Why is nobody laying?!

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US govt. agency. I looked it up when it was the only feed available due to shipping issues, but I don't have the link to hand.
I tried to find some of the feed you linked but my searches are saying it is out of stock EVERY where.

I have never heard of this stuff before so I am doing some digging now.
@aart


I have no idea if this is a "good" source or not.
https://poultryhealthtoday.com/bmd-whats-its-future-in-poultry/

and I do not know if this is current or not nor did I read it all.

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...acitracin-methylene-disalicylate-bambermycins


edit to add one more.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6478705/
 
Just so you know, on average a full grown hen will eat about 3/4 cup worth of crumbled or pelleted feed per day.
To know if you're feeding a close to correct amount, you could measure 3/4 cup worth of feed times however many birds you have.
An extra detail that can be important: that measurement is for dry feed.

Making the feed wet and fermenting it will change how much space it takes up. So to check whether the hens are being fed the right amount, measure the feed when it is dry, before adding the water and fermenting it.
Yes, that is exactly how I do it. 😁 Believe me, I was scared I was going to mess up and starve them. 😆
 
I have around 15-20 laying hens right now, but I'm getting an average of 3-5 eggs a day. I have literally no clue why they've started laying so badly. It used to be that I got an average of 8-12 eggs a day, but recently the production began dropping steadily to this point. I have a few 2yo EEs, a 2yo Brahma, a few 1yo Golden Comets, Black Australorps, and Cuckoo Marans, and a 1yo EE. I'm not surprised that the older EEs and the Brahma have slowed a bit, but the GCs, BAs, and CMs shouldn't be this bad off. Here is everything I can think of regarding food, habitat, and what I've tried to solve the problem.

Food: I feed them fermented 16% layer feed and then turn them out into our pasture for the day where they get grass and bugs all day. They get some treats, but pretty much only fruits, veggies, and the occasional mealworms. I'm extremely strict about carbs. They do get a couple small handfuls of corn to bribe them home at night. I have crushed eggshell on offer for them to get calcium.

Habitat: They have a nice coop with plenty of space and several nest boxes. Our pasture is about 1 acre and they share it with our goats. The pasture is mostly open, with only two pine trees and a tire playground for the goats. I have searched in the pine straw around the trees and looked inside every tire for hidden nests. The chickens cannot get to the goat sheds to lay in there.

What I've tried to solve the problem: I have increased their protein a bit with the mealworms. I used to be really bad about putting eggshell out, but I keep it on offer almost all the time (there are occasions where they go a few days without). And I have dewormed incase parasites were stealing the nutrients. Nobody is molting or regrowing feathers right now.

Does anyone have a clue what is going on and what I should do differently to solve this problem?!

EDIT: Feed is 16% protein.
Same here, honey. I am about ready to give up worrying about it and simply feeding them and allowing them to hang out (free range) like they do everyday.
 
I have around 15-20 laying hens right now, but I'm getting an average of 3-5 eggs a day. I have literally no clue why they've started laying so badly. It used to be that I got an average of 8-12 eggs a day, but recently the production began dropping steadily to this point. I have a few 2yo EEs, a 2yo Brahma, a few 1yo Golden Comets, Black Australorps, and Cuckoo Marans, and a 1yo EE. I'm not surprised that the older EEs and the Brahma have slowed a bit, but the GCs, BAs, and CMs shouldn't be this bad off. Here is everything I can think of regarding food, habitat, and what I've tried to solve the problem.

Food: I feed them fermented 16% layer feed and then turn them out into our pasture for the day where they get grass and bugs all day. They get some treats, but pretty much only fruits, veggies, and the occasional mealworms. I'm extremely strict about carbs. They do get a couple small handfuls of corn to bribe them home at night. I have crushed eggshell on offer for them to get calcium.

Habitat: They have a nice coop with plenty of space and several nest boxes. Our pasture is about 1 acre and they share it with our goats. The pasture is mostly open, with only two pine trees and a tire playground for the goats. I have searched in the pine straw around the trees and looked inside every tire for hidden nests. The chickens cannot get to the goat sheds to lay in there.

What I've tried to solve the problem: I have increased their protein a bit with the mealworms. I used to be really bad about putting eggshell out, but I keep it on offer almost all the time (there are occasions where they go a few days without). And I have dewormed incase parasites were stealing the nutrients. Nobody is molting or regrowing feathers right now.

Does anyone have a clue what is going on and what I should do differently to solve this problem?!

EDIT: Feed is 16% protein.
I would go looking all around where they frolic. They must have hidden nests. Fur sure!
 
