The main reasons why chicken reduce or stop laying is being too young or too old, short day light and when the feed is of less sufficient nutrition value. Reducing the stress of chicken can help improve on their laying abilities. To measure productivity of chicken, parameters like egg quality, quantity, egg size, feed utilization, mortality rates etc. are considered.
Layer chicken management
Layers reach maturity at 18 weeks of age and is the age when most layer breeds start laying eggs. Switch the chicken to layer mash at this stage. Give the layers feed rich in calcium, vitamins and minerals.
Do not switch the feed at once but rather make a transition by mixing the chicken grower feed and layer feed for 4 to 5 days to prevent digestive upsets.
A drop in egg production is one of the signs to show that something is wrong with your poultry flock.
Egg production reduction
One of the causes of a drop in egg production is poor nutrition. Food should be rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Water shortage. Clean drinking water should be provided to the birds always since hens are more sensitive to a lack of water than a lack of feed.
Over feeding. The weight of laying birds should be controlled. The feed given to the birds should contain the right energy ratio compared to other nutrients. A layer should weigh at least 1.6kg and not more than 2kg.
Molting. This is a natural process of feather shading and regrowth. Hens’ egg production drops as the chicken divert the energy away from egg production to feather regrowth.
Decreased day light. Chicken require about 16 hours of either natural and/ or artificial light to produce eggs. Too much or too little exposure to light negatively affects egg production.
Other factors
Good laying breed. The breed is an important factor since some breeds produce high quality and a large number of eggs.
Aging. Age of the layers is important as it influences the size and quantity of eggs laid.
Egg eating. Some chicken engage in egg eating behavior when their calcium levels are low.
High temperature. Too much heat poses severe problems for all kinds of poultry. Feed consumption, egg production, egg size, and hatchability are all adversely affected.
Over crowding. This causes stress in the birds hence reducing overall egg production.
Diseases and parasites. Chicken that are ill or have parasites do not lay eggs optimally.
