Egg laying chickens (layers) are one of the most rewarding and profitable chickens to rare according to poultry farmers and back yard keepers. But one of the challenges poultry farmers face is decline in egg laying in chicken, chicken start to produce fewer eggs and some completely stops laying eggs, luckily most of the causes of this problem can be identified and solved specifically
Here are the causes of a decline in egg laying in your chicken
1. Poor nutrition and Feeding
Chickens need to be fed clean and balanced diet food containing calcium, proteins, vitamins and clean water, if your hens lack nutrients like calcium that helps in the egg formation and strengthening and proteins for egg development, it may lead them to stop or lay fewer eggs.
2. Age of the chicken
The age of the chicken also matters, hens start laying eggs from 5_8 months and they can lay eggs for one to two years. When chickens grow old, their egg productivity naturally decreases from laying on a daily basis to occasionally or stops completely.
3. Day light
Ensure your chickens receive enough day light at least 14 _16 hours a day for their body stimulation it also helps them in regulating their egg production and maintaining consistency in their egg production.
4. Stress and Environmental changes
Chickens can temporary stop laying eggs or reduce in number because of stress and the changes in the surrounding. Changes like relocating the hens to new places, loud noises, mixing of new flock with old ones and more. As a farmer ensure a safe, quiet and calm environment for your chicken.
5. Molting
This is a process when most especially old hens shade off some fathers and grow new ones, during this process chicken use most of their energy to regrow new feathers than developing and laying eggs. Molting is a natural process and it can last for a few weeks or a month.
6. Illness and parasites
Egg production in hens my drop suddenly because they are ill and infected with parasites like internal worms, and external ones for example mites and lice, all these parasites cause stress in chicken and end up laying fewer eggs. Regularly make a health checkup and deworming.
7. Brooding
Some hens after laying eggs don’t leave but instead they remain and sit on eggs to hatch them, it’s called going broody. Chicken tend to put much of their focus on hatching eggs than laying. Ensure that you collect all the eggs after laying them or use another system like the chicken cage system where by the hens after laying eggs can’t access them.
In conclusion
A decline in egg laying in chicken doesn’t stop you from poultry keeping by monitoring your chicken on a daily basis can help you encounter most of the challenges one by one on their early stage and by doing this it will help you get consistence egg output from your chicken.
Informative 💪🙏
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