4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Cyber Chook]

Well, my five girls are about 14 months old now. After the winter, they laid only 3 or 4 eggs a day. I wormed them, cut out treats, limited free-ranging, gave them cabbages galore, they always have access to grit, and I give them extra limestone when I make them a mash sometimes. For about 2 days, they laid five eggs after all my efforts, and I got all excited but it was premature - for the past 6 weeks or so, it's been no more than three a day. Occasional softies in the poo tray. All looking healthy and eating for England

 

My question is, how can I tell who isn't earning their keep? And is it likely to be the same chicken, or different ones each day, I wonder? Am I being dim here - I really can't think of how to find out who is and who isn't laying?

 

Caroline

[katieadams]

Only thing I can think of is watching them go into the nest box and checking every time someone comes out! Sure someone brighter will be here soon!!

[Budgies]

Even though the hybrids are really built for egg laying, they do need an occasional break and their production does drop a little with age. One of my girls used to do four or sometimes five eggs in a row then have a day off, whilst the other would lay three then have a couple of days off, although the gaps increased as they aged.

 

Three or four eggs every day from five chooks would not worry me unduly.

 

The softies probably do need looking into however. I would recommend worming with Flubenvet if you used anything different previously, as it's the most proven wormer for poultry and covers the widest array of parasites.

 

You might want to increase their access to limestone flour for a week or so too, just to give them the chance to get over this softie business.

 

As for who is laying what, I think the only way is to spy on them - my girls used to sit on eggs that weren't theirs and pretend sometimes, so you need to be around watching them one day!

[Cyber Chook]

their production does drop a little with age. Three or four eggs every day from five chooks would not worry me unduly.

 

I thought it might happen a bit later though, Budgies, as they're only just over one year old? It's really three eggs, very rarely four, every day now for weeks.

 

Yes, I used flubenvet.

 

I might try the liquid calcium additive and see if that works better for the softies, but they don't happen that often. I tried limestone flour regularly, although I did see somewhere here that you ought to give it with cod liver oil to be effective, so maybe I'll try that first.

 

So anyway, going back to the question of their age, isn't one year old a bit young to be laying less already?

[Budgies]

So anyway, going back to the question of their age, isn't one year old a bit young to be laying less already?

 

Not necessarily I'm afraid. I know of quite a lot of people whose hybrids stopped laying completely at around 2 - 2.5 years old, so that might put them half way through their egg laying career. When you consider battery hens don't tend to get much beyond 1.5 years before being culled because their egg production reduces, it seems to tie in.

 

I do think as you use Flubenvet to worm them anyway it's unlikely to be an internal parasite problem. I'm sure you'll have checked them for red mite and lice too, as all parasites will reduce egg production.

 

Good luck with the cod liver oil and limestone flour combo, hopefully it will help with the softies.

[Cyber Chook]

Ah, okay, I hadn't realised that at all, Budgies, and it sounds as if it's not that unusual then. I'll also have a more thorough check for red mites and lice too, that's a good point. I have a memory problem, and haven't looked much, to be painfully honest

 

Caroline

[Guest]

Hi

Yours sound a bit like mine, but mine are only approx 30 weeks old!

I have 5 and for about 3 weeks have got softies(just one every day) but the past few days no softies.

I have only had 5 eggs about twice and most days its 3 or 4!

 

I have my suspicion who is laying the softie but am not entirely sure. They seem healthy and I did worm them when i first got them with Flubenvet.

So I just carry on..I checked for mites etc but cant see any thing

 

indie

[Cyber Chook]

mine are only approx 30 weeks old!

I have only had 5 eggs about twice and most days its 3 or 4!

 

indie

 

Hi Indie, hmm, at 30 weeks I'd guess that your low egg numbers are more due to their age. Mine were probably laying around that number when they were that age, and it gradually increased up to five a day up to maybe when they were a year old.

 

I spoke to someone at the Domestic Fowl Trust today. She suggested that as I'm feeding them right, and giving them limestone flour etc, it might be that they're approaching their first moult, and it's normal and part of the egg laying cycle. She said that sometimes they lay softies when they're coming up to a moult, then they moult, and start laying softies again, and then gradually go back to normal eggs.

 

The mysteries of chickens. I had no idea it was so complicated

 

Caroline

[Reikiranf]

Sorry no suggestions except to say I have a similar problem but worse

 

I got my girls 28th Feb 2008 and once they started laying they laid fantastically well, they even laid all through the winter, however, now it's tailing off and I can't think of anything else to do, they've been wormed with flubenvet, they get limestone flour , crushed oyster shell and grit, they've had battles poultry drink and Zocal D as we've had quite a few softies, I've cut down on the treats to the extent that they were stopped for a while. They don't have any parasites or seem unwell but we got 40 eggs in April, 35 in March and have had 17 eggs from them this month

 

We've even had to buy eggs, until this we were getting plenty of eggs, they laid 71 in January.

 

I hope yours get back on track soon, I've come to the conclusion that if mine aren't having a mini moult/rest that they must have worn out their tackle by being such prolific egg producers in the past year, they are great fun though and we love them to bits

 

Amanda