Chickens ran out of food - stopped laying?

[ssramage]

This may seem like a dumb question, and it's an absolute failure on behalf of this chicken farmer.

Long story short, I had to go out of town for work last week so I asked my 11 year old son to make sure the chickens had enough food when he checked for eggs on Tuesday. He said they did, they didn't... we feed in a big Brute garbage can that holds 150# lbs, so unless you open it, you really don't know. The chickens were without food from at least Wed-Sat (maybe Tues-Sat). I typically handle all of the animal chores, but have been trying to hand some off to my kids since they are selling the eggs at school.

I have 20 hens... they typically lay 14 or 15 eggs a day. Wed they laid like normal, Thurs 3 eggs, and zero every day since.

I'm assuming they stopped laying when they ran out of food, but when should I expect them to start back up?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Good assumption. This has not happened to me but if it did I would give them water and some ACV in feed for a mash, to increase food consumption. I'd give some extra protein/treats like mealworms or black oil seeds, maybe a few cans of tuna. I'd give some Nutridrench in water and also offer plenty of fresh water. Basically I'd treat them like they are malnourished and needing some nutrition greater than regular dry feed.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I am reminded of an old adage that my Grandpa Shook had which would apply here, "To milk the cow, you have to feed the cow". I agree with SandyRiverChick on the remediation efforts. Your birds should be fine as chickens are very resilient.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Best case scenario they'll be off lay for a couple of weeks while they recuperate body condition, and then they'll resume laying.

Worst case scenario, they stress molt and then stop laying for the rest of the year as we're now heading into fall. How old are the layers? If they're older, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the hens end up doing just that.