You made the plunge into starting your cost-effective chicken coops.
You have the perfectly designed coop, almost a coop-condo.
The chicken pasture is field-fenced and electrified for deterring predators.
Everything is going perfectly, your hens are even laying...
and then...
they slow down or stop all together laying eggs.
What's wrong? There are as many things that could be causing your chickens to stop laying as there have been articles written about it.
But there are a few common issues to look at first.
Here are a few: • Predators are eating the eggs, most commonly rats.
• Molting may be the issue some hens won't lay when molting.
• Disrupted coop, a happy coop makes lots of eggs.
• Season, temperature plays a role in how many eggs are laid.
• Disease, some diseases will translate into fewer eggs.
• Age, older hens will taper off or stop all together laying eggs.
Rats are one of the number one predators that love to get into a chicken coop.
They thrill to roll those precious eggs of to feed their young.
It can be quite a daunting task to get rid of them.
At approximately one year of age it is normal for chickens to loose their feathers and then grow in new feathers.
This is called molting.
At this time, laying may become sporadic.
Too many roosters in the coop or some other discord between coop-mates can disrupt laying.
Not only will arguments among your many roosters upset the hens but they can become more vicious with the hens causing harm.
It's not unheard of for a rooster anxious to steal another hen away from a male to grab her by the scruff of the neck and fling her around.
But don't rule out disease or the overall age of your hen, when evaluating why your chickens have stopped laying.
Just like any other animal hens can have health issues also.
Everything from viruses to skin conditions to problems with their inner workings.
It is tremendously hard on them physically when laying those larger eggs.
These are just a few of the existing issues that a new chicken farmer may want to investigate when their hens aren't laying well.
When egg production falls off, as with any problem, it is always best to step-by-step evaluate the most probable issues first.
Eliminating these common issues one-by-one will help you find the problem in a cost-effective way.
You have the perfectly designed coop, almost a coop-condo.
The chicken pasture is field-fenced and electrified for deterring predators.
Everything is going perfectly, your hens are even laying...
and then...
they slow down or stop all together laying eggs.
What's wrong? There are as many things that could be causing your chickens to stop laying as there have been articles written about it.
But there are a few common issues to look at first.
Here are a few: • Predators are eating the eggs, most commonly rats.
• Molting may be the issue some hens won't lay when molting.
• Disrupted coop, a happy coop makes lots of eggs.
• Season, temperature plays a role in how many eggs are laid.
• Disease, some diseases will translate into fewer eggs.
• Age, older hens will taper off or stop all together laying eggs.
Rats are one of the number one predators that love to get into a chicken coop.
They thrill to roll those precious eggs of to feed their young.
It can be quite a daunting task to get rid of them.
At approximately one year of age it is normal for chickens to loose their feathers and then grow in new feathers.
This is called molting.
At this time, laying may become sporadic.
Too many roosters in the coop or some other discord between coop-mates can disrupt laying.
Not only will arguments among your many roosters upset the hens but they can become more vicious with the hens causing harm.
It's not unheard of for a rooster anxious to steal another hen away from a male to grab her by the scruff of the neck and fling her around.
But don't rule out disease or the overall age of your hen, when evaluating why your chickens have stopped laying.
Just like any other animal hens can have health issues also.
Everything from viruses to skin conditions to problems with their inner workings.
It is tremendously hard on them physically when laying those larger eggs.
These are just a few of the existing issues that a new chicken farmer may want to investigate when their hens aren't laying well.
When egg production falls off, as with any problem, it is always best to step-by-step evaluate the most probable issues first.
Eliminating these common issues one-by-one will help you find the problem in a cost-effective way.
Source...