Tractor supply brands of feed

[Jaybird14]

My hens have stopped laying and I just saw something on YouTube about tractors feed might be missing something and causing this. Is this real? If this is being discussed or has a thread already please direct me to it.
thank you!!

 

[SueT]

All my hens stop laying for the winter. When the days get longer, they start again.
How old are your hens, and where do you live?

 

[Jaybird14]

All my hens stop laying for the winter. When the days get longer, they start again.
How old are your hens, and where do you live?

I live in Wisconsin. I have a light , fresh water. They have access to the outside but stay in when it snows… the sky is fallin.. lol.

these hens are 2 years old.

I’ve had birds for decades and never have had this problem.
somthing has changed and I was wondering if it the food.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I live in Wisconsin. I have a light , fresh water. They have access to the outside but stay in when it snows… the sky is fallin.. lol.

these hens are 2 years old.

I’ve had birds for decades and never have had this problem.
somthing has changed and I was wondering if it the food.

Hi! I think you may have a point, my neighbor has 40 hens and none are laying. I have nine hens and 5 lay consistently, the other three every other day and the last one is recovering from being sick, so hasn't started laying yet. I switched to feeding from a local farmer three months ago when the Purina food I was buying was either stale or bug infested.

 

[Nodakj]

I have read that they are having problems sourcing a couple of essential ingredients. And they are having a direct impact on egg production.

 

[SourRoses]

Tractor Supply has many different brands of feed, milled in different places, ingredients sourced from different regions. If there is a problem with feed, it's isolated to specific brands and would likely be subject to a recall.
It's improbable that an issue with the feed would affect laying without also making them sick. Any other symptoms?

Like @SueT was saying, winter laying breaks are normal for older hens.
If you haven't encountered this issue before then you had something different going on back then - most likely artificial lighting increasing the hens perceived daylight hours, perhaps even unintentional lighting.
Only a very low level is needed, so lights outside the coop on other buildings etc. can do it.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Tractor Supply has many different brands of feed, milled in different places, ingredients sourced from different regions. If there is a problem with feed, it's isolated to specific brands and would likely be subject to a recall.
It's improbable that an issue with the feed would affect laying without also making them sick. Any other symptoms?

Like @SueT was saying, winter laying breaks are normal for older hens.
If you haven't encountered this issue before then you had something different going on back then - most likely artificial lighting increasing the hens perceived daylight hours, perhaps even unintentional lighting.
Only a very low level is needed, so lights outside the coop on other buildings etc. can do it.

Mine are laying without any light, just whatever they get outside. I have five over 2 years old, 2 a year and a half and two pullets.

 

[Jaybird14]

Tractor Supply has many different brands of feed, milled in different places, ingredients sourced from different regions. If there is a problem with feed, it's isolated to specific brands and would likely be subject to a recall.
It's improbable that an issue with the feed would affect laying without also making them sick. Any other symptoms?

Like @SueT was saying, winter laying breaks are normal for older hens.
If you haven't encountered this issue before then you had something different going on back then - most likely artificial lighting increasing the hens perceived daylight hours, perhaps even unintentional lighting.
Only a very low level is needed, so lights outside the coop on other buildings etc. can do it.

My habits really don’t change…kind stuck in my ways.. lol
my hens are active and have great feathers.

 

[Jaybird14]

I buy my feed at tractor out of convenience. I have a local mill that I can only get to on Saturday mornings…sometimes. I will see what they have to offer and give it a go.
they are more expensive and never open when I can get there. That is my challenge.
I thought if there was a problem with a certain feed the awesome folks on this forum would know.

 

[SourRoses]

What brand do you usually buy? TSC does not mill feed, they are just a retailer.

Is it layer? Flock Raiser with calcium supplemented on the side?


I feed Dumor 20% Grower from TSC with calcium supplemented on the side and almost all of our young ones are laying. Only one of the 2+ year old hens is laying, I expect the others to come back on as daylight increases.