[Robin Redbreast]

ok we were getting eggs regularly every day off my chooks we have 30 26 are females so some poor cockerels are going in the pan shortly lol. i have been keeping chickens a long time they have fresh water every day food by way of mash down all day they are very active and have corn sprayed about every other day but alas we havent been getting any eggs now for about two weeks has this happened to anyone else. i thought maybe the colder darker weather might have done it but then  i thought back to previous years and yes they do go off the boil but usually gradually!? :?:

[Wannabee]

I have 10 hen and they have slowed down the last couple of weeks I now get 3 eggs a day. Could anything be eating the eggs?

[Robin Redbreast]

we do have a level of rats that my friends jack russel enjoys having a play with but i cant think of anything else but they were there before it is doin my head in. :idea:

[Wannabee]

Rats do like eggs... I had a case here where one of my hens were eating the eggs, we burned her beak ith a hot poker done the trick

[Robin Redbreast]

that sounds a bit harsh but if it works!  i have had egg eaters before and they usually leave some trail of egg or yolk but not a trace :roll:

[Wannabee]

Are they in an enclosure or free to roam

[Robin Redbreast]

both depends on what i have planted out by way of veg and where it is in the growth cycle.

[Vember]

What breed of hens are they?

Have you checked them over for other problems ie Poops ok?, no sneezing or wheezing?

My personal fav Lice/ mites, check round their vents - can put hen's off laying
How old are they?

Sarah

[Wannabee]

Could they be laying somewhere else? Its highly unlikely that they would completely stop laying...

[Robin Redbreast]

i have a mixed bunch of (black rocks *2) (morans*4) (hybrids now have 12), leghorns and a couple of broodies. havent checked for mites yet as have never had that problem before what do you treat them with for lice and mites and suchlike? :?:  :?:

[Vember]

If they have Lice for a quick cure I have used Johnson's Anti mite & insect spray, you can get it from most pet shops, doesn't kill the eggs though so have to re treat in a week in case any new ones have hatched

Have a read through this it tell you all about the nasties and how to treat them etc...

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=5250


Sarah

[Robin Redbreast]

thanx for that will look into it straight away and let you know how i get on!
they say ya learn something new every day i just did great link that one ta!  

[Aunt Sally]

I had a case here where one of my hens were eating the eggs, we burned her beak ith a hot poker done the trick

Well that sounds very cruel to me  :!:  Chickens have very sensitive beaks :!:   I'm certain that will be very painful  :evil:

It's akin to the cruel practice of beak trimming  :!:

[Oliveview]

Aunt Sally, they trim the beaks of the hens here, it isn´t nice is it?  All our POLs have had their beaks trimmed.  

We had 8-9 eggs a day, then went suddenly down to 1,2, or 3 then up to 6 and back to 3, then up to 6, they can´t be relied on now for eggs   Ours (some) are in moult and the reduction in egg laying came as the weather cooled.  We have 9 hens that should be laying, we got 3 eggs today, 6 yesterday. So who knows what we will get tomorrow!  We have a neighbour who buys a dozen eggs a week and the other neighbours cousin has been buying a dozen a week (or more if we have them) for the last month- we´ve hardly eaten any eggs ourselves!! Don´t want to let our regular customer at least down!

[woodburner]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that trimming beaks, is akin to cutting nails, or wing clipping. If done properly, the bird is not hurt, and in fact the beak will regrow.

The problems come when birds beaks are trimmed 'en masse' with a mechanical trimmer set to the average size of beak. When a bird with a smaller than average beak is 'done', it's beak goes further in and so gets more trimmed off. A bad case will mean that the bird will have trouble eating until it's beak regrows, in a really bad case the beak will be unable to regrow properly.   :evil:  :cry:

In general, traditionally kept birds, don't need their beaks trimmed as the main reason for trimming is to reduce the damage caused by the excessive pecking that happens when too many birds are kept in too small an area. However, sometimes it is necessary, e.g when a beak has a split, that keeps catching on things.
I'd not heard of it being used to stop a hen from breaking eggs, but it stands to reason that it could work. Hopefully, by the time the beak has regrown, the hen will have forgotten how yummy eggs are!