Why do not chickens rush and what to do?

In the production of egg production birds increase modern means, which guarantees constant productivity. But in order for the hen to carry eggs, she needs to create the appropriate conditions. There are many factors that may be the reason why the chickens stopped nesting. To fix a problem, you need to identify its source.

Top 9 reasons for lower egg production

Scientists have identified nine main reasons why chickens stop laying eggs. Violation of conditions of maintenance, diet, stressful situations and belonging to the breed play an important role in the process of egg production.

Changes in daylight or improperly organized artificial light can lead to an imbalance in the body of the bird, which will affect its egg production and egg quality. Chicken for a normal state of health is required to provide light day from 12 to 15 hours. And since in winter you cannot get the right amount of light during the day with the help of the sun, it is therefore recommended to install lamps with warm white or dim red light. If the bird is inside the premises without walking, then the lighting should be strictly adjusted by the hour.

Temperature

If the chicken coop is too cold or too hot, the number of eggs taken from the hens will decrease dramatically, and the winter time is dangerous because chickens may freeze. The temperature of chickens is an important factor affecting egg production. The optimum air temperature is from 12 to 18 degrees Celsius.

If you want to get eggs from layers all year round, in the winter you need to carry out additional heating in the hen house and ensure that there are no drafts, and in the summer you should well ventilate the room with nests daily.

Air humidity

If the hen is kept in a room with very dry air, this will affect its feather cover, various kinds of dermatitis may begin. High humidity is also bad. In order to prevent problems with the health of the bird, you need to regularly ventilate the chicken coops, avoiding drafts.

Stressful situations

Stress associated with changing habitat takes about one to two weeks. If after that the bird has not entered, the problem should be looked for in something else: in conditions of maintenance, nutritional value of the food, safety of the nest location, health problems. Stress can be caused by several reasons:

• moving the hens to a new place
• bad nest location (loud noise, constant movement near the nest, etc.),
• a rat or other potentially dangerous animal settled in the hen house.

To ensure good egg production, it is necessary to protect the hens from similar stressful situations.

Proper nutrition is the key to getting a good amount of eggs from layers. You can not underfeed or overfeed the bird - everything should be in moderation:

• food 4 times (autumn and winter),
• three meals a day during free range in summer,
• necessarily wet mash, daily,
• availability of sufficient amount of clean water in drinking bowls throughout the day, especially in summer,
• strict adherence to laying hens.

The diet should be varied, include a mixture of cereals, green fodder, as well as a complex of vitamins and minerals. If you have noticed the appearance of eggs without shell, then you can give in addition to the main feed: shell, crushed chalk, ground egg shells, other natural sources of calcium.

Seasonal changes

Egg laying chickens directly depends on the time of year. Most of the problems because of which the laying hens cease to trot are based precisely on this variable factor.

• Summer. The main summer dangers of reducing egg production are diseases, calcium deficiency, the presence of rat laying near the nest. If the bird is healthy, is not defeated by parasites and rats are not found nearby, then it is possible that the hen is already old or belonged to cross-breeds, which quickly squander their potential. There are cases when the bird itself pecks up its eggs due to a lack of nutrients.
• Autumn. During this period, chickens begin to change plumage. During molting chickens practically do not rush, the body rests. There is a way to shift the timing of the process. Shedding begins when the feed becomes less, the temperature gradually decreases, the light day decreases. In the last week of August, you can drive chickens into a chicken coop and artificially create the atmosphere of the coming autumn. The process of molting will end much earlier than usual, and October - November you will observe increased egg production.
• Winter. At this time, the hens often have a break. A decrease in the number of eggs produced from laying hens is a normal phenomenon, but their complete absence indicates a violation of the conditions of the birds. In winter, it is very important to control the temperature of the chicken coop, its lighting, to organize enough area for the birds for normal life, to protect them from animals and predators, as well as to provide them with good nutrition.
• Spring. In the spring, many breeders make a very serious mistake - they open the coop too early, allowing cold drafts to get inside. Together with a lack of vitamins, such an error can lead to a break in the layers. If this happens, you should not worry much - as soon as it becomes warm, the egg production will get better, but next year the owner must remember his mistake, so as not to stay in the spring without a sufficient amount of product. After all, in spring, eggs are needed not only for food, but also for raising offspring of chickens.

Age changes

To understand why chickens do not rush, it is necessary to take into account their age. If the chicken belongs to pullets, that is, has not reached the age of two years, then its egg production should be at its peak. The lack of eggs in such a hen may indicate that the hen is sick, is under stress due to a change of residence, gets used to the new food, etc.

