Why is nobody laying?!

[Hip Hillbilly Acres]

I give my girls cat food as a treat to get them back to their coop abt once a week or so.

Hubby was talking about feeding our girls cat food (we are trying to figure out the extreme laying decrease) and I screamed bloody murder, "Noooo!" I didn't think that would be cool. But, okay, it must be. Read and learn, Lyric.

 

[LilRedmamma]

I've actually thought about mixing the calcium in, but the problem is I do have roosters in the flock and I don't want to give them too much. How would you handle that?

Also, just curious how much per chicken do you feed? Of both feed and calcium (let's use oyster shell as the example because that's what I'm going to start using).

Hi & Good morning My timing may be off, been busy with chores…
My bad, I did forget about roos since I’ve not had any (till now). Guessing they have to be kept separate from hens but that’s not always practical… I’m not a ‘homesteader’ but in the city, only have 3 small runs with different aged breeds so they don’t eat together.
Portion p/chicken: I don’t measure, not much help I know. 4 (2 yo) layers go through a 40# bag of pellets in apx 6 months, 16 oz peanut butter jar full in a.m. in a big casserole dish hung just off the ground they can’t dump it. Then my husband will always give them a snack of berries, seeds, weeds etc in the afternoon.
Even roos can safely eat the yogurt etc though— great for their digestion— not excessive.
Plus: per the 4 layers: 2x/wk they get 1/2 cup crumble fermented with birdseed and any spices I add.

 

[MortyschickenShack]

Feed was never the issue except maybe people feeding poor quality feed.
Feel free to link those threads, they prove that any feed by any particular company was never an issue. :]

The issue was they were claiming a higher protein level, 16%, but the feed in question was nowhere near the levels stated and misleading ppl.

 

[NatJ]

The issue was they were claiming a higher protein level, 16%, but the feed in question was nowhere near the levels stated and misleading ppl.

Are you saying the feed was labeled 16% protein but was actually less?

If so, can you link to a source for that? Maybe tests that show what protein level it actually had?

I have only seen results from tests on a few bags of feed, so I'm quite curious what happens when other people test other bags.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

Well, y'all, I upped the protein to 20% (using cat food) several days ago. In the past two days I've gotten 13 eggs!!! Got rid of both extra roosters today and plan to temporarily move my other rooster out. I'll give them a few weeks to get going and put him back in.

 

[Dharmachick]

I'm surprised no one mentioned parasites as a cause for not laying eggs. I have tons of wild birds here and when my laying slows or I see bare butts, I treat them for mites. It works well, the laying increases after. It is a pain, since I have over 50 chickens ( I retire my old ladies to an old lady flock) but I haven't found a way to keep the wild birds out.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

I'm surprised no one mentioned parasites as a cause for not laying eggs. I have tons of wild birds here and when my laying slows or I see bare butts, I treat them for mites. It works well, the laying increases after. It is a pain, since I have over 50 chickens ( I retire my old ladies to an old lady flock) but I haven't found a way to keep the wild birds out.

Probably nobody mentioned it because I said in my original post that I dewormed. The stuff I used treats mites as well.

 

[abigfathen]

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.

I feed the girls organic scratch plus split peas. They always lay unless broody or molting or change in daylight.

 

[ThePhoebeFive]

I need peoples thoughts on one more thing. I have a little flock of Cuckoo Marans. I was planning on breeding and selling the chicks. I have four hens and 1 rooster. Not ideal, of course, but we've done it before. They are a year old and haven't layed in months. I'm guessing it's the same issue as the larger flock. Should I just get rid of my Maran rooster?

Also, should I take the EE rooster I'm keeping out of the large flock temporarily to give the girls a break?

 

[3KillerBs]

I need peoples thoughts on one more thing. I have a little flock of Cuckoo Marans. I was planning on breeding and selling the chicks. I have four hens and 1 rooster. Not ideal, of course, but we've done it before. They are a year old and haven't layed in months. I'm guessing it's the same issue as the larger flock. Should I just get rid of my Maran rooster?

Also, should I take the EE rooster I'm keeping out of the large flock temporarily to give the girls a break?

Marans are not champion layers even under the best conditions. How old are they?

Are they broody?