[Bumblebear]

Our little flock of 9 (8 girls and their man) have suddenly dropped from a regular 5 a day to 2 for the last couple of days!  Could it be the sharp change in weather?  Anyone else found this in their flock?

The ducks though?  A regular 2 out of the 3 of them. 

[hughesy]

Fluctuations in egg production are normal. If you're getting 5 a day from 8 hens then 3 of them aren't laying on any given day. It's just the natural cycle and things will pick back up in a few days.

[Bumblebear]

We know who lays because of the colour eggs and we've been getting 3 blue ones daily from the ones we bred last year - but now we get just one!  The others are a bit freeloady, bless them, as they are hybrids that we rescued who occasionally give us a brown egg or 2 between them...

[omnipeasant]

My quail had stopped altogether, but now the sun is out they are producing again. Can't be the marriages quail food after only one day, so yes, it is the weather.

[sokel]

UWe have been getting between 15-20 Eggs a day. But for the last 3 days only had 6 !
Even kept them in today thinking they had found somewhere to lay away but still only 6

[tobytoby]

Mine too - must be the lovely scottish weather? We went from 16/17 to 9/17 in 1 week, we too have been busy searching the woods for those that lay away?

[ellied]

Yep, I had mine laying 6-7 a day (8 girls) right through 2 weeks where I couldn't sell them due to spraying them with yet another thing from the vet that seems to have made little difference except to 1 hen   They were allowed back to saleable eggs on Friday and since then have had 3s and 4s, the day after the heaviest rain there were 2 but they had been driven back into the coop that day it was so bad so I guess there wasn't enough daylight to cause ovulation

I'm back at about 5 now, but I had to turn a customer away twice now and it's annoying as I have 5 dozen from the 2 week layoff that I couldn't give them

[graham-j]

Hi,my birds have been on and of all year due to this changeable weather we have been having.If your best birds are a year old it could be they are coming into molt where they shed there feathers and grow new ones.They will stop laying as they do this for a couple of 3 weeks.
Some high protein treats such as a small tin of fish cat food can give them a boost at help them through this a little quicker.

Graham.

[chrismahon]

Ours have been like Graham-j's, very variable. They are all Pedigrees so when they moult it will be 6 to 10 weeks with no eggs. We give them maggots for the extra protein they need, but sunflower hearts and mealworms are nearly as good. The old books used to advocate a tiny bit of raw mince to help, but this is now illegal and can encourage cannibalism anyway. I don't like the idea of chickens smelling of fish and it can get through to the taste of any eggs I have heard.

[graham-j]

Hi,I haven't ever noticed my birds or eggs smelling of fish.I would only advocate its use as a booster when a bird or birds are at a low such as in molt any way.A third of a tin for about 20 hens is gone with out trace in about 30 seconds.

Graham.

[plt102]

Ours got a bit of a cold with all the wet weather. Added some poultry tonic to their water and some poultry spice to their feed and wormed them. They ten had a moult and are back to full lay so a bit of tlc should perk your ladies up, good luck.