Topic: What's wrong with my hens?

[cocopops]

We took 17 hens on the 30th April at ten weeks old.  Within two weeks we were getting about 8 eggs per day.  This kept increasing until we had over 20 p.d.  Over the last week they have been laying less and less and today we have none.  The only changes are:
* Food from pellets to mixed grain.  Still giving boiled veg peelings, pasta, rice, maggots (husband into fishing) and anything else.  Gone back to pellets today.
* Weather much hotter but have constant supply of shelter, water and food.
* Have a dog that loves to look at them and runs round their enclosure.  When one escaped he licked it (he also loves cats etc).
* An electric fence around their enclosure to keep out predators (and the dog who got a zap on his tongue yesterday).

No signs of moulting.  All seem very happy and healthy and loving to stretch their wings in the enclosure. The children love them to bits but as for the "pets that lay eggs" are now the "pets that don't".  Help please.

[kt.]

The hens must of been older than 10 weeks to lay eggs.  They usually start to lay around 20wks,  some can lay from 17-18 weeks though.  I had a similar problem last year.  The hens started eating the eggs.  This started when I introduced 3 hens I was given by another allotmenteer.  (I won't take hens now unless from a reputable place, and will only buy point of lay).

If this is so - You need to identify which one it is soonest.  Once one starts,  the others will join in.  It is diffiucult to stop them once they start.  I tried all sorts for 2 months, no joy.  In the end I culled them and got new flock.  Topic is here:

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,33141.0.html

[northener]

MMmm sounds funny. Are they free range? Have they got grass to peck at? Ours go off laying if we can't get down to let them run about.

[Philbasford]

personally i would go bk to giving them layers pellets for starters

[chickadoodle]

I would agree with Philbasford, go back to layers pellets.  Mixed grain is really only a bedtime treat that is slow to digest and keeps them going overnight.  Layers pellets give them all they need to lay. 


20 eggs from 17 hens is going some    ???   certinly if they are only 12 weeks old   ???  ???

[cocopops]

Hopefully the layers pellets I bought today will help them on their way again.  I will scattter the 'old' seed around their enclosure as a treat.

They have an enclosed pen which is long enough for them to run and get airborn, but not be able to get over the top.  I posted pictures on a previous thread about them.

They were apparently ten weeks old on 30th April and we hit our egg peak on about the w/k ending 14th June.  They were bred to be battery layers (warrens), and due to over supply they should have been killed but luckily we managed to get them.

Thanks for the advice.

[Poet]

for hens to lay they need to be eating layers mash or layers pellets, corn and scraps should only be fed as treats.  A hen who is overdosed on treats is less likely to lay.  Let them fill up on pellets and give them a little something in the evening in the way of a treat.