Question about egg laying RIR.

[9farmgirl9]

Well the problem has to be my RIR because my silkies, guineas, and Red stars do fine with that amount of feed.

 

[CarolynF]

Hi There,

That's pretty amazing that you're taking care of so many hens. You sound really frustrated and I can understand it. Going from 16 a day during the molt down to nearly nothing afterward is very odd. Let me see if I have the facts....
You have 23 hens plus guineas.
You're feeding them a total of one 5 gallon bucket of layer feed each day (half in a.m. half in p.m.)
So is that about 14 lb. per day, which means more than 1/2 lb per bird per day... THAT'S A LOT!
They free range all day. ** Do they really not move around, or was that said in frustration? **
You hear them sing/cackle but don't get any eggs
You aren't finding any broken eggs or sticky remains in their nesting boxes.

If those statements are right, and you are desperately looking for a solution, let's think about these...
Where are they when they cackle? If they're out and about could they have laid an egg under a bush or in a secluded spot rather than in the nest box?
My friend caught a rat hauling away her eggs. Is that a possibility?
cmom is feeding 100 hens 200-250 lbs per week (Half what you're feeding) about 1/4 pound per day which is pretty average.
So starvation probably isn't the issue.
Is it possible they aren't getting enough WATER? If it's gotten hot in your area it could be an issue.
Is it possible for you to keep all of them penned up for a few days to see if you get more eggs? I'm thinking that if they're hiding their eggs while
free ranging, then if they're penned up they won't be able to hide them.
Have you checked for worms, mites, etc.? If they're infested with a parasite it could be causing health issues.

Don't give up. When you've had some time to mull over the ideas you get something will probably pop into your hea. Talking it thru and kicking ideas around usually helps.

 

[9farmgirl9]

Quote:
Ok so i have 32 chickens- 4 roos(silkies aren't old enough yet) and 21 guineas.
They moved but when i go outside everyone right there at my feet were i can't walk, they afte about7 mins they wll go back to the ceders and sit.
When they cackle they are usually following me, walking around. And no even though they are free range they dont leave the ceders, the roos forage and all my other puoltry except my RIR hens. And i don't think a rat is the issue- we have cats that have to hunt for food and the catscome with me to get eggs and feed, i see a mouse in there once in awhile but one time a chicken got the mouse-they all fought over it, and never even seen a rat around here. And i make sure they always have water, they have a bucket in the hen house which i usually have full in the morning and when i let them out they have 2 buckets- 8qrts each.
And again like i said they probably wouldn't evn notice they are pinned up-they stay in the yard 24/7,
I no they don't have mites and i haven't seen any worms.

In general idk what it is but EVERYONE comes running to me when im outside and they will follow me till i go somewhere thy can't.

 

[7L Farm]

MY chickens follow me around & also gather around me & won't let me move are I'll step on them. They also know that I'm the one that feeds them & brings them water all the time. So every time they see me their looking to see what I have for them to eat. I have two flocks of chickens a total of 27 & the only thing they want to do is eat. Everyday I let them out to free range they scratch & peck looking for something to eat. It gets hot they go under my deck I go outside they all come running out to see if I brought them something to eat. I agree with the post about locking them in the coop for a few days to see about the egg situation.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Oops.... your original post said 21 + 2 hens. This post says 32, one of them is probably a typo. Which is correct?

Ok, another list -- We have ruled out the following:
Not starving because you're feeding about a half pound of layer feed per bird per day, assuming the 23 was right.
(Oh... do the guineas get their own food, or is the 5 gal. bucketful feeding ALL your fowl? Because I didn't count them in the calculation.)
(If we count 23 layers, roos, and guineas it's closer to 1/4 lb each. Still ok)
There's plenty of water
No mites -- worms not seen
Cats probably eliminate varmints like mice, birds, and rats that might be getting eggs.
Guineas eat snakes that might get into the coop


Now... I think we have a misunderstanding about the "song"/cackling. mons02035 was saying her hens cackle their "song" after they've finished laying an egg. So for the sake of solving this mystery let's focus on that.... after laying an egg. So... do you hear them let loose with their cackling egg laying "song" when they're out in the cedars? If so, they are probably laying eggs out there under the cedars. You may have to search out there very thoroughly because they're very good at hiding their eggs.


Either way.... I still think keeping them in the pen for a few days would be very helpful in solving the mystery. If you get plenty of eggs when they're in the pen, they're obviously healthy and laying well. Then if you let them outside and the egg count drops... go search the woods. Okay?

Keep us posted!

 

[9farmgirl9]

Quote:
Oops.... your original post said 21 + 2 hens. This post says 32, one of them is probably a typo. Which is correct?

Ok, another list -- We have ruled out the following:
Not starving because you're feeding about a half pound of layer feed per bird per day, assuming the 23 was right.
(Oh... do the guineas get their own food, or is the 5 gal. bucketful feeding ALL your fowl? Because I didn't count them in the calculation.)
(If we count 23 layers, roos, and guineas it's closer to 1/4 lb each. Still ok)
There's plenty of water
No mites -- worms not seen
Cats probably eliminate varmints like mice, birds, and rats that might be getting eggs.

Guineas eat snakes that might get into the coop


Now... I think we have a misunderstanding about the "song"/cackling. mons02035 was saying her hens cackle their "song" after they've finished laying an egg. So for the sake of solving this mystery let's focus on that.... after laying an egg. So... do you hear them let loose with their cackling egg laying "song" when they're out in the cedars? If so, they are probably laying eggs out there under the cedars. You may have to search out there very thoroughly because they're very good at hiding their eggs.


Either way.... I still think keeping them in the pen for a few days would be very helpful in solving the mystery. If you get plenty of eggs when they're in the pen, they're obviously healthy and laying well. Then if you let them outside and the egg count drops... go search the woods. Okay?

Keep us posted!

They have been pinned up for about 2 weeks and the highest we got was 13 but the next day 7. And that feeds my guineas and RIR chickens which is 57. But the guineas don't eat much they are the first to leave and some don't even eat. And i tryed that whole feed out 24/7 with some old chick starter not molded or anything just bought a new bagand startedd using it, and there was a litle less than half a bag ad it was gone in a couple hours. And the ''song'' is the same-- when they follow me around and lay and eggs. And no they don't sing in the ceders---and if there were eggs in there they would be hard to find no grass---And we have a coon or something that would come and eat the eggs. And they all look healthy except they don't forage and eat too much. I will post pictures of them tm.