Why are my Silkie chickens not laying?
Make sure your chickens are old enough to lay. Silkies can start to lay at around 7 to 9 months of age, although some will not lay until they are much older. The older a silkie is when she begins to lay, the more eggs she is likely to produce. Provide a balanced diet.
Why aren’t my chickens laying in their nesting boxes?
Your hens might avoid the boxes altogether because it’s too stressful. Having plenty of nesting boxes also prevents bullying. If you have a dominant hen, she might stop other hens from laying in “her” box. Then, the other hens start laying in undesirable areas.
Why is my hen not laying on her eggs?
Hens may lay fewer eggs due to light, stress, poor nutrition, molt or age. Some of these reasons are natural responses, while others can be fixed with simple changes and egg laying can return to normal. If you’re a backyard chicken raiser, you’ve become accustomed to your morning routine: Wake up.
How long can a chicken go without laying an egg?
If your hen is broody, meaning she has fertilized eggs or thinks she does, she may not lay eggs for up to 21 days.
How often do Silkie hens go broody?
Silkie Bantams frequently go broody. Broody hens are quite interesting. Dolly, one of our Silkie Bantams, seems to be broody about every 8 weeks.
Why are my chickens laying on the ground?
Nesting is a learned behaviour, so once your hens establish a good routine, you shouldn’t need to worry. Still, disruption to routines (like changing chicken houses, nesting boxes or when nesting boxes get overcrowded by dominant hens) can also cause hens to break their routine and start laying eggs on the floor.
How do you stimulate chickens to lay eggs?
8 Tips To Help Your Chickens Lay More Eggs
- Quality Feed. You don’t have to go crazy with some cutting-edge feed that’s guaranteed to make your chickens produce eggs the size of a garden gnome.
- Clean Nests Boxes.
- Open Areas.
- Calcium.
- Inspect Regularly.
- Coop Security.
- Fresh Water.
- Parasite Control.
What can I give my chickens to help them lay eggs?
Treats That Will Make Your Hens Lay More Eggs
- Mealworms.
- Eggs and Eggshells.
- Greens.
- Watermelon and Fruit.
- Japanese Beetles.
- Sunflower Seeds.
- Scratch Grains.
- Cracked Corn.
Can you give a chicken too much calcium?
TOO MUCH CALCIUM The recommended level for calcium is 1% or below for these birds; layer feed has up to four times this amount, so you should never feed it to birds under 18 weeks. The excess calcium has to be excreted by the kidneys in the form of uric acid.
How do I get my Silkie hen to go broody?
You can encourage a Silkie to go broody by placing a couple of dummy eggs in her nest area, these can be unfertilised eggs or rubber dummy eggs which you can buy from any good pet store or poultry centre. Once you have noticed that your Silkie is broody you can then put fertilised eggs under her.
How many eggs will a Silkie lay before going broody?
I have seen Silkie hens go broody after laying as few as a half dozen eggs and they are truly staunch on the nest. They can handle up to twelve eggs and with a small flock kept just for broodies you can selectively breed for larger sized hens.
How do you get a hen to lay in a nesting box?
Tips to get hens to lay in nest boxes
- Collect the eggs regularly.
- Provide the right number of nest boxes.
- Use safe fake eggs to train the hens.
- Make the boxes clean and comfortable.
- Block areas that are the wrong nesting spots.
What foods help chickens lay more eggs?
Treats That Will Make Your Hens Lay More Eggs
- Mealworms.
- Eggs and Eggshells.
- Greens.
- Watermelon and Fruit.
- Japanese Beetles.
- Sunflower Seeds.
- Scratch Grains.
- Cracked Corn.
Does cayenne pepper help chickens lay eggs?
According to old-timers, cayenne pepper can be added to your chickens’ feed in the cold months to help warm up your chickens and boost egg production.
How do I know if my chickens are getting enough calcium?
Here are some common signs that would indicate a calcium deficiency:
- Thin or soft shells- eggshells are very weak.
- Shell-less eggs- the egg contents are just surrounded by the inner and outer membranes without an actual hard shell.
- Abnormal skeletal development- more common in developing chicks.
Do Silkies have laying problems?
It is not unusual to have laying problems with Silkies. For a start they just do not lay as many eggs as other chickens, sometimes only 80 to 100 a year and these often come in flushes of 14 to 16 eggs at a time with a week or two’s break in between.
Can you keep silkie chickens as pets?
Many folks keep Silkies in order to hatch out other eggs. A Silkie in ‘broody mode’ will usually accept any and all eggs placed under her. If you live in an apartment and want to have chickens as pets, the Silkies are a very good fit since they are pretty quiet too.
Will blocking nesting boxes stop chickens from laying eggs?
This won’t work 100% if a hen is really determined, but it is discouraging to them. If you block the boxes remember to unblock them first thing in the morning as if you have laying hens. If you block the boxes all the time they might get confused about where to lay or they may hide their eggs outside.
Are Silkies the best chicken breed for You?
If you live in a climate which has frequent cold, wet spells, Silkies are not the best chicken breed for you. Going to the roost cold and wet is a killer for the Silkie. It is not unusual to have laying problems with Silkies.