I am getting very little production out of my birds. They are nice and healthy and some have even gained weight. But I have virtually zero egg production out of a flock of 25 hens.
I did buy my birds fully grown but all was well until about the beginning of August. I didn't want to be bothered with chicks but maybe changing my mind on this. I like the hens but I can't keep feeding them if they aren't going to lay.
Any ideas.
BB
How do you know when your hens have stopped laying for good?
I'm sure you'll get other responses but I don't think chickens ever really stop laying completely. Supposedly you can tell by how yellow their legs are and the size of their vents, but we've never found that a good way to determine who's laying and who's not. We just do a rotation of our birds: we buy a different variety every time we get chicks, and the four-year-olds get butchered in the fall once the youngest ones come into production.
Birds that lay distinctive eggs are easier to track. Unless she's changed egg color, our one cuckoo maran from last year hasn't laid an egg in months. She may go along with the Silver-laced Wyandottes pretty soon.
Hi B.B. What your experiencing leaves a bad taste in my mouth for those who take advantage of others. If the whole flock quit laying and You always had low egg production, that leads me to think you got some old hens. Your probably going to get some spotted production from time to time but that does not justify the cost of feeding them. With winter on the horizon depending on the breed that could even make it worse. If they are as old as I suspect there not going to be any good as table birds either. They would be great for soup and thats about all. As much as I hate to say it I would get rid of the flock and start all over. If you would like to hatch some of your own I would be willing to send you a couple doz fertile eggs early spring at no cost to you. I hate seeing people taken advantage of. Let me know and I could send you a nice variety.
Austrolorps, plymouth rocks, EE's, barred rocks, cuckoo marans, rhode is red, anconas. Just let me know. Probably late feb, or early march. Haystack
Hey B. B. I just read what greenhouse said, she is a great gal and she is right on with her system. Print out what she said and use it as a guideline to future flocks. Haystack
{{Blush!}}
Thanks Haystack & Greenhouse:
They were pumping out quite reliably until early August then they slowed down. We attributed it to the heat as did everyone else in the area. What's weird is that we had a short period over the last 2 weeks the production started to go up from 1 egg to a half dozen. We thought we had turned the corner but we are down again to 1 or none.
How difficult and time consuming is raising chicks? I shied away from it because I thought it would be a lot of trouble. But this issue is making me rethink that. Rather start out fresh than continue to guess.
Thanks for the offer Haystack. I'll think we'll be ok
BB
Hi again B. B. Raising baby chicks is a lot of fun, and not as costly as some think. It's not all that time consuming either. Once you get a heat lamp set up about 18-24inhes about the babies. put some shavings for them to walk and sleep on. thats about it. Make sure you start out with a drown proof waterer or they will drown themselves by falling asleep in it. After about ten days you can go to a larger waterer. Use starter mash and I use two tablespoons of suger in a quart of water as a little energy booster. Thats about it. Most people I know grow to love the little ones. Haystack.
Hay what is mash??? Medicated Chick Starter & water?? I have my first chicken eggs in the bator. I got some True Bantam Araucana and Copper Marans
Hi Donna: If you buy chick starter it is usually medicated and thats fine if you haven't vaccinated them, if you have then use all purpose non medicated. In any case I have a vita mix and I turn the chick starter into mash by blending it and I also add some cracked corn for body heat and its so fine and easy for them to eat. I also add some other grains as well and sunflower seeds. Any way I feed this to them for the first month and then transfer them to the bigger crumbles. Haystack
Nice selection of birds Donna, especially the coppers. Your gonna love em. They are such beauties. Have a great day.
This message was edited Nov 4, 2009 8:42 AM
We usually feed our chicks a starter with amprolium but this time our supplier ran out and couldn't get any more, and Tractor Supply only carried a brand that was unmedicated. So we crossed our fingers and fed them that. Luckily everyone came through very well. Our layers are always on unmedicated. We don't have a source of organic feed and our eggs would have to be really expensive if we used that, but at least there are no antibiotics in what we give them and of course they're free range.
Last year when we had gosling they came down with coccidiosis, and we dosed them with some amprolium. Except for one that died before we realized what was wrong, the rest pulled through.
" If you buy chick starter it is usually medicated and thats fine if you haven't vaccinated them, if you have then use all purpose non medicated"
Haystack, this is a new one for me. Why is it best to avoid medicated starter if chicks are vaccinated? I was never told that, and my chicks were vaccinated, but fed medicated (coccidiostat) starter. Maybe that's why I lost two :(.
You raise chickens in Port Elizabeth???? No that's some real urban homesteading there. LOL
So I have to get the chicks vaccinated?
BB
No, BronxBoy, you don't. Some hatcheries sell them vaccinated for a limited number of diseases, usually Merek's for one, sometimes Avian Pox, or will vaccinate them for a small (usually pennies) charge per chick.
But unless you have a history of diseases in your flock or area, or have a very large flock, most chicks do not get sick and will do fine unvaccinated and with unmedicated feed (the feed is medicated to prevent coccidiosis, which can happen very suddenly and wipe out a flock of young chicks before you realise what is happening--it can be prevented by keeping their bedding very, very dry--and can be treated if caught early with antibiotics. Chicks raised by a broody in a poultry yard usually build up natural immunity to it slowly).
What's a broody?
BB
bronx boy are you keeping your birds where there is extended lighting to make up for the shortened daylight?
