[gingerplant]

Hi everyone,
We have 10 chickens now; 5 chicks about 9-10 weeks old (we think 3 cockerels amongst them but not sure yet), and 5 grown up hens :-)
A few weeks ago we were getting 3-4 eggs per day from the grown ups, but they've slowed right down, to 0-1 egg per day in the last week.  One is broody, so we count her out  but the others have no good reason to be on strike as far as we can see...
the only ideas I have are:
- we went away for a week and our neighbour (despite strict instructions!) gave them corn every day instead of layers (got back a week ago)
- the cockerels are maturing and upsetting the pecking order and everyone is very unsettled (we have two hen houses and they have been playing musical houses for the last week, everyone in different places every night!)
- i decided to give them all growers instead of layers because the chicks were eating the grown ups' layers and the grown ups were eating the growers, so decided to plum for the same for all... by using up all the growers pellets.  in retrospect would it be better to give them all layers?
However, they are very free range in a small meadow area (15m x 20m i guess) with lots of long grass, a compost heap, other wild flowers, apples & cherries from the trees, shells and grit freely available and leftover scraps sometimes too, so I would hope they were getting enough balance for laying?

Anyone got any bright ideas?!
 
Thanks
PS  how do I post pictures? - they are long overdue!

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Gingerplant!

My gilrs are not laying much either at the moment, could be all this changeable weather, as well as a mixture of all your other little things going on there!  Today I got 12 eggs from 26 layers!

Try this for your photo's!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=19476.0

Good luck looking forward to seeing your photo's!

[henamoured]

Mine have slowed down too in the last week. Have been thinking of a mini moult (there are a few feathers around), or perhaps the shorter days as they're going to bed about an hour and a half earlier. I've been stricter about diet, giving them less treats but have only had about 3 eggs this week from my two older hens who are coming up to one year old.
PS Your meadow sounds lovely but I just wondered about the long grass you mention as I know it can cause impacted crop if the hens eat long blades and they get twisted up in the crop and aren't broken down and digested. I know it's nothing to do with the egg work to rule but one of mine had this so I thought I'd mention it - although I was lucky and it cleared after a day's starvation.

[gingerplant]

Thanks everyone, I feel reassured now.  Getting one egg a day from 4 who are supposedly laying    I have started to be stricter on treats and will have to just wait and see i guess.

Here's one of the girls who's always been very reliable but has gone on strike!

[compostqueen]

your older girls should be on layers pellets from about 16 weeks old 

[gingerplant]

They have been, until the chicks have been integrated; it's been impossible to feed them different stuff as they all free range and share feeders, so I opted for growers for all rather than layers for all - thought it would be the best compromise, but perhaps layers for all would be a better compromise? Confused!