eggs getting smaller

[chickenfan]

A lot of my birds are laying smaller eggs than before. Is this perhaps a sign of them being overweight, or perhaps lacking something?

 

[chrismahon]

That's a co-incidence Chickenfan, because I was thinking the same thing about ours. They have been wormed with Flubenvet. No pests like Red Mite or Lice. Food is the same. They are no fatter than before I hope, but I have cut right down on the grain treats. I can only think that the temperature is affecting them. Ours are drinking a lot of water at the moment and it isn't possible to keep it that cold. I read recently that the optimum temperature for drinking water was 5 degrees Centigrade. How I could achieve that I don't know?

 

[chickenfan]

Thanks Chris. I think I will try worming them to see if that helps.

 

[chickenfan]

Chris re your birds, I am not sure about temperature as its been very cold here this week. Somebody else has told me one of their birds is laying small eggs too.

 

[chrismahon]

Well worming is always a good start Chickenfan, because a worm burden does reduce egg size, laying frequency and shell quality. It also weakens their resistance to other problems, so best to worm regularly. Also in future it will be easier to diagnose illnesses because then a possible worm problem can be ruled out. The improvements in eggs should pay for the wormer anyway.

It's very hot here and getting hotter by the day. 26 degrees now and 31 degrees on Sunday. That's got to be having some effect on ours. Fortunately being in an elevated position we catch the wind so no-one is panting yet. We have a 1 metre high removable windbreak around our enclosure. We can drop that to the ground on hot days to get maximum breeze through the runs.

 

[chrismahon]

Something else I thought about Chickenfan, whilst distributing 'treat' mixed corn in very small and well scattered quantities. If your birds are getting treats, even if they are beneficial like cabbage and fresh fruit, the overall level of protein in the diet may drop below 15% at which point laying will start to drop off. Perhaps this will affect the egg size first? Layers pellets are typically 15 -16% protein. So your treats need to include something like sunflower hearts (shell removed), which I think are about 40% protein. These will raise the average protein level of the treats. They are also very good during the moult when all their protein intake is required to grow new feathers. Get them through the moult quickly and they will be back to laying quickly. But don't overdo the protein intake for long as it can cause some major internal problems I read recently.