When selling an adult hen, you could have been lying about her age. To exclude this possibility, it is recommended to purchase hatching eggs or young animals up to two weeks old. But always remember that the largest number of eggs can be expected only in the first two years of life. With age, the chicken production rate of chickens decreases annually by about a quarter, which cannot be affected in any way. After the bird reaches 5 years, the meaning of keeping it for eggs disappears.

Chickens have many breeds. Some of them are carried every day, others are not.

• If you buy chickens to get eggs, then you should choose a breed of egg direction. Such a bird can produce more than 300 eggs per year. But in this case one cannot expect high quality meat.
• Universal version - layers of meat-beating direction. A good breed produces about 200 units of product per year, while the meat of these birds is of good quality.
• Chose a chicken meat? Expect a large number of eggs from it is not necessary at all, so when making a purchase, be careful in choosing a breed.

Hatching instinct

The instinct of brooding is a special behavior that may occur in chickens in spring and summer. If you notice that the layer has ceased to carry eggs, rarely gets up from the nest, trying to steal eggs from other hens, then there is no doubt - the bird has a nasi instinct.

To remedy the situation, if you do not need chickens, you need to get a cage with edges of about 0.7 m.

1. The kuru is planted there and put other birds in the free-walking area, providing it with enough food and water.
2. After 2-3 days in the same cage for a day or two put a rooster.
3. After this period, in the evening, the birds are released to the rest.

If this procedure did not help, then it should be repeated, extending the time the layer was kept locked.

When the hen returns to the others, the ability to carry eggs again will manifest itself within two weeks.

Summarize

There are several reasons why the hens are badly born or stop laying eggs at all:

• malnutrition,
• poor conditions
• stress,
• presence of a predator nearby,
• age,
• molting period
• various diseases
• the instinct of brooding,
• wrong choice of breed.

Having determined exactly what the problem is, one can draw conclusions and return egg production to the chicken.

Dmitry V. Morozov

Hereditary poultry farmer, owner of a poultry farm, graduated from St. Petersburg State Agrarian University with honors, the author of articles in specialized publications

Causes affecting egg laying chickens

In the process of keeping birds in captivity, people gain invaluable experience that helps to identify and systematize the main reasons for the decline (termination) of egg production. We offer the following systematization of reasons:

Dependent on conditions of detention:

• lighting,
• nutrition,
• ambient temperature
• stress,
• diseases (conditionally attributed to this category, since conditions of detention largely determine the presence or absence of the disease).

Chickens in the hen house

Physiological:

• breed,
• age,
• molt (conditionally attributed to this category)

Natural:

• seasonality
• influence of solar and lunar cycles
• geomagnetic storms and other natural phenomena.

Let us consider in more detail each cause separately.

For normal productivity of laying hens need a light day around 12-15 hours. Light exposure on the body of the bird is associated with its effect on the optic nerve, hypothalamus, the release of certain substances that stimulate hormones. They, in turn, affect the work of the ovaries. We will not delve into the anatomical subtleties of this process. Suffice it to say that the relationship between the length of daylight and egg production definitely exists.

Coop lighting

It is advisable gradually increase the light day associated with the beginning of the laying: first set at 10-12 hours, gradually raise to 14-15. A sharp increase in daylight hours will not give good positive results. If the bird is in a room with small windows or without them at all (with a walking type of content), it is better to take part of the backyard or summer cottage for walking outside, not indoors. The goal is more room for movement, an increase in daylight. If the content of the hens is cellularit is advisable to install not incandescent lamps, but fluorescent lamps. It is important that the nests themselves do not have solid gloom or bright light. Light shading is enough.

Properly compiled diet and feeding period - recipe for success. Often, poultry farmers face two related problems that are directly dependent on nutrition. This is the absence or reduction of egg production and the problem associated with the fact that birds peck eggs. Both in the first and in the second case there is only one root - the lack of necessary vitamins and trace elements in the diet. In addition, oversupply leads to obesity, which negatively affects the normal number of eggs throughout the year.

In the feed should be a sufficient amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates, mineral salts, vitamins. The basis of the ration of layers is whole grain: wheat, corn, barley, triticale, oats, rye - all this can be given as feed. It is recommended to alternate in the diet of grain of different cultures. It is not necessary to mix 5-6 types of grain in one feeding. Otherwise, they choose what they like. The rest is trampled or scraped.

