Poor egg production

D

denis06

New member
Joined
Aug 21, 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
I am desperate for advice as I have tried everything suggested on the internet.
My chickens are producing only 2 eggs a day from a total of 17 chickens. Two of them are POL so I will excuse them for now but my other pedigrees have virtually stopped laying. Now we have the dark nights looming upon us the situation is expected to get worse.
Previously I was getting 9 or 10 eggs per day. What is going on?? :cry:
 
Some chickens wind down as the days get shorter, I only got 6 eggs yesterday, a shortage of 5 from my producing girls, who have been laying daily (or so it seems) for months.
They simply need a break. Its not the chicks who are the problem, its the friends/family who rely on the eggs!
 
May I please ask, whereabouts are you, what breeds are they, and how old?

If you're further North they could just be slowing up for winter. Especially so if they're older hens. I was talking to someone I know up in Northumberland who was telling me her (older birds) have packed in for this year - I'm expecting at least another month or so out of my (young girls) down in Cambridgesire.
 
I'm in Retford and I have mixed breeds. The girls have not been laying for two months. The youngest is 20 weeks and the oldest is about 3 years old.
 
Moulting or red mite are possible causes Denis06. Ours have moulted very late this year and stopped laying two months ago, same as yours. I know we have only one ongoing case of red mite and that's with bantam cockerels.
 
Yes, I think I'd have a very good look for mite. 20 week old is young to be packing in for winter (if she's already started laying), you might normally expect a young hybrid hen to lay through the dark months if she's come on to lay at the right time.

But two months? That takes us back to July? Something is amiss here. If they're 2-3 year old hybrids, unless they were super-prolific birds, stopping in summer is a but of an issue. I wonder, whats the spot they're in like? Very shady? Or is there any possibility of worms?
 
Do young pure breeds & cross breeds (Welsummer / Marans cross) stop laying in the autumn, if they've only just started laying for the first time?
 
If you have 17 chickens, and 2 are POL, then I expect the rest of hens are yearlings or older. In this case all but your 2 POL are preparing for moult. Some will come out of moult and may come back into lay, it is difficult to tell. A yearling pure-bred is more likely to be preparing for a moult now..a hybrid may actually lay through her first moult, but in the second year egg production will be lower.
 
Those getting towards moulting now I wouldn't be worried about. Its the comment they've not been laying properly for two months would worry me.
 
That is my worry. Two months without many eggs. Both ex-bats and pedigrees slowed down an the same time. I am hugely frustrated having tried all sorts to remedy this.
 
What are they eating, Denis06, & how much? If pellets or mash, what brand, & is it in date? (The shelf life isn't terribly long, & the nutrients degrade over time.) Food quality can affect the egg yield, & overweight hens don't lay well, so too amny scraps or too much corn won't help their egg production...
 
When were they last wormed with Flubenvet? A worm burden will pull them down and reduce their capacity for laying. If you have been relying on herbal remedies, they won't have killed the worms, though they may be helpful in maintaining good gut health in chickens that have been wormed every 4-6 months with Flubenvet. See Poultrykeeper http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens
 
Did they slow down or stop suddenly?

If the latter they may have been frightened by something. My hens were terrified by an attack by foxhounds in October last year and only one of the four started laying again in May this year.

It could be any of the predators - fox, mink or badger etc , or have you considered the eggs may be being stolen? Birds such as magpies, rats, squirrels and unfortunately two legged thieves will all take eggs and not necessarily leave any sign of doing so. A padlock on the run or nest box will deter human thieves and roll away inserts will foil most animal thieves.

(BTW - have I lost some posts or is there a similar thread somewhere on here?)
 
:D :D Found the other thread - it's called "Egg Mystery" further down the page. Glad to know I haven't lost all my marbles yet! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top