen eggs to our local food bank. This year, I haven't been able to donate any. We're getting just enough for my few customers and for our own family.
I'm really worried, like you said, that there is some underlying disease going on through the flock. Most seem very healthy, active, look good, etc. A few seem to always be not quite up to par. I've taken a few to the vet. Once found some respiratory infection and was prescribed antibiotic pills to give to several of them (actually easier than it sounds because they swallow it once it's on their beak...not like my little doggie who would keep licking all the peanut butter or cream cheese, etc, and then spit the pill back out!).
I remember having chickens years ago and never had so many problems like I'm having now. And back then, we didn't feed all these special feeds or give probiotics or mealworms, etc. Actually, I'm starting to wonder if the mealworms might be a problem. ALL dried mealworms come from China...none are produced here in the US. I stopped giving dog food and treats from China to the dogs. Maybe I should stop the mealworms for the chickens.
I know I'm probably grasping at straws. I just cannot figure this out.

 

[aart]

So Archie is not likely to be affecting the laying.

I did watch the video.

What video?