The girls stopped laying

[Ryan2016]

23 days and still nothing. They are not laying anywhere else besides the nesting boxes. I cleaned the coop and all I saw was poop(lol) in the wood shavings. I've been giving them the same food plus oats, lettuce, bread and corn.

 

[aart]

23 days and still nothing. They are not laying anywhere else besides the nesting boxes. I cleaned the coop and all I saw was poop(lol) in the wood shavings. I've been giving them the same food plus oats, lettuce, bread and corn.

So they don't free range at all since the attack?

What is the 'same food' you are giving them?
Lettuce and bread are pretty much 'junk food' with negligible nutritional value.

Where are you located in the world?

 

[Ryan2016]

The temp. encloser I threw together. The food is poulin grain layer pellets and was recommended by my local feed store and have been giving it to them since they started laying without a problem. I also mix Oster shells mixed with there food as recommended also. I live in Connecticut.

I only give them that "junk food" 2 or 3 times a week and not all at the same time...Sometimes they will get corn, sometimes bread(the heels of the bread that nobody eats) and so on. I hate to throw away what I know I can give it to them as a treat..

 

[Vickie 51]

While it appeared stress could be a factor, the fact you are thinking molting does have to be considered. Luckily in both cases the "cure" is to increase their protein. They should be getting high protein such as oats, scrambled eggs, meats, etc. You can even buy ready-made chicken treats with high protein content.

 

[Ryan2016]

I give them oats once a week. I didn't know I could feed them meat.

 

[aart]

Oats are lower protein than the layer pellets 16.5%.
Oyster shells should not be mixed with the feed, but always available in a separate container for if they need it.
They can eat meat, in fact animal protein is good/necessary for them(they are omnivores), meal worms are the easiest to give once a week, but can be spendy.
If they are molting they need extra protein and much less calcium


I like to feed a flock raiser/grower/finisher 20% protein crumble full time to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat. I do grind up the crumbles (in the blender) for the chicks for the first week or so.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer. I adjust the amounts of other feeds to get the protein levels desired with varying situations.

Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container.

Animal protein (a freshly trapped mouse, mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided once in while and during molting and/or if I see any feather eating.

 

[Vickie 51]

I often mix oats with browned ground beef. If I have leftover meat I run it through the food processor for them. They love that! Also you can mix meat with scrambled eggs. I top it with fresh chopped oregano and parsley. They practically do the chicken dance when I give that to them.

 

[Ryan2016]

Good news, two have started laying again.

 

[mobius]

 

[Ryan2016]

Well that didn't last long. Haven't gotten any eggs since my last post. I went to tractor supply and bought a big bag of mealworms(my local feed store doesn't carry them anymore) and that was a waste of money. The girls didn't even eat them. They pecked at them then carried on...still out there since yesterday . I guess I'll give them to my a friend up the road that also raises chickens.