A broody is a hen who is in the mood to raise chicks....they get very determined to sit on eggs and then will take care of the resultant chicks. Some breeds are naturally very broody, like Silkies, but others, like Leghorns, have had the broodiness bred out of them for higher egg production. When a hen is broody--whether sitting on eggs or raising her brood of chicks, she stops laying.
Crested Chik:
No I am not. I know I should be but I hate to spend the dollars if they are past their laying prime.
Thanks Catscan:
This chicken thing will test me......yes it will
BB
Hey BB, Let me know when and what you want to hatch. My bator holds 24 eggs and I only want a couple more hens, preferably Ameracaunas or EEs for blue/green eggs. I hatched my girls and its really not hard. And chicks are so much fun. You could keep them in a brooder in your GH until they are old enough to move to your coop. You'd need electricity for a heat lamp or heater of some kind though. I didn't use medicated feed, and mine are fine (all 3 of them, lol.) Only problem with hatching is you take your chances on roos/hens. But you can always butcher the extra roos and sell them. I think there's someone around here who would butcher for you for a small fee. Or if you decide to order from a hatchery, can I order a couple in with yours. There's usually a minimum.
My friend in FL is having the same problem as you. She bought mature birds and has no idea how old they are. Hers aren't laying well either. Don't know if shes added light to her coop or not. I have a light in mine that goes on at dusk and stays on for 4 hours.
Becky
BB, what it would cost to keep a light burning a few hours every day is minimal, and you might find that your hens will go back to laying somewhat. You'll have to set that up for your new flock, anyway. It does sound unlikely that light would make much difference if they've stopped laying completely, though.
I don't live in Port OF Elizabeth; I live in Port Elizabeth, which is very rural. I have twenty acres in woods and fields and marsh. Not an urban area at all!
OK Becky.
I'm going to try a few things before I make the ultimate decision.
BB
I copied this from mississippicoop extention
It was the first thing that came up
I had always been told a chickens pituitary gland is in the eye
the light stimutates the laying
so you may have perfectly fine pullets who should be laying but without the light it wont happen
Why do hens stop laying eggs
If laying hens are receiving proper management, the most common reason for reduction of lay is a reduction of light. The reproductive state of all birds is strongly regulated by the amount of light that they receive each day. If hens are to maintain a constant state of egg production, they must be subjected to at least 16 hours of light every day. This light can be provided from sunlight, artificial light sources, or a combination.
When the day length is increasing between December 21 and June 21, the birds are stimulated into an increased reproductive state, but between June 21 and December 21, the reverse occurs and the birds cease to produce eggs. These effects produce the natural breeding seasons for birds in a natural environment. The recommended rule of lighting for pullets and hens is: "Never increase light on growing birds, but never decrease light on mature laying hens." A violation of this rule results in undesirable hens that do not lay eggs.
A good lighting program for hens requires that light be provided at:
1. The proper length of time every day.
2. A minimum intensity.
3. The proper color.
The recommended day length is 16-18 hours daily. The minimum light intensity is 1 foot-candle or sufficient light to clearly see the level of feed while standing over the feeder. The stimulatory color of light is a yellow or orange that approximates the spectrum of sunlight. Artificial light fixtures that provide excellent light for laying hens are incandescent bulbs, warm-white fluorescent tubes, and many of the halogen lights that produce a yellowish colored light.
* Additional reading on this subject can be obtained in publications like The Home Flock and Why have my hens stopped laying?.
That is excellent, crestedchik--you should put it in the reference "sticky".
Fantastic
You may have brought my girls a reprieve!
The Guinea Hens are going though. They have a date with a French Chef
BB
I hope you have a good recipe for pintade. I've never made it but I've seen them for sale in the markets in France!
Oh this is a great thread, so I had to say Hi so it was bookmarked for me...
HI all....Miss J and Billy
Hi Miss J! We've missed you.
I missed you all too...
I've had chickens for over 40 years, and my hens, if healthy never stop laying..They do however have slow up periods in real cold (not much here) and some in our extreme heat (lot's here)....I have had very old hens to still lay.
Larkie
Strionging their lights today. Will let you all know how things turn out.
BB
I have been told that EE's do not lay in the winter? I am confused...
MissJestr I`ll let you know on the EE`S, mine are 5 almost 6 months old and three or four of them are laying.They have 14 hrs of light a day and they are still layingI have 10 in all but its hard to tell how many are laying because some do not lay the colored eggs.
Well their lights are on. It is very bright in there now.
How long before I'll know if this was the solution?
BB
my ee's are not laying colored eggs either... I am highly disappointed since i bought them specifically for colored eggs. Mine are 6 to 7 months old. I'l be sure to keep an eye on them.
BB, give it a couple of weeks. I would think that would be more than enough time.
I was very disappointed to greykyttn I thought all EE`S layed colored eggs.
If it doesn't lay colored eggs, is it really an Easter Egger? I thought that was the definition.
So did i... this is why i bought them. Everything i found said they'd lay a pinkish to bluish to greenish eggs. not brown. but I'm definitely getting a brown egg from Miss Lizzy my EE. not muddy brown.. a nice light tan color.
In that case I would say she has disqualified herself as an EE.
i kinda thought so... i'll have to take a pic of her. she's a rather pretty black & gray chicken with huge muffs.
I have all EE's and get various Green colors from light to dark and one Blue.. Someone told me that it was the color of thier legs that will tell you the color they lay..Not sure cause all my green layers have the same color legs..