A little over a month ago, I purchased 35 laying age hens. Since that purchase, I have gotten about a dozen eggs. I think the hens have something wrong with them but I'm not sure. All of their combs are turning pale and a lot of them make a coughing sound. I've put out oyster shell and worm medicine but I have noticed no improvement. Can somebody please give me an idea of what to do to improve my egg production.

At least you have gotten a dozen eggs. We raised chicks this spring that are now about 25 weeks old. They are a mixed bunch with some Rhode Island Reds, Araucanas, Black Sex Link. Not an egg have they laid yet. They are huge, fat, healthy, glossy feathered, beautiful animals but all they care to do to a nest is stand in it and poop. Their coop is well ventilated, there is always fresh water available (they eat their feed very quickly so are somewhat rationed), so who knows.

Ok first of all the first message If you can email me telling me how old they are that will help.

And number 2 message you have a while for the chicks to start laying they lay in about 4-7 months and You probably have Ameraucana's not Araucana's

My Email is Fishbra955@aol.com

perhaps they need more protien - as in cat food- dry added to thier diet?

i have white chickens that came from a broiler house as chicks. they are approx 10 months old have yet to get the first egg! people tell me that they will start when the weather warms alittle, boy i sure hope so! these things are costing alot to feed with no production! they are very healthy. can someone give me some good news? or some pointers will do. i do not know what breed they are, but that shouldn't make any difference.

Don't forget light! All layers need from 12-15 hours of light every day in order to lay. If they go without enough light for a few weeks, they may not lay again until spring. Good luck.

I think sueskarin is right. It sounds like there isn't enouph protein. You should try to change their diet.

I have 5 - 6 month old chickens. One is a white leghorn, one a brown leghorn, 2 barred rocks and 1 Rhode Island Red. The white leghhorn has begun to lay sporatically. Today we went out and found an egg that did not have a hard shell. We do not know what chicken it came from. The membrane was formed but had a tear in it. Do I have a sick chicken or is this normal for young hens?

i have a small flock of laying hen approximately 180. this layer were goting about 45 day ago as 4 to 5 mo. old. one was sick and cent to state lab the diagnose was CAPILLARIA and mites. what is a treatment for this and i sell the eggs.

The Merck Veterinary Manual, 8th edition, lists three capillaria species which infect poultry. One requires earthworms as an intermediate host, one may use them or may not, and one infects poultry directly, without an intermediate host. Consult your local veterinarian with the results and let him/her prescribe a wormer. The sheet that comes with the wormer should list the withdrawal times for eggs and meat, or your vet should be able to find this in a desk reference for you.
For your mites, a dust bath with fine sand or dirt, clean wood ashes, and diatomaceous earth should allow your birds to rid themselves. For 180 hens, it will take several bath areas for them all to get in and get relief. Hope this helps.

For those of you who are not getting eggs - I was just curious to know if this is your first experience with chickens and if you are sure you got hens, not roosters. I really don't mean to be insulting to anyone's intelligence, but this has happened to people who are new at this.

I have to agree about the protein. The quality of the feed does make a big difference. Our girls began cutting back on egg production until I gave them some of the higher protein feed left over from the chicks. Egg production picked up quickly.

I have raised chickens now for about 2 years and was wondering what you people are talking about when you say (dust bath) I have never heard of this and was wondering what it is and what its for.

If you observe chickens out on range in the summer when it is dry, they will scratch places in the ground, then get down in the dust and dirt and fluff dust up into their feathers and on their backs. Almost any place which will produce fine dirt and dust particles will do. This is a natural way for chickens to kill external parasites, and seems to be very enjoyable to them as well. Our leghorns would come out of this dust area looking more charcoal-colored than white, and it would linger in their feathers for much of the day if they did not shake it all out. Even cooped up in the winter time, our hens scratch down in the bedding and do a little of this now.

Question: What is diatomaceous earth, and where do you find it?

Egg suggestions:
Not laying enough eggs? Problems are usually related to protein, light, and nutrition variety. Try upping the amount of laying pellets per hen; 2)Feed the flock a wide variety of table scraps, including meat scraps and increase the amount of light in the coop.