Feeding laying hens

Lack of vitamins and microelements pushes the hen to compensate for the lack of them by pecking the eggs laid. In this regard, you need to take a series of measures:

• timely remove eggs from nests, because the chicken can crush them by accident and peck at it. This quickly becomes a habit, and it is very difficult to wean poultry from such actions,
• make nests spacious and in sufficient quantity so that the hen can occupy the free nest,
• diet do in such a way that it contains enough trace elements and vitamins. One of the ways to replenish these substances is to add grated cockleshell and ground eggs to feed,
• when added to the shells feed It is important to ensure that it is well dried and finely rubbed. Simply divided and crushed shells are not suitable for feeding. Otherwise, all this provokes chickens to get used to the pecking of eggs laid.

Approximate diet for laying hens (grams per head per day)

Periodicity

To get a good result, it is not recommended to feed the hens for slaughter. It means that 3 meals a day - optimal mode. Constantly in the trough should not be grain. The power mode is designed in such a way that feed first time them as early as possible in the morning, but after dawn. If it is winter, then artificially prolong daylight hours. In this case, give food after turning on the lighting. Feed second time in the afternoon (13: 00-14: 00). Evening feeding is recommended for an hour before the bird sits down for the night. In the evening it is recommended to feed grain, and in the afternoon to diversify the nutrition of the mash, pure green mass.

Diseases

The greatest danger to egg production viral diseases:

• Newcastle disease: reduces this figure to 25-35%.

• Infectious laryngotracheitis: breathing becomes difficult, the bird dies from suffocation. Naturally, there are no good results in the process of getting sick in obtaining eggs.
• Infectious bronchitis: the disease is accompanied by dysfunction of the oviduct. A decrease in egg production is accompanied by an increase in the proportion of eggs of irregular shape and with a rough shell.

• Infectious encephalomyelitis: reduces egg production by 7-12%.
• Flu: characterized by the death of a large number of birds and a sharp decline in egg-laying chickens.

To prevent or minimize the effects of the disease a number of preventive measures: laying hens are kept apart from the rest of the bird, they provide only high-quality and fresh food, one or two people take care of the hens (since people are the carriers of many diseases, their access to poultry should be limited). In addition, the separation of sick birds from healthy and directly vaccination helps.

Seasonality: spring, summer, autumn, winter

Usually, spring and autumn are those seasons in which the laying rate of chickens falls. What is the reason for this phenomenon? In our opinion, this is due to climatic conditions. Winter is always colder. To heat itself a chicken spends a certain amount of energy that no longer goes to laying eggs. This can be avoided by installing additional heating in the hen house. Then, in winter, spring and autumn, the air temperature in the chicken coop will remain approximately the same; there will be no abrupt transition in temperature from winter to spring. In the fall, besides changing the temperature, molting begins, which also affects egg production. The factors that accompany her and her influence on the layer are described above.

In summer, the decline in the number of eggs laid due to hot weather.. At temperatures above 25 degrees, the chicken rushes reluctantly, flies on the perch, swinging open, spreading its wings to the side, thereby trying to somehow lower the temperature of its body. During this period, she drinks a lot, which also lowers egg production. A well-designed ventilation system, airing the room partially eliminates the problem of high ambient temperature.

In addition to all the factors listed above, chickens affect egg production in chickensor rather, their proportionality to the number of chickens. Many believe that there should be only one rooster in one pen. Then the number of chickens is limited to ten. Some half of a hundred livestock of chickens in one corral are holding four or five roosters. But if the third part of the total population turns out to be roosters, this will lead to a periodic struggle for supremacy.

Chicken layer with eggs

Effect of solar and lunar cycles, as well as geomagnetic storms and other natural phenomena have been little studied. But there is no doubt that they also affect the number of eggs laid. By the way, folk methods of raising egg production are based on rituals associated with the lunar cycles.

In any case, good care, hard work and proper attitude to the poultry will play a role, and laying hens will thank you.

Physiology and age of egg production for various breeds of chickens

Got mongrel chickens bred by the neighbor's hen or incubator? These are ordinary domestic chickens with an average egg production rate of about 200 eggs with year-round warm housing. The egg production of laying hens per year depends on the type of breed:

• Egg breeds of chickens, Hisex white, Leggorn, Loman Brown give 300 eggs and more,
• meat-laying hens and purebreds will give about 200 pieces,
• broiler meat breeds do not reach even 130 eggs per year.

Accordingly, the productive age of the young will be 18, 26 weeks, 7-8 months. The average egg weight is 55-65 g, but in hot weather and in young animals the product is lighter. How many eggs does a chicken lay per day? Not more than one, and not every day. The most productive breed of Heinlein carries as many as 350 eggs while creating ideal conditions for keeping.

The indicator was registered when the hen gave 371 eggs per year. Часто встречается сдвоенное яйцо крупного размера. Уникальным стал экземпляр с 9 желтками.

