Why am I only getting 10 eggs a day with 40 hens?

[Chickassan]

I'm not going to preach "too much" on nutrion for laying hens especially in molting season but corn has very little nutritional value. I'm not a by the book feeder either but i try to offer a nice appealing , complete mix so the hens can do their best. 25% flock crumbles, 25% layer, 25% songbird food and the other 25% is a mix of mealworms, cracked corn and peanuts. The hens molted and even the absolute worst of them are back in production now.

 

[jvls1942]

don't let yourself "overthink" what to feed your chickens.
I feed strictly finely ground corn and oats.
50/50 .
I have been accused of abusing my chickens with this formula.
so be it. I still hit 100% egg production regularly . I have even hit 100% production when the temperature was minus -20F with no supplemental heat..
do what works for you..
I do not feed oyster shells. I do feed egg shells when they are available. usually mixed in with the table scraps I feed..

when I was a kid, we didn't have crumbles, that I know of.
everybody just tossed out oats for the chickens. or corn or barley or wheat.

 

[Patinas]

I have 19 hens and their egg production is down dramatically. All my hens are 9 months old. Some have stopped laying completely and some lay once every 3-5 days...maybe longer. A few of the ones that have stopped laying completely even have shrunken, pale combs at this point.

I was getting up 15-18 eggs a day and now it's down to 2 - 5 a day. I haven't changed anything in their diet so it must be simply the shorter daylight hours. A couple of them have started molting at this early age but it is a gradual molt. One of the hens lost only the feathers on her head but I can see the new pin feathers so I know it's not from being pecked. She looks pretty weird! lol

I figure between the early molting and the daylight, egg production is way down and might get even worse as winter progresses. So far, I'm not concerned about it as the hens otherwise look very healthy and are acting normal.

 

[kaylee's poultry place]

You get out what you put in.
They are most likely missing out on key nutrients, especially vitamins/minerals/ amino acids, to enable good productivity.

what should I feed them then?

 

[Kusanar]

what should I feed them then?

The best/easiest thing to do would be to feed them a 16-18% layer or all flock feed. Then it would all be balanced and have all the nutrition that the birds need.

 

[jvls1942]

avoid feeding them "treats"
many treats are low in protein, that will lower the overall protein percentage of any good feed you give them..

 

[cavemanrich]

avoid feeding them "treats"
many treats are low in protein, that will lower the overall protein percentage of any good feed you give them..

All sounds good, but you risk being taken to CHICKEN COURT.

Then the follow up of CUSTODY BATTLES...

You ask yourself,,, "Is it really worth it, or do I just cave..."

 

[EclecticLadyy]

You get out what you put in.
They are most likely missing out on key nutrients, especially vitamins/minerals/ amino acids, to enable good productivity.

I will second that. Unless it is high summer season and your birds are free-ranging in ideal conditions where they get a lot of insects, and a huge variety of greens and seeds from rich organic soil, it is NOT likely that their nutrition is anywhere near where you can expect good egg production or even basic good health. Good layer mash is pretty cheap in 50# sacks. If you can find a local mill that grinds its own feed and creates a good fortified mash, you'll have the best food possible. Feed free choice, with oyster shells available, year round with clean water. Extras after that, are all the fresh produce you can round up. And supplements to their diet that you can afford. Sprouting your own grains in winter makes nutritious additions also to their diet.

 

[speckledhen]

don't let yourself "overthink" what to feed your chickens.
I feed strictly finely ground corn and oats.
50/50 .
I have been accused of abusing my chickens with this formula.
so be it. I still hit 100% egg production regularly . I have even hit 100% production when the temperature was minus -20F with no supplemental heat..
do what works for you..
I do not feed oyster shells. I do feed egg shells when they are available. usually mixed in with the table scraps I feed..

when I was a kid, we didn't have crumbles, that I know of.
everybody just tossed out oats for the chickens. or corn or barley or wheat.

Did you mean that layer crumble didn't exist or your family didn't feed it? Wasn't sure. My father died two years ago at 94. His father was a farmer who lived to be 100 and died in the 1980's, had Angus cattle, mules, hogs and raised broilers plus had his own flock for eggs. I didn't remember, so I asked Dad what his dad fed the chickens. He said layer crumble. That was in the early 1900's. I could not recall, being a child when we were on the farm. I think that folks who don't use layer crumble or pay attention to the protein content, as we see on old movies where someone just tosses out something in the yard for the chickens, no feeders in sight, has to do with the other livestock on the farm that the chickens glean from, picking through feed of other animals, the poop from the cows and such, and they had lots more forage than someone may in a 1/3-1/2 ac lot.
I guess my point is that people sometimes get chickens and they feed them like they see in the old movies, thinking that is adequate and then, they wonder why they have no egg production (not meaning you, just musing here) or why their birds' feathers don't shine or look ratty.
I don't have hatchery birds and my heritage lines and breeder lines are larger bodied birds. They get 22% protein feed that contains porcine (animal) protein. I have a scratch mix that I use sparingly, which has 13 grains and 16% protein by itself, so if they eat too much of it, their protein levels are not too far down. They all get to free range on a rotating basis, but now, there is little green out there anywhere, of course. I do not do "fussy" feeding methods like fermented feed and actually, am not at all for it (don't start on me folks). We have a simple management style, no grinding of feed, just good quality feed for the age and function of the bird.

Chickens will survive on many different diets. They may not thrive on some. The hens may lay infrequently as well. And if the diet is inadequate when they are fully feathered, then when they are molting it is then woefully inadequate. I don't push them with light after so many hatchery hens died of internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis/cancer. They are not machines, they are animals whose bodies need to recharge, sad as that is for our breakfast tables. JMHO.

 

[jvls1942]

Maybe I lived in a bubble, but I never heard of laying crumbles until I was out of the army and built my house.
my wife grew up on a small farm and I asked her what her parents fed their chickens. "Oats" and they did not get the idea from any movie..
If any of our neighbors fed special boughten feed , I was not aware of it.

I did feed baby ducks crumbles when I was a kid. that was in the mid to late '50's.
I used to raise 200 meaties each year back in the mid 70's. they got 50/50 finely ground corn and oats none of them ever died from heart attacks or crippled themselves from overeating. I even kept some of the hens and they layed eggs for me through the winter..

I do not raise chickens for pets. if there is a freeloader, she goes into the soup pot.,.
......jiminwisc......