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chookwoman

lots of dust and no eggs

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I've had two chooks for about a year and have recently added a black rock a light sussex to the flock and everything has come to a standstill. The two i had were laying fine and when i introduced the two new pullets who are not yet laying everything has just stopped. they have all however started to take regular dust baths and i wonder if they are all perhaps starting to mault in the spring and is this perhaps preventing the eggs from being laid? I realy have no idea what is going on. They all seem to be perky enough and eating fine. I wonder whether giving them water from a water butt is not doing them any good? a lot of queries but am quite anxious for some advice/help if any is out there. i would appreciate any advice. many thanks

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Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

Are they freeranging?

 

If so have you checked that they are not laying under a shrub or similar.

 

Occasionally hens which appear not to be laying have a cache of eggs hidden.

 

What are you feeding them on?

 

It might be best if you cut back on treats and s"Ooops, word censored!"s...just give them in the late afternoon, and just let them have their layers pellets or mash for the main part of the day. That might get them back into lay.

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Sorry, no bright ideas - if they aren't moulting, and not laying anywhere else in the garden, I can't suggest anything.

 

Have you wormed them? It might be worthwhile, won't do any harm anyway. Maybe the older ones are just having a bit of a rest, your new ones possibly just aren't ready to lay yet.

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If they are dustbathing a lot and there are no eggs being laid, they may have skin parasites. They suck their blood and this can weaken the hens and this can cause them to stop laying eggs. Look carefully at the skin at the base of the feathers around the vent, under the wings and round the neck to see if you can spot either live lice scuttling around or their eggs stuck to the feather shafts. They look like tiny grains of rice welded to the base of the feather. Johnson's Lice and Mite Spray for pigeons is brilliant and will get rid of them if you spray and repeat after a week.

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well blow me, the very next day i had two lovely eggs from my good old trusty hens but am still waiting for new ones to come into lay. I wonder if they were simply making use of the dry weather to get some dust under their feathers. can't see any mites but they are getting treated to rather a lot throughout the day from the kitchen etc so will probably hold back on that to see if they get back into laying pattern with layers pellets in them. thanks for all tips.

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If they are dustbathing a lot and there are no eggs being laid, they may have skin parasites. They suck their blood and this can weaken the hens and this can cause them to stop laying eggs. Look carefully at the skin at the base of the feathers around the vent, under the wings and round the neck to see if you can spot either live lice scuttling around or their eggs stuck to the feather shafts. They look like tiny grains of rice welded to the base of the feather. Johnson's Lice and Mite Spray for pigeons is brilliant and will get rid of them if you spray and repeat after a week.

 

 

is this the one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bird-Anti-Mite-Lice-Spray-for-Feathers-by-Johnsons_W0QQitemZ350050508899QQihZ022QQcategoryZ3211QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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