Когда несутся куры несушки? Куры наиболее продуктивны в первый год жизни, чуть хуже на втором году. Поэтому стадо систематически нуждается в обновлении. На мясо берут двухлеток и отбраковку молодняка. Позже мясо становится жёстким. Up to 4 years old chickens are rushing, but less and less. From old women make caring hens.

The performance of chicken herds inevitably decreases in winter. In physiology, this is the worst time for breeding. A balanced feed and adequate lighting will only slightly increase the egg production of laying hens. During the molt, it is necessary to accelerate the process of growth of new feathers by excluding grain from the diet. The plumage will be updated faster, and the chickens will begin to nestle.

Proper feeding and laying hens

Chickens do not like crowded. On the square meter should be placed 5 individuals. Fertilized eggs are needed for hatching, and a rooster under the age of 4 years old is coping with duties for 10 layers. The productivity of the flock does not depend on the presence of the rooster.

Temperature 22-25 degrees comfortable for chickens. In the hot period, the coop must be pritenyat, on the run to arrange a canopy. In winter, sufficient, but not blinding light in the hen house should be 14-16 hours. Winter walking, baths with ashes and sand for swimming will add comfort to the livestock. If there is a question why the hens are not rushing and what to do, you should check the conditions of detention.

We need to review the feeding menu and make adjustments. The daily ration should consist of:

• grain mixture of 40% corn, 20% wheat, 20% barley, 30% oats - 120 grams,
• boiled potatoes - 100 g,
• mash - 30 g,
• chalk - 3 g,
• cake - 7 g,
• Baking yeast - 1 g,
• bone meal - 2 g,
• table salt - 0.5 g

The dry composition can be sustained, feeding the feed for layers, but it is necessary to give the grain separately in one of the feedings.

In the summer period, the mash with bran and chopped greens will provide livestock with vitamins for laying hens for egg production. At other times it is necessary to use premixes.

Adult birds should be fed twice a day, leaving dry food for an evening one hour before bedtime. In the morning various mash are useful. When perekorme chickens fat, and there will be a problem, why chickens have ceased to nest. The same question will arise if the feed is not enough. During the day, birds pluck and actively process food if there is enough gravel or shells in a separate feeder. Stones, like millstones, grind food. Water should be abundant, always fresh. Good absorption of nutrition contributes to the absence of stressful situations.

In order for the hens of the hen to eat and to fly a lot, you need a good nutrition consisting of grains, special vitamins, and greens. The more varied to feed them, the greater the benefits. A sign of prosperity will be swimming and fluttering in the pen of the birds, when they do not watch the distribution of food.

Why don't the laying hens rush after buying adults

Often, in the household, adult birds are bought in the summer in order to immediately get eggs. If they are sold from wheels, it is possible that the birds were rejected on the farm as unproductive. Such individuals can shed, the legs can be determined that they are no longer young. Then the productive period with good care will resume in 2-3 weeks, but do not wait for abundant masonry.

Stressful situation, when the flock is kept hungry in the pen, waiting for the buyer, and then driven to catch, the egg production will not add. In this case, why the hens are not rushing; what to do is clear. You need to be patient and provide full care. Birds will thank for care.

Better to get fresh eggs to buy young. If the chickens are from the egg whales, then after 18 weeks you can expect the first small eggs. A mature chicken will become a sign of a mature chicken, and a pink crest will develop. If the comb is red, the layer is already productive.

If chickens were raised from daily chicks at home breeding, the breed is unknown. That is why young hens of laying hens can not rush, the biological age has not come. You need to wait.

Content errors affecting layer productivity

The number of nests and their arrangement affects productivity. Nests are arranged in places where no one bothers the chicken at the moment of an important mission. The litter should be clean and soft. On 6 individuals arrange one nest. If the place for laying is unsuccessful, the eggs will be scattered, and there not long before pecking. Is it dangerous. If the chicken has tried the contents, it will hunt for a delicious meal. Therefore, to prevent the emergence of eggs without shell, leaching, it is impossible. Efficiency decreases, in the future there will be a threat of biting. It is necessary to add mineral dressing.

Why did the hens of the hens stop carrying with good care? Perhaps, when free-walking, the cunning organized a new nest in a secluded corner. After some time, a hen will sit on it and a flock of unplanned chickens will appear. Daily egg collection and close inspection of the area will remove the problem.

Often, youngsters that have begun to trot stop laying. They are more than a stressful situation in adult chickens. Relocation to another chicken coop, the appearance of a rooster, a night thunderstorm with thunder cause the absence of eggs. Add 20 ml of apple cider vinegar per day during the week to help.

