wanting to know why my egg laying has dropped

[oldhenlikesdogs]

yes, I cheat and have a 40 watt light on a timer in the winter to keep light hours to at least 12 hours a day. get eggs all year.

That can actually mess them up and cause out of season molts. Hens require breaks, lights can keep them from recovering fully, especially after a molt. Just depends how you want to manage your hens.

 

[HeidiN]

I've been having the same issues. My 2 leghorns are about 15 months old, usually 1-2 eggs a day, but it's been a week of none, zero! They're not molting that I can tell. Don't seem sick either. I've been wondering if the heat could be the problem, though we had a cooler day the day the eggs stopped.

 

[firestomp]

They should. It can help to feed a higher protein ration than layer to help optimize production. Some layers are now 18%, I recommend 18-22%. I use a non medicated grower and an all flock ration for higher protein. Keep a separate bowl of oyster shells for the calcium needs.

Another great point, Mine get black oil sunflower and shelled peanuts as a treat a couple times a week, same mix I feed the birds and squirrels. And oyster shell is always available to them. They must be getting plenty of bugs and worms, my feed is lasting a lot longer, haha.

 

[firestomp]

That can actually mess them up and cause out of season molts. Hens require breaks, lights can keep them from recovering fully, especially after a molt. Just depends how you want to manage your hens.

thank you, mine molt late summer and full feathered by late fall. Maybe I should give them a break, I don't heat the coop, so maybe the girls would like to sleep in on the cold days.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

thank you, mine molt late summer and full feathered by late fall. Maybe I should give them a break, I don't heat the coop, so maybe the girls would like to sleep in on the cold days.

It can depend on how you think of your birds. If you want production and cull them after a few seasons than lights is what is used. If you plan to keep them around and production isn't your main concern than letting them take natural breaks is the way to go, they will lay longer into their lives. It all depends on your goals and the reason you keep chickens.

 

[nicolette]

I do have a coop but we let them free range during the day when I'm home. But they go to bed in their coop. So do you think some of them could be laying them somewhere when their out? Its been since the last several months that we've been letting them out. So they've started laying in the coop since they started laying. So will they lay them elsewhere even if they started laying them in their coop before we let them free range?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Trees I dowe have a coop but we let them free range during the day when I'm home. But they go to bed in their coop. So do you think some of them could be laying them somewhere when their out?

Definitely. Chickens can be sneaky.

 

[firestomp]

It can depend on how you think of your birds. If you want production and cull them after a few seasons than lights is what is used. If you plan to keep them around and production isn't your main concern than letting them take natural breaks is the way to go, they will lay longer into their lives. It all depends on your goals and the reason you keep chickens.

You are right, I raise them as a hobby and to watch them, My wife loves all of this as she was never exposed to animals. Like my meat rabbits, they are workers, not pets. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper to buy eggs. But I love all this stuff, and her reaction at the Baby rabbits, the 64 Bob Whites that hatched out 5 days ago, and the chicks a hen hatched out. Just to see her expression and excitement as she talks about them is worth the costs. She knows they are working animals and not pets.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Hens naturally molt 12-14 months (sometime less in a poor layer) after they start egg laying. I have lighted my coop for 24 years & have never had a hen not molt on time. They molt on schedule with some molting & some still laying over a couple month period. I have had chickens lay into their 8th year. They very well could be starting molt if they have been laying over a year. Only you know when they started laying. JMHO

 

[HeidiN]

If they are taking a break, how long can I expect it to last? Mine haven't laid in over a week. No Sign of molting, I don't think it's been quite a year since they started laying (they were given to me in January) I didn't have lights on them in winter, though not sure if they had lights before I got them.