Where are my eggs? 24 week old pullets stopped laying

[flockmomma]

I have 4 RSLs, 6 BOs, and 5 BAs that are nearing, or at, laying age. my 3 EEs are near there but not quite there yet.c They are free range, btw.

The RSLs started laying about six weeks ago. In the last week or two, I can only find an egg or two a day. Sometimes we get a lighter egg, presumably from the BOs, I was getting about three eggs a day from the RsLs. Now I have one regularly laying. If I am lucky, I get two a day. There is one very regularly layer in the henhouse, a gimpy RSL who got her foot stepped on by a goat. The other "dependable" RSL was laying daily until her favorite spot outside the henhouse got washed out by rain.

I treated them recently with Amprolium due to a pullet that died of unknown causes. Could that effect egg production?

I not, what else could? I changed their feed today, to one with omegas and oyster shell already in it ( in case someone is laying soft shell/no shèll eggs).

Any thoughts? We penned them up for three days, and it did not change they count.

 

[flockmomma]

Any thoughts on this?

 

[creepygothnursi]

Check around for secret nests. I mean, check REALLY well, including ridiculously tiny spaces you'd think no chicken could possibly wedge itself into. Sometimes free rangers will decide the coop is lame and they want to lay somewhere else. It could just be a coincidence that they didn't lay much for those three days, so I'd still check everywhere.

 

[mbcmama]

I have this same issue! My girls are almost ten months old and have been laying regularly an egg a day (3 since we have 3 big enough to lay) since may. We go new pullets that are about 12 weeks old a month ago and the big girls have gon on strike! May get one egg every other day or so. Nothing else has changed. Hmmmmmmmmm?????

 

[julie0477]

Another thought... When did your pullet die? Chickens do mourn when they lose a flock mate. about a month ago I lost a hen and I didn't get an egg for about a week from the others. They all went on strike accept for my golden comet. Even she held out a day or two. Just an idea...

 

[julie0477]

Also.... Changes like adding new ones to the flock can throw things off a bit. Changes, flock losses, predator scares, all those things can throw off production. Maybe they just need a bit to adjust?

 

[flockmomma]

Yeah, I found my guinea hen, who is only around 21 weeks, made a nest out in the yucca plants. I have been keeping an eye out for a while. The deceased pullet was removed from the flock on July 24th, and died a week-ten days later. I've been hunting eggs for a while now. Nobody laid eggs today. I personally would have locked them up for longer, but my husband was in charge of them (I was out of town) and decided to let them out after three days.

We also added a milk goat to the mix back around the 7th of this month. Hence the gimpy pullet (she got her foot stepped on a few days after getting the milker) that is the only one reliably laying right now. That time spent gimping around kept her close to the coop.