During the molt of the pullet in autumn, the productivity of the hens decreases sharply. It is necessary to exclude from the diet of grain and new feathers will grow faster, egg laying will be restored. After fouling, the birds give seedlings with seedlings to restore productivity. Feed these chickens need 3-4 times a day.

In order for the bird not to fall ill with infectious diseases, it is necessary to vaccinate against diseases that are common among birds in the region. With free-range, you can infect a flock of wild pigeons or ravens.

Anxiety and stress in laying hens, reduction in egg production, will cause parasites that have settled. If the chickens are restless, constantly plucked, it's time to put them ash-sand mixture. Fluttering in it will get rid of feathers and ticks. Internal infection can be expelled anthelmintic drugs. Sanitize the coop.

Choosing a hen for the household you need to take a light individual, weighing 1.5 kg. Feathers should be shiny, dense. The hen's comb is bright red.

Low temperature

In winter, cold is often the most accurate answer to the question of why the laying hens do not rush. What to do in this case, the owners of home gardens? Of course, to warm the barn. Also, in order to receive eggs at this time of the year, heating should be arranged in the house. You can put there, for example, a closed fireproof heater. Some breeds of chickens can be carried even at sufficiently low temperatures in the barn. It is not necessary to arrange heating for such a bird. However, in this case, a litter of straw or sawdust not less than 40 cm thick should be laid on the floor. During the cold season, various biological processes will start to occur in it, accompanied by heat generation.

Also in winter, chickens may stop rolling due to lack of lighting. In this case, in the hen house you just need to hang up additional lamps. It is very good if the house is lit at least 16 hours a day.

Crowding

This is another reason why chickens can stop feeding. There is a similar problem usually also in the winter period of time, when the owners stop releasing the bird for walking. When buying chickens or building a shed, it should be borne in mind that at least 6-7 individuals should have at least one square meter of space. But it is better to place no more than four hens on such an area.

Of course, in the house you need to place or hang out a sufficient number of nests. At least ten of them are required at least two. You should also take into account the fact that at least 15-20 cm perch should be per bird.

Improperly developed diet is also a frequent reason that chickens do not rush. What to do in this case? Of course, create a new, more balanced menu for the bird. One should feed the hens no less than three times a day. In the morning they are usually given grain. You can add a little granulated feed or inert flour. Barley grain - for hens food is quite heavy. Feeding it to a bird can also cause a decrease in egg production. Much more correct solution would be to put wheat in the trough.

Happy chickens fed wet mash. The more varied this “salad” is, the better. In addition to root crops (beets, carrots, cabbage, potatoes), greens should be added to the mash. This may be tops of carrots, beet leaves, fresh nettle, quinoa, etc. Also, fruit is rubbed into the mash - usually apple amber. You can add in the "salad" a little overgrown cucumbers or zucchini.

Also in wet mash usually white bread and bran are put. Pour "salad" can be both boiled water and weak meat broth. Be sure to add some salt and chalk to the mash. These trace elements of the body of chickens are simply necessary. After all, the shell of eggs consists mainly of calcium. In the evening, the chickens should again be fed grain. Of course, the bird needs to provide constant access to water.

Overfeeding birds also can not. Often, the fattest adult chickens and pullets do not rush. What to do in this case, of course, is understandable. It should give the bird less food. The hens should be fed so much feed in the trough that they ate it completely in no more than half an hour.

If the chickens are becoming greasy and do not rush (we have figured out what to do with the diet) you should also arrange a good walking distance for them. Day walks - the fact that the bird of this direction of productivity is necessary. Mainly only meat crosses in cages without walking.

For this reason, chickens may cease to be carried several times a year. However, it is usually not a big concern to reduce egg production due to shedding on hosts. The fact is that the replacement of a feather with a new one in chickens usually lasts a very short time — no more than 8–10 days. Autumn and daylight reduction are the main reasons why chickens shed and do not rush. What to do in this case? Of course, nothing. You just need to wait for the end of the molt.

The disease can also cause chickens to not rush. What to do in this case is understandable. Need to call the vet. The most common decrease in egg production in chickens is due to the fact that they have got worms or some other parasites. There are also folk methods of treating a sick bird. For example, diphenhydramine is sometimes used as an anthelmintic drug. A few drops of it are added to chickens.

To determine the presence of worms in chickens can be including by external signs. Symptoms of helminthiasis in chickens are weight loss, swelling of the joints, and the appearance of nodules in the mouth and on the skin. In the event that feather parasites start in chickens, a trough with ashes is placed in the shed.

