Eggs

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chicken lodge

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Hi, Everyone,
AS most of you know i am new to keeping chickens, so i have a question.
We have 11 chickens that range in age from 2half years to 6 months old, They are free range and have the full run of our garden, that is just under an acre.
What i want to know is what i am doing wrong as we are only getting at most 4 eggs per day.
We are feeding them Layer pellets and mixed corn, and once a week i am giving them some mash and this is made from mixed veg from sunday dinner boiled down and then mashed, and they love it, they also have fresh water everyday.
They seem very content, and we have some very large connifers in the garden, where they have found some dry spots and they are quite happy making dust baths under there.
Can some one give me some advice, in what i am doing wrong or what need to do extra.
Many thanks :)
 
I don't think you are doing anything wrong- it's just the short daylight hours mean they can't eat enough to lay eggs and stay healthy, so they stop laying. From our 35 hens between 18 months and 5 years we are getting 3 eggs average. When they stop moulting it will be even colder with even shorter days and I doubt we will get any. These are mainly Pedigrees. Hybrids will produce more (we have 4 hybrids and one is laying) though, when they are young. So by our standards you are doing well and can't do any better unless you put them under artificial light, like from 4.00am to dawn.
 
Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much for your replys.
We have a number of diffrent chickens we have Warrens and some pure white ones and some black and white ones,and a couple of chickens that are multi coloured, sorry to sound so thick but not sure what they are, but i do know that the white chickens are laying white eggs.
I have also notice that some of the chickens are not using the perches at night and are sleeping in the nesting boxs is this ok, we have 3 perches and they have plenty of room, but they still prefer to sleep in the nesting boxs.
I am thinking of putting some thermal insulation on the outside of the boxs for when winter sets in as we live in Wales on the side of a mountain and last year it reached minus 19, what do people think.
Many thanks. :)
 
Insulation is a good idea as eggs freeze and become unsaleable. Don't like the idea of poo in the nest boxes though. Difficult to break the habit if the nest boxes are nice and insulated -put upturned plastic plant pots in before they go to bed so they have to sleep outside. They will prefer perching to being on the floor and being poo'd on.
 
We have the 'sleeping in the nest box' problem. I try and put pots in at night but quite often they kick them out or squeeze in around them. If left to their own devices all three would get in one nest box together, literally on top of each other.

Most annoying is that out of two nest boxes they all like the same one and it's the same box that is being used for egg laying. I have to leave the pots out of the box during the day so that she can use it, then try and rush home in the semi-dark/dark to retrieve the egg before it gets trampled on and kick them out of the nest box and put the pots in. It seems then though they just sleep on the coop floor and still don't use the perch.

I have thought about attaching some LED lights to the roof of the nest boxes, do you think this would deter them from going in there to sleep?
 
I wonder why they all choose one box? Could it be that it's darker during the day, and less draughty or warmer at night? Have a look inside in daylkight, to get a hens' eye view of any cracks where light comes through. How Is the favoured box positioned relative to the ventilation overnight? ie is it furthest from the pophole if, like me, you haven't started closing the pophole at night yet, or furthest from a vent system? One other possibility is they are trying to flee the cursed redmite, have you inspected the ends and undersides of perches and nestboxes for this pest?

Loved the idea of the Blackpool Illuminations - if it doesn't work, try a telly - line it up so they have to perch to see David Attenborough comfortably. though maybe all those penguin-eating killer whales would keep them awake.....

Oh, and I used a large, heavy clay pot, not a plastic one, when one of mine was being talked out of the idea of going broody recently. It may be a matter of training them as much as anything ie putting them on the perches for a few nights so they get used to the idea of what their feet are for. What a pain!
 
It is not unusual when given a choice of nestboxes, hens to favour one to lay in, I generally just leave them to it! :D
 
foxy said:
It is not unusual when given a choice of nestboxes, hens to favour one to lay in, I generally just leave them to it! :D
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Hi foxy, at first I thought it was quite cute that they all slept in the same box...until the nights got dark earlier and they were getting into bed before I got home from work...I started to worry that they would crush the egg and get a taste for it!

Marigold said:
Loved the idea of the Blackpool Illuminations - if it doesn't work, try a telly - line it up so they have to perch to see David Attenborough comfortably. though maybe all those penguin-eating killer whales would keep them awake.....
Click to expand...
:-)19 :lol:

Sorry, I wasn't very clear, I meant if I put LED lights INSIDE the next boxes would it deter them from going in there if it was bright - and at least buy me some time to get home from work to collect the egg, put the pots in etc?

I have checked and cleaned for redmite every single weekend since they have been in the coop and that has only been four weeks, it was brand new then so I doubt it could be that??

The nest box they choose is furthest from the pop-hole but I shut that at night anyway, I don't think either of the nest boxes are draughty, they are built in the same way, both are lined with card, wood shavings and straw. There was a gap near one of the doors which could have made the perch draughty but I covered that a couple of weeks ago!
 
I would not insulate anywhere as it just gives extra incentive for red mite to colonise. Chicken sleeping in the nest boxes adds to the risk as they are a ready source of blood to suck. Chickens can tolerate cold but not wet and cold so try to keep them dry and they'll be fine.
 
