What's happened to my flock

[NicolaT]

Hi all. I haven't had to write for some time as I have had no problems with my 5 chickens, but HELP!!!!!

I have had my chickens since April 2011. Theybwerearound 16weeks old. Four of them have been quite good layers, one of them wants to live RENT FREE, and we have hardly had any eggs from her. Now, we are lucky if we have one egg per day. Are they really only supposed to lay for one year ONLY?!

Take care all x

 

[Mrs. K]

are they in a molt?

But, whenever, I have an unexpected drastic reduction in eggs, my girls have decided on a secret nest. Sometimes it will be in the coop, sometimes in the run, and sometimes in the wilds. They can be nearly right out in front of you, and yet hidden. Go down with a cup of coffee, and wait for the egg song, and chances are, there will be the nest.

I would still be expecting eggs from chickens 1 1/2 years old. However, this next year, the production will fall. You need to add chicks to the flock each year. I , myself, go for at least one or two hens to be of a breed that goes broody, and she will raise them right in the flock, and there will be no introduction issues with pecking order or disease. With a current flock of 5, if you added 3 chicks each year, and culled 3, you would have the most consistent supply of eggs...... says the woman with a flock of 10 that just hatched out 14 chicks......

chicken math?

MrsK