What am I doing wrong? The eggs are getting smaller...

[gway2008]

I bought some laying age RSLs about 6 weeks ago and when they got here they were laying jumbo size eggs. I have all my girls on a laying pellet all they can eat buffet as well as grit and some treats sometimes... The new girls' eggs are getting smaller every week it seems. I would say they are about med - large size now. Most have all but stopped laying completely. The guy I got them from said they had just come out of a molt. I just dewormed them a couple of weeks ago and will be doing it again today. Is there a supplement I can give them to get them laying again and increase the size of the eggs from the ones that are still laying?

 

[gway2008]

Anybody????

 

[Ravenseye]

I'll try on this one since I was hoping to see an answer here, just like you.

My Red Stars had been laying extra large eggs until the Fall kicked in. Then, one stopped and the other hen's eggs got small. It's a little confusing because ay the same time, my two Buff's began laying and those eggs were, of course, small.

I added a light to the coop over a week ago and it seems to me that the eggs are all more normal sized now...almost like before. However, I don't get an egg every day like I used to so who knows.

I'd sure like to hear from anyone else on this subject.

 

[ChicksR4Me]

I'm wondering the same thing

 

[Big dreams]

I have read that stress can cause them not to lay as well as lay smaller eggs, so after they get settled in they should go back to laying the large eggs, hope this helps.

 

[gway2008]

Thanks Big Dreams for the input. They seem settled in well but who knows with these crazy chickens.

Ravenseye, I haven't tried a light in the coop... Hmm, maybe I will give that a shot and see if it helps.

I am bumping this up though just to see if anybody else has an opinion or idea since it seems there are several of us having the same problem.

 

[jenjscott]

Molting can cause laying problems, decreased light, cold , stress, etc. Gway, yours have been under a lot of stress between moving them, worming them, etc. Mostly these things affect how often they lay rather than the size, but who knows? If you're going to supplement lighting, the idea is to give them a total of 14 hours of light a day.