slacker hens ?

[ryansmommy83]

so Im back down to no eggs everyday from 6 hens ! i was getting between 2-3 a day and now nothing ! any ideas on how to jump start these slackers again !

 

[gritsar]

Are they free ranging? If so, they could be hiding them.
What are their age(s)? Some chickens go thru a mini-moult in the 7 to 9 month old range. Hens usually stop laying during a moult. There will also be a moult around 18 months old.
Other possibilities are their feed. They need layer pellets available all the time, plus oyster shell or other calcium supplement. If their diet gets really out of whack nutritionally, ex. from too many treats, that can also disrupt laying.
Only other thing I can think of is an egg predator.
Good luck.

 

[cmom]

I agree with gritsar.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are they getting enough water? Lack of sufficient water could stop them laying. Do you have an egg-eater? Anything happen to stress them out lately? Have you checked for mites or lice? Internal parasites like worms could cause them to stop laying. Have they changed their food consumption lately? If so, disease could be a culprit. Are they getting 14 hours of light a day?

 

[funkychickenowner]

I just go in the coop at night when they are all there on the roosts and slap em' around a bit not too much just enough to get there attention then I show em' a soup pot and like magic box full of eggs next morning!!!

JUST KIDDING!

 

[chick-e-chick]

We have the same problem, we've only got three hens, two of them lay every day, never miss (even throughout the winter!) but one seems to only lay when she feels like it! They all have the same food, so it's not that there isn't enough grit as the othere two are fine! She's perfectly healthy, full of life so I can't see what the problem would be.

A friend suggested that as we don't have a cockerel she may be adopting a male role? she's definitely more dominant than the other two and if you reach down to them, the two 'layers' will squat submissively but the non-layer won't! Could there be anything in that?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I found this University of Virginia site this morning. Good Info.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/34.html