I have considered age, but the thing is, most of them are just barely a year old. 🤷‍♀️

The only changes that were made were during the time that I was having this issue. I haven't introduced any new hens, but we did see an opossum recently. I inspected everything and all the animals closely and never saw evidence of him having been over there. But, that was happening after the numbers started dropping.
opossums love eggs. If they can't get eggs they will attempt to follow the egg path into the hen, which is fatal to the hen. See if you can find eggshells in a good possum hiding place. I trap and relocate my possums. Bait the live trap with grapes, they love grapes.
 
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One reason that 16% layer is so cheap is that you're paying the price of feed for the weight of rocks -- the added calcium. Oystershell is dirt cheap in 50# bags.
Where is Oystershell dirt cheap? Also I've had a hen live to age 9 on 16% layer feed, and she didn't lay much when she was stressed out in the crowded run then when she was 6 or 7 she laid every day in a hidden nest and I was trying to figure out who was laying brown eggs since my other hens were americauna. She did that for about 3 or 4 weeks then never laid another egg.

my main point is temperature - I'm in Texas, when it gets hot, shade or no shade, I might get 3 eggs a day this summer. 3 of my summer laying Americaunas are 2 years old, the other is almost 7 years old and presently gives me an egg about every other day. I feed no scratch and have switched hens to Dumor from TSC since it has a little more calcium than Layena. I probably overfeed a bit, I want them to get enough to eat and enough calcium, and they are only allowed to free range from 2 or 3 pm til dusk, so all they have available is Dumor during the day. My Barnevelders only lay when it is cold, I won't see an egg from them til late fall.
 
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I have around 15-20 laying hens right now, but I'm getting an average of 3-5 eggs a day. I have literally no clue why they've started laying so badly. It used to be that I got an average of 8-12 eggs a day, but recently the production began dropping steadily to this point. I have a few 2yo EEs, a 2yo Brahma, a few 1yo Golden Comets, Black Australorps, and Cuckoo Marans, and a 1yo EE. I'm not surprised that the older EEs and the Brahma have slowed a bit, but the GCs, BAs, and CMs shouldn't be this bad off. Here is everything I can think of regarding food, habitat, and what I've tried to solve the problem.

Food: I feed them fermented 16% layer feed and then turn them out into our pasture for the day where they get grass and bugs all day. They get some treats, but pretty much only fruits, veggies, and the occasional mealworms. I'm extremely strict about carbs. They do get a couple small handfuls of corn to bribe them home at night. I have crushed eggshell on offer for them to get calcium.

Habitat: They have a nice coop with plenty of space and several nest boxes. Our pasture is about 1 acre and they share it with our goats. The pasture is mostly open, with only two pine trees and a tire playground for the goats. I have searched in the pine straw around the trees and looked inside every tire for hidden nests. The chickens cannot get to the goat sheds to lay in there.

What I've tried to solve the problem: I have increased their protein a bit with the mealworms. I used to be really bad about putting eggshell out, but I keep it on offer almost all the time (there are occasions where they go a few days without). And I have dewormed incase parasites were stealing the nutrients. Nobody is molting or regrowing feathers right now.

Does anyone have a clue what is going on and what I should do differently to solve this problem?!

EDIT: Feed is 16% protein.
I have around 15-20 laying hens right now, but I'm getting an average of 3-5 eggs a day. I have literally no clue why they've started laying so badly. It used to be that I got an average of 8-12 eggs a day, but recently the production began dropping steadily to this point. I have a few 2yo EEs, a 2yo Brahma, a few 1yo Golden Comets, Black Australorps, and Cuckoo Marans, and a 1yo EE. I'm not surprised that the older EEs and the Brahma have slowed a bit, but the GCs, BAs, and CMs shouldn't be this bad off. Here is everything I can think of regarding food, habitat, and what I've tried to solve the problem.

Food: I feed them fermented 16% layer feed and then turn them out into our pasture for the day where they get grass and bugs all day. They get some treats, but pretty much only fruits, veggies, and the occasional mealworms. I'm extremely strict about carbs. They do get a couple small handfuls of corn to bribe them home at night. I have crushed eggshell on offer for them to get calcium.

Habitat: They have a nice coop with plenty of space and several nest boxes. Our pasture is about 1 acre and they share it with our goats. The pasture is mostly open, with only two pine trees and a tire playground for the goats. I have searched in the pine straw around the trees and looked inside every tire for hidden nests. The chickens cannot get to the goat sheds to lay in there.

What I've tried to solve the problem: I have increased their protein a bit with the mealworms. I used to be really bad about putting eggshell out, but I keep it on offer almost all the time (there are occasions where they go a few days without). And I have dewormed incase parasites were stealing the nutrients. Nobody is molting or regrowing feathers right now.

Does anyone have a clue what is going on and what I should do differently to solve this problem?!

EDIT: Feed is 16% protein.
 

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