Why are my numbers down?

[The Chicken People]

I know I have one broody but my number of eggs laid daily has declined...could it be to much scratch grains and not enough layer pellets?

 

[poultryfan73]

Well it all depends i give my girls scratch only when they are free ranged. When they are not they have a mix of scracth and layer pellets. If they are cooped up scratch isnt enough for them to lay an egg everyday i know this because it happened to me over the winter.

 

[Kittymomma]

Eggs are high protien and scratch is high carb/low protien. If the hen isn't taking in enough protien to meet her daily needs she won't have enough to produce eggs. Too much scratch will really mess up their diet.

I think of scratch as chicken candy, maybe even chicken crack. It's great to give them some to keep them friendly and so I can get a good look at everybody daily to make sure there are not problems, but not enough to make a meal of. A half a handfull per chook per day is about the max. amt. of scratch that I feed unless it's super cold out and then they get a bit extra before bed so I know their crops are full.

 

[teach1rusl]

I'm like kittymomma...they only get a tiny bit of scratch a day as a treat, and I even cut it with sunflower seeds. I don't mix it with their food, because to me it's not food, it's a chicken candy bar. There could be other reasons for egg production decreases (stress, molting, etc.), but my first step would be to eliminate scratch treats so that you know they're getting the protein they need.

 

[The Chicken People]

Kitty momma...thats about what I am feeding them maybe slightly more so I will back off the scratch a little! I fed cracked corn all winter along with layer pellets and free choice oyster shell. I have just had 1/2 the egg production in the last two days!

 

[Cindy in PA]

One of my bantams has been broody for over a month & the egg count was down right after she went broody for about 2 weeks. They also started picking anyone's head that was in the nestboxes. I now have several bald hens that are laying well again. No one else went broody, but it sure messed up my flock right when the horrible winter & bad weather was over!

 

[HorseFeathers]

Our egg production often goes up and down. Make sure they're getting proper feed and wait.

 

[ChickyLaura]

My numbers are down too. I have 3 broody hens with I think one more starting her broodiness... Ugh! It's so sweet, but geez Mother Nature! Pretty soon the roosters better start laying eggs because I have a list of people that want eggs.

I think, though, that my hens are hiding eggs somewhere in my coop. I haven't been able to find them, but I really do believe they're somewhere in there!

 

[littlechickenlass]

Hi littlechickenlass here one of my hens is not laying egg every day why is this and been looking at other members posts and am now confussed what is scratch

 

[The Chicken People]

Scratch grains is a mix of different grains and cracked corn. I feed corn in the winter to help keep them warm. I feed scratch grains in the spring and sum,mer to help keep them busy and as a treat! I had low numbers for two days but yesterday they just had to lay I guess because I got alot of eggs! However my Lakenvelders keep throwing all the nesting materials out so now they laid pretty much wherever! Lately though its standing room only for one nest box!