Chicken bald back

[tomdeane]

Hello,

 

My 2 chickens went broody a while ago and stopped laying. They were in and out of the nest box all day. They stopped that a few weeks ago but there are still no sign of any eggs.

 

There were 2 days about a week and a half ago when one of them layed and egg, but since then ... nothing.

 

Is there anything I can do to get them started again? any tips or tricks?

 

I feed them layers pellets, with some poultry spice, have stopped giving them treats, make sure the run and house is clean all the time and I have started free ranging them in the garden, (which they seem to be destroying more and more by the day) as I thought that might help... but still no signs of eggs.

 

I have noticed that one of them is molting feathers everywhere at the moment...

 

should I be worried or should i just keep persisting as I am?

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[Egluntyne]

Have you wormed them and checked for lice and mites? Any of these ould be part of the problem

 

The moulting may impact on the egglaying too.

 

Are they laying in the garden when free ranging?

[tomdeane]

I have had them about 9 months now. They were at point of lay when I bought them.

 

How do I check for mites, lice? I use diatom powder in the house when I clean them out and I use poultry shield too in the run and house. I also disinfect it with bird safe disinfectant stuff.

 

Whats the deal with worming? Like I said I have had them for 9 months. How often should I de worm them or tell if they need it? How do I do it?

 

The moulting is still going on, but only with one of them, there are feathers everywhere, lol. but they are both not laying at the moment.

 

Thanks

 

Tom

[helenmb]

I seem to remember reading a few weeks ago on another thread that if a hen goes broody it takes a set number of days with no eggs before they return to normal. Can't remember how many but think it was about 10 or so days. Hopefully someone who has a better memory than me or has experienced this before will come along and post you a reply soon.

 

Ditto about worming them and also reducing and stopping treats should help too.

 

Good luck - hope they lay really soon.

[tomdeane]

yea I heard that which is why i didnt worry, but it has been like a month now... also how do you worm chickens?

[..lay a little egg for me]

Full details to be found in the FAQ on Poultry Health:

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=4619

[tomdeane]

cool thanks, what about lice and mites? how can you see if they have these?

 

tom

[helenmb]

Hi Tom

 

If you look at your chickens' feathers you can often see them at the quill end nearest to their body (look around the vent area in particular) and also when you part the feathers you can see them running across their skin as they don't like light.

 

I use Xeno 200 which I bought from www. vetuk.co.uk as it kills both internal and external mites. I just spray on the back of the neck so that is has direct contact with the skin as can't be reached by the hen and therefore ingest it. Look here for more info Lice and Ivomectin

[RubyReckless]

Broodiness can put them off for about a month (22 days to hatch an egg, a few more because they are a little, well, dim).

 

Plus it is the moulting season, which sends them off lay, and it is getting darker which sends some (especially pure breeds!) off laying as well.

 

Check the area around their vents for parasites, but it might just be a down time for your chooks right now. It happens.

 

Hope you are getting plenty of soon

[tomdeane]

thank you everyone for your help.

 

I went to the SPR Centre and they gave me lots of goodies, some vitamin stuff to put in their water, some more diatom powder as I had nearly run out, some Flubenvet for the worms.... alls good.

 

I will put into action and hopefully they will start to lay again in the next few days

 

Thanks,

 

Tom