To treat chickens on their own, however, is worth it only in the most extreme cases. The bird can simply be ruined. It is better to call the vet and follow the recommendations given to them.

Fear is another common reason that chickens do not rush. What to do in this case, many farmers know. In fact, you should just wait a bit. After a while the bird will come to its senses, and many eggs will again appear in the nests.

Sometimes, for example, chickens do not rush after purchase. What to do in this situation? If the bird did not start laying eggs 6 weeks after moving to a new “place of residence”, then it is no longer a matter of stress. Perhaps the farm owners simply sold too old a bird. In this case, chickens, unfortunately, will most likely have to be hacked.

Up to six weeks after purchase, the absence of eggs in the nests is a completely normal phenomenon. Moving to a new "place of residence" is not the best way for a bird of any breed. Anxiety with a decrease in productivity in chickens may also be caused by an abrupt change in diet. Entering new products in the menu should be done carefully and gradually.

Another cause of stress in chickens is the close presence of any predators. For example, a hawk that has flown over a walking distance can so frighten a bird that it will stop rushing for a while. It is also undesirable to allow strangers to enter the coop.

Age of bird

Sometimes homeowners are worried about the fact that young chickens do not rush. What to do in this case? If the bird is not scared and not subjected to any stress, the reason for the lack of eggs may be precisely her young age. Modern breeds and hybrids of chickens usually begin to sweep at the age of 4.5-6 months. Of course, the appearance of eggs in nests before this time should not be expected.

Between the ages of 7 and 10 months, chickens are especially active. Further, the intensity of egg-laying gradually begins to decrease. The optimal period of keeping chicken herd without renewal is 2 years. Then it may just not be very cost effective. However, the above applies not to all species of birds. Some hybrids and crosses can be carried very well up to the age of five.

Experienced poultry farmers do not advise beginners to purchase poultry on the market. Often, unscrupulous sellers give shoppers sick or very old chickens. It is better to organize your home farm with the purchase of chickens or hatching eggs. Or in a pinch to buy chickens in the poultry farm.

Hatching chicks

Why aren't the hens laying? What to do, for example, if the eggs ceased to lay only one individual? In this case, you just need to watch the bird. Such a hen will most likely try to sit on the eggs in the nest and occasionally loudly groan. This means that the bird simply decided to become a hen. In many modern breeds of chickens, the maternity instinct is completely lost, but not all. There are many ways to roam a bird. Some owners even advise dipping such chickens into the water. But, of course, you can’t do this in any way. This can cause bird death due to severe stress.

It is better still to knock down a box of chicken for the chicken and close the top with a grill. A hen is planted in it for several days. Of course, the bird should be periodically fed and watered. You can not put chickens in steel boxes, cover them with buckets, etc. The metal is very hot in the sun, and the bird can die from the heat.

Herd composition

Chickens are known to carry eggs without a rooster. However, it may still be worthwhile to buy a “gentleman” to your birds even if the owners of the household farm do not intend to incubate the eggs. It is noticed that with the cockerel the chickens begin to be better. However, you should definitely watch the herd after replanting. The authority of the rooster chicken in the event that, for example, it is very young, can simply not be recognized. In this case, the most active layer usually becomes the dominant species. Sometimes it happens that the cockerel, on the contrary, begins to behave in relation to the hens too aggressively. Chickens at the same time scared and reduced egg production.

What else could be the reasons

Sometimes homeowners are also interested in the question of why chickens do not rush in the summer. What to do in this case first? If the bird is healthy and not stressed, just watch it carefully. Sometimes the owners do not find eggs in the nests, not because the bird is frightened, it is poorly fed or it is sick. It often happens that chickens for some reason do not like nests installed in the house. In this case, they start to rush anywhere - in the bushes, under the boards, boxes, etc. The place chosen by the attentive owners will be sooner or later discovered by the hens for laying.

Sometimes chicken eggs from nests also steal various small predators or rats. In this case, you should carefully examine the house and block the “thieves” all the ways of penetration into it.

As you can see, the reasons for lowering egg laying hens can be different. If the owners have stopped finding eggs in the nests, first of all, you should think about making adjustments to the diet of the bird. You also need to try to create the best conditions for chickens, arrange for them walking and try to protect them from stress. All this guarantees good bird productivity.

Feed and feeding methods

The main mistake that poultry farmers make when keeping laying hens is a violation of bird feeding. One of the reasons why chickens do not rush is underfed or overfeeding birds. Both lead to a loss of productivity, in the first case due to depletion of the body, and in the second due to obesity. In order to learn how to feed your chickens correctly and get the most eggs from them, you need to follow a few simple feeding rules. What should every poultry farmer know?