Flimsy eggs? Chickens must have calcium in their diets. If they're laying, crush the egg shells and give them back to the flock. If not, it's cheap to buy a back of calcium. Just spread it with the food.

Diatomaceous earth is the finely ground fossilized bodies of diatoms. It acts like ground glass, with many sharp edges to cut soft and segmented bugs. You can usually find it at swimming pool stores (I think it's used in the filtration system) and sometimes at garden stores. It makes a great bug dust in your garden.
I feed oyster shells free choice out of a little hopper feeder. This lets them decide how much they need. Hope this helps.

I had a rooster and two hens, both hens are great layers. Three weeks ago my rooster was killed and one of my hens disapeared. We thought that she was killed as well but come to find out she was just sitting on eggs. I found her under the manger while cleaning my horse's stall. She had hatched out nine fuzzy little chicks. My question is: What do I do?!!! I am a new mother at this:)Help Email me info at mcmhorse@planetc.com Thanks!

All you have to do is protect them from predators, and provide adequate food and water. (Dip the beaks of the chicks in the water to make sure they are drinking.) We have a chicken wire biddy pen which new broods go into with mom. They stay there continuously for at least a few days to make it home, then they are let out during the day. Beware! You have a predator about capable of offing a rooster, and whatever it is will be making a return trip to find more. Make sure the top on your pen cannot be opened by cats or coons. The wire on the sides must be securely fastened, and the whole thing must be heavy enough or weighted down so it can't be entered from the bottom. It should be large enough so that paws pushed in from the outside can't reach those inside if they are in the middle. Chickens are practically blind in the dark, so take this into consideration when you build to protect them.

I have had chickens for about 4 years. I have 5 hens that old and added 6 more 1 year later. I also have a rooster. I had a Very good yield on the eggs until about 1 or 2 months ago. I get (maybe) 1 egg every 2 weeks. They seem healthy. I have wormed them. I have given them powdered vitamins, table scraps, and a laying crumble that was supposed to increase egg laying. If someone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Many hens stop laying when the days ge short, so if you live in the norther hemisphere that is problebly the problem. Hope it helps.

YoYo

At their ages, you can expect egg production to be considerably reduced overall, and even more susceptible to the changes in the seasons. Length of day, stresses, diet, water, all those things affect laying. I would consider you very fortunate to have managed good egg production for as long as you did. To maintain production levels will probably mean getting some new birds.

hi every one, My chickens have started to eat there eggs. What can I do about this? Do I have to butcher them and start over? Or is there somthing lacking in there diet? they get plenty of food, water light,grit and room. They are Road Island reds and Bard Rocks.I get 12 to 14 eggs a day from 16 birds, now they lay only 2,3,4, a day or every other day. If any one could help I sure would appreciate it.

Hi its me again, I forgot to tell you that my hens are going to be 2 July 2001.

You don't mention that you feed them oyster shells free choice. If you don't, start this immediately and let them have all they want. At their age, they will be depleted of calcium if you haven't been feeding shells. We use a little hopper feeder that hangs on the wall at a convenient level and fill it whenever it gets low. Our hens are currently eating LOTS of shells! I also clean out any nest that has had a broken egg in it and put in new straw. It also helps to put in a fake egg or a golf ball in a different nest. This attracts them to a new place where the old routine is not established.
Hope this helps.

Thank you so much, Dr.Bruce. Yes I do feed oyster shell,Apparently, Not as much as I should be.I will give it to them free choice and see what happens.You are allso correct on the nest boxes. I have 1 for each chicken and I sometimes collect 6 eggs from 1 box.
Would a plastic easter egg work as well? They happen to be different colors, Not white, will that make a difference? Allso I feed them left over homemade bread with cod liver oil rubed on it. Could I feed them cod liver oil with spearmint? Its all the drug store had. I have a rooster a friend gave me I have no idea what breed he is. He has a biege neck, white body,and blue green tail feathers, his comb is flat with spikes all over it. I have no clue. If any one knows what breed rooster this is would be helpful.

The plastic egg might work if you put some weight in it and glued it shut. Better yet would be a wooden egg from a craft store. They have them at places like Jo-Ann fabric and other stores that cater to crafters, and they are pretty cheap. We got some recently for 85 cents. Sorry I can't help you on the breed(s) of your rooster. Good luck.