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[Susan C]

Really grateful for any suggestions - Layla's stopped laying.

 

I have two black rocks (Layla and Daisy) - now 18 months. Up til recently both have been 1-a-day regular as clockwork. Both free range in the garden quite a lot.

 

A few weeks ago they both started to take _ages_ to lay, and I wondered if they might be a 'touch' broody (but both had no interest in staying on the nest once the eggs were laid). I also noticed that Daisy, as well as being thin, had a bald breast and they seem to have reduced poo production overnight a _lot_ (but I guess the nights are shorter).

 

Daisy continues to lay every day (and has plumped up a little) but Layla, after producing a couple of smaller 'crumpled' eggs has stopped altogether. But she's the picture of health - really quite plump (no treats though), glossy feathers, red comb, happy as could be. Both are really active and behaving normally (but Layla will no longer crouch and runs away instead)

 

Layla still does the egg routine (including the egg anouncement) but without the egg!

 

They have been wormed with flubenvet within the last month, vent area looks normal and there is definitely no alternative nest.

 

 

Could this be the henopause already???

 

We'd be grateful for any advice! Thank you!

[JamesH]

Going on the age of them it sounds like they are going through a moult? If it's their moult they should resume laying after around a month, plenty of eggs left in them yet!

[AJuff]

Darcy Vader our black rock stopped crouching when she started moulting. She didn't lay an egg for two months!!!!!

[Susan C]

Definitely not a moult - she's never looked more feather-full (they moulted mid-winter).

 

Still no eggs, and she's stopped 'pretending' to lay an egg now too - isn't a year and a half old too soon to stop so suddenly??

[Egluntyne]

Why not try cutting out all treats, and just feeding her the layers pellets for a few days?

 

That might just give her a nudge.

[Susan C]

6 months on and Layla is still eggless. She's 2 years old now. Weirdly she still has enormous (bigger than 'normal' for a girl) red fleshy comb and wattles, and these stayed intact right through her october full moult and didn't shrivel or fade at all.

 

All I can think is that she has some kind of hormonal problem. She seems well and happy, the only problem is that the comb etc has grown so big that she doesn't like putting her head into the grub as they rub on the opening!! And yes, she definitely started out as a girl, giving us daily eggs until last June.

 

So she's definitely a companion chicken now, unless your collective expertise can suggest anything to help????

 

OH keeps threatening the pot, but don't worry, that's not going to happen!

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Egluntyne]

Sometimes if their functioning ovary becomes damaged and their hormones go wonky, they stop laying and develop the secondary sexual characteristics of the rooster......larger combs and wattles, manly plumage plumage and they may even start crowing!

 

Happen that is what is going on here.

 

Lots of documentation about it on 'tinterweb.

[Susan C]

Thanks Egluntine - I've been reading up on the web. It seems so strange and unlikely to have it happen to my first ever hen but I can't think of another explanation. And I must admit she's started doing a strange blood-curdling squawk occasionally ...

 

Thanks again,

 

Susan

[sandyhas3chucks]

6 months on and Layla is still eggless. She's 2 years old now. Weirdly she still has enormous (bigger than 'normal' for a girl) red fleshy comb and wattles, and these stayed intact right through her october full moult and didn't shrivel or fade at all.

 

All I can think is that she has some kind of hormonal problem. She seems well and happy, the only problem is that the comb etc has grown so big that she doesn't like putting her head into the grub as they rub on the opening!! And yes, she definitely started out as a girl, giving us daily eggs until last June.

 

So she's definitely a companion chicken now, unless your collective expertise can suggest anything to help????

 

OH keeps threatening the pot, but don't worry, that's not going to happen!

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

read this wrong, was going to reply. My girl is enormous not her comb etc.