Varieties of feed and methods of feeding.

The diet of layers is divided into several types:

1. Protein. They contain proteins, without which the chicken can not only be carried, but also live. They are divided into animal feed: fish or fish meal, meat and bone meal or meat and feather meal, dairy products (cottage cheese, return or milk) and vegetable feed: meal, meal, pulses (peas, soybean, beans, etc.), yeast, flour from nettle or pea.
2. Carbohydrate. These feeds contain large amounts of starch and other carbohydrates. К ним относятся: злаковые (ячмень, кукуруза, пшеница, сорго, овес), корнеплоды(свекла, морковь, редька, картофель и т. д.)и различные мукомольные отходы.
3. Минеральные. Они содержат различные минералы, такие как: кальций, без которого не сможет образовываться скорлупа на яйцах, натрий, без которого курица будет болеть, медь, железо и другие микроэлементы. К ним относятся: соль, мел, ракушечник, известняк и комплексные минеральные добавки.
4. Витаминные. Ценятся за высокое содержание витаминов, без которых так же курочки не будут нестись. These include: green grass or flour from it, dust from good hay, fish oil, pine meal and special industrial-grade vitamin concentrates.

The basis of the ration in home gardens traditionally consists of cereals: wheat, maize, oats, barley, and other cereals. They differ in the content of protein, fat, carbohydrates, hard-to-digestible fiber, minerals and vitamins. Each grain is valuable in its own way, and therefore it is best to use them in the diet of laying hens as a mixed feed. Mixed fodder with the following percentage ratio of cereals are well proven:

• Wheat - 50%
• Oats - 15%
• Barley - 25%
• Rye or millet - 5%
• Corn - 5%

Feed the feed to the bird can be both dry and wet, as whole grain, and shattered. It is better to give crushed grain during the day, and whole grains at night. This grain is digested longer, so that smokers will not feel hunger. Well digested food, cooked in the form of various mash. They can be prepared with the addition of mineral and vitamin supplements, dairy products, various kitchen waste, flour, etc.

Feeding rates for laying hens.

With a dry or wet type of feeding, the rate of consumption per hen is 120-150 gr. per day. Of them: 2/3 - carbohydrate feed, and 1/3 - protein.

It turns out about the following scheme:

• wheat grain - 50-80 gr,
• oats - 20 gr,
• barley - 30-50 g,
• rye or millet - 30-40 gr,
• grain legumes (peas, soybeans, etc.) - 10-12 g,
• cake or sunflower meal - 7-10 g,
• meat or bone meal or fish meal - 10 gr,
• minerals - 5-6% of the diet.

Salt is given in petals at the rate of 0.4 g. on the head, chalk, shell, limestone - 3-6 grams. Vitamin supplements are also introduced into the mixture of masses or dry feed mixtures in accordance with the instructions. Access to water at any time of year at the bird should be free, the water should be clean and warm. It should not be forgotten that for the correct operation of the digestive tract, there should always be fine gravel in the separate feeding bowl of the crested hen.

Feeding mode

The body is arranged in such a way that the food along the digestive tract passes fairly quickly. Therefore, it is better to feed them at least three to four times a day. For convenience, you can fill the feeders with dry feed mixtures as they are fully eaten. It is good to feed with wet mash during the day, and give whole grains for the night.

Bags are prepared from crushed grains of different types with the addition of mineral, vitamin supplements, salt, animal products. All this is well mixed and moistened with water or dairy products (skimmed, whey, yogurt or buttermilk). Food should be well hydrated, but not sticky. Otherwise, it can lead to gluing of the nasal openings, feathers on the head and even clogging of the beak. Mash Bags are perishable. Therefore, they must be given in such a way that the hens eat it in 30-40 minutes. This is especially important in the summer. Feeders after eating wet food should be cleaned to prevent mold and poisoning.

Giving food for the night should be so that the chickens have time to eat it before seating on roost. Convenient feeding schedule you can build yourself, based on the volume of feeders, the speed of eating food and free time.

Preparation of feed for feeding.

The most common methods of preparation are

• grinding,
• mixing,
• yeast
• brewing
• germination.

As we have already found out, the poultry feed is much better absorbed in the crushed form of feed, so the grain should be crushed in special crushers. Crushed grain is used for the preparation of mixers, various feed and feed mixtures.

One more useful way to prepare feed for feeding is the germination of grain. For this, the grain is soaked for a day in warm water, then the water is drained, and the grain is sprinkled with a layer of about 5 cm. The wet grain is mixed 2-3 times a day until germination of the sprouts. Sprouts can be grown and very small white, and you can grow until the green shoots. Corn with those and other sprouts is very useful for chickens, as it becomes more nutritious. It is easier absorbed by the body of chickens, as well as vitamin A appears in it.

