HelpfulGardener.com

We have nine laying chickens that we got about a year ago. Yet it seems since they started laying, they are either molting or brooding. Hence, we only get about two eggs a day from nine layers. It seems we put so much food into them and are getting very little back
What should we be doing differently? Is there something we should be doing that we aren't?

The chicken actually are only around a year old. We got them when they were about six days old. All nine of them are the Buff Orpington breed, which is supposed to have the record of laying 364 days a year In terms of the amount of daylight they get each day, they have a run below the coop for them to range in but are too afraid to climb down. So their sun intake is not very good. Sometimes we will gather them all and put them down below, but probably not often enough. They don't free range. We feed them with chicken feed and sometimes with leftovers from our table (oatmeal, corn, bread, etc) Thank you so much for your help....

For the last two years, I've been reading the daily blog of a quilter who had her own chickens (Red Stars and Americaunas (?)). Sadly, her husband's work transferred him, so she gave her hens away just a few months ago.

Anyhow...one of the treats the girls liked was ==> dandelion flowers! YES! so if the dandelions get ahead of you, just go around snapping off the flowers and feed them to the egg-layers. They'll snap them up, according to the so-far-reliable blogger/quilter/hen mom.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Are you sure that no hen eats your eggs? Some year ago my hens laid fewer eggs and I didn't understand the cause until when I saw a hen eating the eggs. Then I killed that hen and the problem was solved.

Our chickens lay about 80% of the time during the first 1-2 years and before molting. This season has been very slow averaging less than 2 eggs per day from ten chickens that are 2-3 years old. Between molting and chilly, short sunlight days, the chickens have been very stingy with their laying. From now on we will add 2-3 new chicks per year, to insure at least a dozen eggs per week year round.

Try mixing cayenne pepper into their feed.

Is that a serious recommendation? I was curious because I thought birds can't taste the capsaicin and that's why they sell winter bird suet cakes with hot pepper in them that are supposed to discourage squirrels....

Yep serious recommendation. You are right, they don't taste it, but some say it works to get hens laying again.

I think the hotness of the pepper is suppose to jump there metabolism just like we feel the heat, they would too. I have never tried it.

Once a week catfood or flax added to their wheat works for me. Of course I have programmable lighting that turns on at 4 am and goes off about 9 am when the daylight starts to come in there windows. I have 52 hens and average 35 to 40 eggs daily even with our cold snaps we have of -27 and wind chills of -50. No decrease in laying. In the fall I got about 45eggs. But I have chickens for production and do not get attached so I start 25 pullets every year and only keep hens for two years before they become soup. To many health issues as they get older for me.

Getting ready to start some chicks incubating. So moving roosters around. Looking forward to spring.

Marlingardener wrote:The elderly ladies will teach the newcomers the ropes, and all will live happily together, we hope!

HaHa, does this happen?

I seem to have the few hens who feel they are always queens and the a few who are always the underdogs, so I wouldn't call mine happily living together especially since I moved my roosters around so I can get ready to start incubating soon. He can personally tell you where the term hen pecked comes from. HaHa. But these are Rhode Island Reds. But for the most part they have the pecking order down and get along. This is the first year I have had leghorns expecting these super layers but they are crazy and give me a third less eggs than the reds. I love to try new breeds but so far I keep going back to the RIRs.

We started with 3 Australorps and the RI Reds. Two of the Australorps were killed in the first year. Adjustments were made in our enclosure security and 3 sex link and three barred rocks were bought the next year. Just as with marlingardener , our new chicks were placed in an adjacent, attatched enclosure. When the chicks were full sized were started opening the door between. The flock integrated very quickly with no significant aggression.