Still Struggling with Egg Production

We are still struggling to get our egg production up to where it should be. We are having trouble keeping up with sales. We are feeding an equal mix of lay crumble and scratch. There are plenty of nesting boxes, lots of room, an endless water supply, and a hanging feeder. What more can I do to make these girls happy?

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  • If your scratch is strictly vegetable matter, lean more heavily on the feed, as others have said. We feed a supplemental amount of feed in the morning, but the majority of our girls' diet is from roaming the pasture. That means they get plenty of vegetable greens, but they also get a large amount of seed and bugs. So if you reduced your scratch and increased bugs...well...it might be easier to add more feed.  :)

  • They will lay off during a molt, or when feeling broody...age is also a factor

  • The light shouldn't be a factor this time of year as long as they have light from dawn to dusk but over-crowding and diet will definitely make a difference.

    I'm feeding a good quality organic feed with only garden scraps as supplements, no artificial light and free-range during most of the day.

    I get 6-9 eggs a day from 9 chickens.  Most days I get 7 or 8.

  • I have 4 birds all the same age. 2 of them have been laying almost daily for about a month  now. The other 2 have done nothing.

    I have a friend that just started working at a hatchery in New Mexico. He said they have eggs every day because they keep the lights on 24 hrs a day. Im not saying this is the best thing to do, but perhaps a *LITTLE* more light will help?

  • I second the scratch comment. I was always told not to give scratch at all unless it's during a time when the girls aren't laying as much like if it is very cold and you just want to give them a treat. My rule of thumb is no scratch at all, and if I want to give treats I give veggies and fruit.

  • Don't feed so much scratch.  Scratch should be a treat and the layer feed should be their main diet.

  • Track  nighttime temperatures, and extend "daylight". be sure they are not overcrowded--although overcrowding is common on production farms, my girls always laid better when they had room to flap.

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