Yeast feed is carried out to achieve the same goals as the germination - the enrichment of food with nutrients and increase the absorption of food. Do the yeast as follows. Yeast is dissolved in containers with warm water at the rate of 100 grams of yeast per 8-10 kg of feed, then pour finely ground concentrates at the rate of 1 kg of feed to 1.5-2 liters of water. Yeast dishes should be in a warm place (temperature not lower than 20-22 degrees Celsius). The mass is stirred every hour for 5-9 hours, depending on the speed of yeast. Then, the finished mass is distributed to the hen. Such feeding contributes to the proper functioning of the digestive tract in poultry and its productivity.

Root vegetables and potatoes are good to add to the mash in boiled form. Carrots are an exception. It is more useful to give it in a raw, crushed form, so as not to lose the beneficial vitamin properties. Grass and tops are chopped or minced. You should know that overfeeding vegetables can lead to diarrhea of ​​birds and loss of productivity, so they must be given adhering to the norms of feeding.

And further. Do not forget to follow the regime of feeding your poultry - this will have a good effect on both eating and the productivity of chickens.

Conditions of laying hens

A second, equally important reason for which chickens are badly rushing, may be a violation of the rules for keeping hens. As you know, the crested insects see poorly in the dark, so it is very important to create the correct light mode in the chicken coop. The optimal time for lighting the chicken coop is 10-12 hours. If the lighting time is reduced, then the bird does not have time to eat its norm, it sits a lot and does not move, which negatively affects its egg production.

It is equally important that the coop was warm. In this case, the chickens will not spend energy to heat their own bodies, but will spend it on the production of eggs. The optimum temperature for the content of chickens is not less than 15 degrees Celsius.

Do not forget that the room of the coop must be well ventilated. It is also very important for maintaining chickens in health and maintaining their productivity. But you should avoid drafts in the hen house to prevent colds from poultry. Maintaining cleanliness is also an important component of the healthy life of the crested hens and their productivity.

Do not rush chickens? And how do they feel?

Chickens, like any other living organism, in violation of any factors of their life, can hurt, grow old and therefore lose productivity.

Inspect your birds, pay attention to whether their behavior and appearance have changed, how they eat food, how they move. If you notice that the birds are lethargic, sedentary, eat poorly in comparison with the previous period, they are diarrhea, they are bald or peck at each other - this suggests that your chickens are likely to become sick.

Bald chicken can for several reasons:

• lack of vitamins and trace elements in the feed,
• diseases of a parasitic nature (for example, puff),
• other diseases that cause loss of feather.

True, chicken baldness can also be caused by seasonal moulting, which usually occurs in the fall or spring. Such a molt is a physiological norm, but on condition that it does not drag out for a long time.

When breeding hens, each owner must understand that the highest productivity is observed only in young quots. Usually, these are hens at the age of up to a year, then their productivity begins to fall. Therefore, it is advisable to change the birds at least once every two years, and cut down the old chickens for meat. So you get the greatest number of eggs from the minimum number of heads at the lowest cost.

A few more reasons for the decline in productivity

The time of the year has a direct effect on the egg production of chickens during home keeping. It is known that in summer and spring, as well as in the warm period of autumn, the chickens are well born. The peak of productivity comes in the spring and early summer. In winter, chickens rush badly, sometimes chickens do not rush at all. Why? There is a reasonable question.

The fact is that they are affected by factors such as the length of the day, walking in the fresh air, sunlight and much more. As if the owners did not try to diversify the diet of their hens, everyone noticed that during the walk the hens constantly dig in the ground, looking for something in it that only they understand and need. It is at this time that the birds carry the maximum number of eggs with good quality. But we should not forget that during this time of year, chicks often begin to hatch chickens, and this may be due to a decrease in the number of eggs in general from all of your birds. As soon as the chicken's body temperature rises, it ceases to lay eggs, and begins to “soar”, that is, it sits on the nest and begins to hatch chickens.

The egg production of the hens directly depends on the breed of your bird, as well as on their tendency to evaporate the chickens. To obtain the maximum number of eggs, you should buy chickens specialized breeds. These include breed leggorn and Russian white. This is the most egg breeds of birds, despite the fact that the most adapted to our conditions of detention and feeding.

If you are going to breed chickens at home, you should learn how to feed and maintain chickens. Follow the simple rules and you will never have a problem that the chickens have ceased to be well or the eggs do not carry at all. You can always provide yourself and your loved ones with a delicious homemade egg.