The Mystery of the Missing Eggs

[Kaseycaye]

Can anyone here tell me why I'm feeding 14, 2 year old hens and only getting 4 eggs a day??

The girls all free range so I'm open to the possibility of them just out laying, however, we've had almost daily instances of shell-less eggs being "laid" on the poop board under the roosting bar. For a couple of weeks I was banking on the fact that they might have been sharing egg drop syndrome among themselves and that there was nothing I could really do beyond wait it out. They weren't/aren't showing any other symptoms of disease or illness - all are eating and drinking, enthusiastically foraging as usual, only one has lost feathers (but unfortunately she is the bottom of the pecking order so I believe she's being picked on), so all in all, egg drop sounded like the most likely culprit.

Then I learned that egg drop is still super rare in the US and now I've come across information that says they are possibly overrun with worms? I've contacted local vets and my extension office and no one is willing to perform a fecal float test and I'd rather not worm them without any other symptoms other than the lack of eggs/lack of egg shells, but I'm getting to the end of my rope with this silliness.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for what I can do in this situation? We have new chicks in the brooder that are ready to join the flock, but I'd rather get whatever the older girls' issue is under control before doing that.

Thank you!

 

[MarlaMac]

Where are you?
What is the weather like? Any sudden changes?
What is their regular feed?
What treats do you offer?
Do you offer free choice oyster shell or other free choice sources of calcium?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The girls all free range so I'm open to the possibility of them just out laying, however, we've had almost daily instances of shell-less eggs being "laid" on the poop board under the roosting bar.

What do you feed, including any treats/extras?

Do you provide oyster shell free choice?

What breeds do you have?

They free range, so likely they have hidden nests.

You are finding shell less eggs on the poop board - are those eggs usually found in the same place, perhaps from 1-2 hens or are you finding a lot in several different places?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Watching - I'm having the exact same experience, but will watch this thread rather than hijack it.

 

[Kaseycaye]

What do you feed, including any treats/extras?

Do you provide oyster shell free choice?

What breeds do you have?

They free range, so likely they have hidden nests.

You are finding shell less eggs on the poop board - are those eggs usually found in the same place, perhaps from 1-2 hens or are you finding a lot in several different places?

Thanks so much for responding so quickly!

We feed Nutrena Naturewise 16% pellets. I read that soft shells/not laying could be a protein issue so I've been switching them to Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve mixed with their pellets to try and up that. We've also been adding black oil sunflower seeds to try and up the protein. I saw that too many table scraps could contribute to the issue so we've stopped feeding them those (though honestly they just dig them out of the compost pile anyway so it's really just a way to get me more steps in my day apparently). I was also fermenting feed for them (just their regular food in water with rooster booster in it) previously but didn't see an improvement with it so I stopped because I'm a lazy chicken mom.

They have always had free choice oyster shell and, goobers that they are, they have always chosen to ignore it. But it remains out for them to...not choose. I tried mixing it in their food hoppers and into any food we throw on the ground but they still pick it out because they're sassier than necessary.

We have barred rocks, austrolops, and silver laced wyandottes.

The shell-less eggs on the poop board are all over the place but our hens don't adhere to a strict sleeping location order. We have a camera in the coop and it's honestly a first-come first-served situation, so unfortunately we can't determine who's doing it that way. I believe we are generally looking at one or two a day on the board.

Hopefully you see something glaringly obvious that I'm doing wrong so I can fix it asap!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I read that soft shells/not laying could be a protein issue so I've been switching them to Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve mixed with their pellets to try and up that. We've also been adding black oil sunflower seeds to try and up the protein.

Can you provide links to what you have read, I would be interested in reading it.

What is the % protein in the Henhouse Reserve?

16% layer feed should be sufficient for a hen to produce eggs. Shell Quality issues are usually related to Calcium deficiency, but not always.
I would cut out the extra Sunflower Seeds, look like the Henhouse Reserve already has those along with various other loose type tidbits.

Ensure your feed is fresh and in date, try to get a mill date that is within a few weeks of purchase.

I'd still looks for hidden nests and if you can figure out exactly which hens are laying the shell less eggs, give them a direct oral tablet of Calcium Citrate with D3 once daily for a week - see if shell quality improves - if it does, then Calcium deficiency is likely the cause of the shell less eggs. If not, then shell gland defect, parasites, feed, disease, etc. would need to be considered.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We've also been adding black oil sunflower seeds to try and up the protein.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

This increases fat significantly.. and possibly some vitamins or things like linoleeic acid etc.. but not protein. The breakdown looks pretty close to 15% protein from most sources..

https://shop.purinamills.com/products/purina-black-oil-sunflower-wild-bird-food

They have always had free choice oyster shell and, goobers that they are, they have always chosen to ignore it.

Most of my birds ignored the oyster shell when I was feeding "layer" also.. as they were getting enough to meet their needs. Since I use "flock raiser" they now use it up.

I've come across information that says they are possibly overrun with worms? I've contacted local vets and my extension office and no one is willing to perform a fecal float test and I'd rather not worm them without any other symptoms

I would think any of the poultry diagnostic labs could run parasitology... For example.. I've mailed dead birds to UC Davis.. I don't see why they couldn't do a fecal float.. The first 2 links are examples and the 3rd link has contact info for the labs in each state..

https://colsa.unh.edu/new-hampshire-veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory/poultry-livestock-owners

https://cvmdl.uconn.edu/tests-fee/parasitology/

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

I'd also look for hidden nests or institute a spring lockdown and nestbox retraining which was required here each year when I used to free range and good weather would roll around.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Could you have a snake or two helping themselves to your eggs? Or even a rat? I've even heard of squirrels carrying eggs away.

 

[Kaseycaye]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

This increases fat significantly.. and possibly some vitamins or things like linoleeic acid etc.. but not protein. The breakdown looks pretty close to 15% protein from most sources..

https://shop.purinamills.com/products/purina-black-oil-sunflower-wild-bird-food


Most of my birds ignored the oyster shell when I was feeding "layer" also.. as they were getting enough to meet their needs. Since I use "flock raiser" they now use it up.


I would think any of the poultry diagnostic labs could run parasitology... For example.. I've mailed dead birds to UC Davis.. I don't see why they couldn't do a fecal float.. The first 2 links are examples and the 3rd link has contact info for the labs in each state..

https://colsa.unh.edu/new-hampshire-veterinary-diagnostic-laboratory/poultry-livestock-owners

https://cvmdl.uconn.edu/tests-fee/parasitology/

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

I'd also look for hidden nests or institute a spring lockdown and nestbox retraining which was required here each year when I used to free range and good weather would roll around.

That makes sense about the layer feed having enough calcium.

We've continued to look for hidden nests and we'll do a lockdown tonight for a couple of days to punish them...I mean see how many are actually laying lol. Maybe that will help us find out who is laying the shell-less eggs too.

I see that our only lab is about 4 hours away, I'll call and see if I can ship a sample to them.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Kaseycaye]

Could you have a snake or two helping themselves to your eggs? Or even a rat? I've even heard of squirrels carrying eggs away.

If the hens are laying out of the coop that defintely could be the case. The coop itself is a new plastic shed so it has a full floor and no gaps that would permit a snake or a rat in at night. I'll look through the footage from the camera to see if that could be the case though. Thanks for the creative idea!