IT IS DEFINITELY THE FEED! [An Update on Chickens Not Laying and the Mission to Solve It] 

I feed my chickens food scraps mixed with scratch grains and meat craps ( that I always have in my freezer) first thing in the morning, and then I put a scoop of bomgaars brand layers feed in their feeder. I have 14 birds. Even though we have very cold winters, they have never stopped laying completely. They love the food scraps and all kinds of meats. My chickens feed costs are less than 30 dollars a month.

I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT.... WE ALSO HAVE TO WATCH & PRAY ON EVERYTHING. THE MORE CLOSE NIT... THE BETTER💋! AMEN🙏🏽🏠🙏🏽

We feed crumbles and scratch grains with plenty of kitchen scraps. They love pasta and meat.

They back being chickens!!! It was planned.. or thats how I see it. too many things going on right now to not be..

On cold nights we do big pans of Mac n cheese. They love it. And lots of fresh veggies treats.

Have not had any issue with hens laying eggs. That being said, my hens aren’t layers/generic heritage backyard hens that the majority of people have for egg production. I raise some pretty rare Asian chicken breeds/crosses solely for meat production and some as ornamental chickens. But still, they are producing eggs. We feed them generic brands from Walmart and usually don’t give them anything extra.

I gotta wonder how much of this is just people who are new to chickens just not understanding that they don't lay well during the winter. For the last couple months and every winter for that matter my chickens slow down to 1 or 2 eggs and sometimes none out of 12 chickens. But come spring or the lead up to it they start laying normally again and it returns to 6, 7 sometimes 8 eggs per day. This is a completely normal phenomenon. It happens every year and also changes with the age of your birds. This is not new.

Your right it is the feed . They are coming after you nuts.

I have been using Hubbard Homestead layer pellets (in the winter) and crumbles (in the summer, mixed with water) for years. I had a longer than usual period this winter when the hens all stopped laying completely, or maybe one egg every few days from around 30 hens. Seems like they tapered off earlier and didn't start laying again until late January, when usually they start around the Solstice when the days begin to get longer. The people I barter with kept calling from before Thanksgiving on through January. I finally have enough to box up (I trade for local grass-finished beef). I'm wondering if it was the weather, because we've had quite a few below-zero days (23 below last night, 34 below just before Christmas). When there's a lot of snow and/or bitter cold I keep the hens inside their 11x12 coop. Not ideal and I'm working on a new setup that will include an attached sun room for snowy and rainy days. lol My Hubbard Homestead pellets have been inconsistent. Sometimes a plain brown and sometimes with very visible flecks of yellow corn in the pellets. The hens seem to eat both and I haven't noticed that making much difference in their laying. I also sometimes get a bag with a lot of dust in it (scraping the bottom of the barrel when processing?) so I sift that out and add it to my crumbles, which I mix with water in the summer (makes a gruel that they clean up, instead of kicking the feed onto the ground). I had quit feeding scratch grain some years ago because my hens (and the wild birds) quit picking out the cracked corn like they usually did. They began leaving the corn uneaten. I figured it was GMO and full of chemicals. I can't afford organic, since it would double my feed bill, or more. My hens get quite a bit of table scraps regularly from me, my neighbor, and a friend who collects the scraps at the local Senior Citizen Center lunch held four days a week. In the summer I grow extra zucchini and other crops just for the hens. They had quite a few old jack-o-lantern pumpkins last fall, from our local history group's Halloween event. I have neglected to grow sprouts for them the last few years (COVID challenges). I plan to start soon.

I have had no unusual egg issues. My birds are not young with many being hatched in 2019. I would mention that we have had drought and extreme heat here with record 100+ days. I have heard a lot said but everyone around me has eggs also. Water is a big thing with birds so stressed from heat and cold. I should also mention that I do not do any of the fermentation, light addition hours, or heating. I use straw bedding that is local. I feed oyster shell and never feedback eggshell. I realize these are trendy. I feed layer, whole corn, and oats. I have not used scratch recently as it mostly cracked corn here currently so I mix myself whole corn whole oats and wheat if I can find it. Milo shortage, i think.

I'm curious why you don't mention asking a veterinarian for advice?

#bugsnotdrugs