If you want to keep them up a bit longer, until you get home, perhaps you could fix a light in the run, outside the nestbox, if you have electricity there? Doesn't have to be very bright, a 60W or equivalent would probably do. It should help keep them in lay a bit better too, as you'd be lengthening their 'day.' I've never done this myself, but other people could say if they thought it might help.

also, you're obviously keeping them lovely and clean, but it might be best not to use straw in the nestboxes as the hollow stems can harbour redmite. Not sure about the card either - maybe just use woodshavings?
 
Thanks Marigold, once this lot of straw has gone (which I think should be before 'red-mite season' really gets a grip?) I won't get the long stuff again. In the meantime I'm doing a complete change of their soft beddings once every week so if there are any redmite going to colonise in the straw they'll get a shock when it's incinerated!

We don't have electricity out at the coop but I wondered if those little push-on-push off LED lights that are sticky might just make the nest box less attractive and they would opt for the perch?

Tonight I put various different shape, size and style pots in the nest boxes...even a colander with it's handle sticking up! They STILL tried to squeeze in. I had to forcibly push them out and then they just got comfortable on the coop floor (which is just shavings) They sometimes stand on the perch so they know it's there!

The question I have regarding picking them up and putting them on the perch is; won't that panic them? Two of them would probably cope with me doing this ok and wouldn't mind but the other is quite flightly and hates being caught. It'd be awful if I picked her up and she jumped out in the dark!!?
 
Hi Cuwiar. With a torch in the coop she won't stray when being picked up. We put ours on the perch as sometimes it gets dark quickly and they can't see the perches when they go in. They do struggle if picked up incorrectly but just plonk them on the perch and they soon settle.

You can put a light on in the morning 4.00am to dawn to extend daylight. But you need a feeder and drinker in the coop and in our experience, although you get eggs, the mess of the bedding, which then needs changing every few days, isn't worth the effort. We tried it the first year with two coops with 25W lights linked electrically back to a 12V timer and 80Ah battery. Load of hassle lugging batteries about. LED's would be a lot better as they consume far less electricity -still wouldn't bother though as I don't think it does the hens any good. Can't put light on at night as when it goes off suddenly they have to sleep on the floor- can't see the perches.

Put a notice on the nest boxes -'no overnight parking'! Then teach them to read.
 
chrismahon said:
Put a notice on the nest boxes -'no overnight parking'! Then teach them to read.
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:-)08 Read? They forget how to get out of the run sometimes and pace back and forth even though the door is wide open right next to them! :D

Thanks Chris, I don't want to extend their day. I'm not bothered about forcing them to keep laying - there is only one in lay at present anyway. The other two are too young and I'm more than happy to wait until Spring for them.

My idea was to put these LED lights on in the nest boxes so that when they head off to bed at dusk they don't like the look of the boxes as much and go for the 'darker' perch area. It probably wouldn't work anyway!

I'll try the picking them up routine but might struggle to get it right with the layout/height of our coop as it is not a walk in shed type - just a little house! When I get there in the morning they are all standing on the perch waiting for me to let them out, they just don't like settling down on it for the night.

I think we'll try raising the perch too, it is above the nest boxes but only slightly. Maybe they will prefer it if it is higher?
 
They generally prefer higher perches (reminds me of a joke about how to pay for your new chicken coop -hire purchase), presumably because they used to roost in trees. But make sure they are not over 18" otherwise they hit the ground too hard and can damage their feet.
 
chrismahon said:
(reminds me of a joke about how to pay for your new chicken coop -hire purchase
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol:

The perch is only about two inches off the bottom of the coop (the nest boxes are at floor level), there isn't enough space to raise it above 18" or they'd be squashed against the ceiling! Could only raise it another inch or two and leave them plenty of headspace.
 
In regard to your original question about what you're doing wrong, I'd say nothing and you have them on a sensible diet. Most years I would be expecting twice or three times as many eggs as I'm getting at the moment but with late & drawn out moults and the shorter days it's been a most peculiar year.
Your whites laying the white eggs are probably Leghorns (there isn't much else that's white and lays white eggs).
Is there any chance they could have made nests outside in your large garden ? They are very good at hiding them away.
 
Hi, I know many people have said to put them on the perch yourself.... I think it is something to try. If you do it when it's dark they won't move from the perch because they cant see and if your worried about panicking them, just talk to them. The recognize your voice and it will help keep them calm. I guess if they are young and new to the coop it will take them a while to get used to the idea of where they should sleep. My first lot if bare necks that came with my Maran slept on the floor for a week before using the perche despite they could see the others using a perch. In the end I started putting them on myself and within a few days they were doing it by themselves. I know it must be a pain having them in the nest box. Can you block them off completely by a bit of cardboard or something (just at night)? Chickens will alsways find a way to squeeze somewhere if that's where they want to go that's why I was thinking of covering it completely. I wish you good luck and don't give up! You will get there eventually :-) hope this has helped a bit
 
Thanks for the confidence boost Frenchchickens, I'll try picking them up and putting them on the perch tonight, I won't get in til after 8 so they'll have been asleep for a few hours and should be quite docile!! I know i just have to persevere!
 
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