4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[catherinehaynes]

Our Miss Pepperpot, Henrietta, has not laid now for over two months. We keep her with a Gingernut Ranger called Aggie who stopped laying for four weeks whilst she moulted, then Aggie started laying her beautiful big brown eggs again. We have waited, and waited...... for Henrietta to start laying again too but so far no luck. They have both been wormed and had tonic drops added to their water. Henrietta has moulted too. They must now be about a year old. Is it common for this crossbreed to stop laying for this long? Any advice gratefully appreciated. Many thanks.

[Egluntyne]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

Is she free ranging? Could she be laying her eggs under a shrub somewhere?

 

What is she eating? Too many things other than their layers pellets/mash can stop them laying.

[catherinehaynes]

She is free ranging but within an enclosure which we muck out (!) every week and I have checked she is not laying anywhere else. Along with the pellets she gets half slice of wholemeal bread, a small amount of sweetcorn and some lettuce every day; this is what we've been feeding since we got them.

[Egluntyne]

Hmmmm........

 

Just a suggestion....why not try just giving her pellets/mash only for a day or two and see if it makes a difference.

 

I've noticed that when we go away and they are confined to the run, because they are eating pellets only, we come back to a nest box positively brimming with eggs.

 

It might be worth a try.

 

Good luck.

[catherinehaynes]

Thanks for the advice. We'll definitely give it a try. Another thing occurred to me. Our other hen crouches down when we approach which they both used to do obviously thinking we were a cockerel (!). Now Henrietta doesn't do this and seems to have become very timid and difficult to catch. Is there such a thing as a hen psychiatrist?!!

Thanks again.

 

Catherine

[Egluntyne]

Maybe she has gone through the hennopause.

 

A couple more thoughts....have you wormed her recently or checked for lice and redmite. Both of these can stop hens laying if they have an infestation.