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

[Cyber Chook]

One of my Miss Pepperpots hasn't laid an egg for about, if I think about it properly, maybe 3 or 4 weeks. I think it's Audrey. I've seen Olive going into the nesting box, but not Audrey. It could be that they're laying on alternate days, but not very likely, I don't suppose.

 

They're all a year old, and were all laying well when Spring arrived. Then a month ago it reduced to 2 or 3 a day. And they started laying softies, so I cut out the treats, wormed them with flubenvet, and only let them out in the evening for an hour or so every now and then, so that they got most of their nutrition from their layer's pellets, and the odd cabbage. That was successful in that we don't have any more softies.

Now I'm getting only four eggs a day, never five, and it's always three light brown and one dark brown egg, so it seems to be the same chook not laying.

 

Is this normal? They all seem perfectly happy, eating, drinking, no signs of ill-health. No feathers coming out. No eggs being laid in secret locations.

 

Caroline

[gir1z]

Hi

 

I have been having a non laying problem also....my pepperpot and gingernut arrived in June 08 and have been laying reliably even through the winter and a fox attack! however, this changed last Friday and neither have layed since, although my newer isa brown (arrived January after fox attack), is still laying. She has a hyper ovulation problem poor girl and often lays double yokers or 2 eggs a day. She also lays occasional soft shelled eggs which neither of the others do.

 

None of the girls are moulting or looking ill and I am giving them plenty of layer pellets before any treats in the afternoon. They free range most of the day, now we have succeeded in keeping the fox out.

 

Anyone experienced anything similar? My friend in San Diego has a mixed flock of 20 and she told me they all stopped laying for a month last year, then suddenly started again! Maybe these things just happen...

[Mrs Webmuppet]

One of our chooks (Petals) started laying, laid a few softies, one 'proper' egg and hasn't bothered for about a month.Egg supply is a bit intermitent at the moment from the others too. On the upside I think Snowy has graced us with an egg (quite an event for Snowy- she usually is too posh to push).

 

I can only assume it's the weather.

[mostin]

My girl Leala stopped laying for 2 weeks and just started laying again today. Have no idea why. I tried all the things you mentioned, I guess she was just having a break .

[Cyber Chook]

That's good to hear, nice to know it's possibly just one of those things and she'll start back at the day job soon. She's a lovely girl, our Audrey, named after Audrey Hepburn because she's dressed in all-black. She conducts herself in a ladylike manner at all times, and is tres chic (or should I say chick?).

 

Fingers crossed she'll start laying again any day.

(Too posh to push - I like that )

 

Caroline

[Ain't Nobody Here]

We've had a month of softies and intermittent eggs . I've put it down to them being stressed out by the new WIR (and me crawling about in it putting perches and hentertainment in for them ). We had our first 3 (hard) egg day yesterday for weeks .

[Cyber Chook]

Love the WIR. I'm going to look out for an old tyre - is that for a dustbath? I have a WIR very similar to yours, (Aviaries 4U?) and couldn't figure out how to put a dustbath in for them without getting earth everywhere. And I love the ladders climbing frame

 

Caroline

[feemcg]

Yes but ANH had to remove the tyre 'cos the chickens were freaked out

[Mrs Frugal]

Mine are all laying really badly at the moment too, Caroline. From 5 layers (Coffee hasn't laid for nearly a year now, bless her), the most we get a day is 3 and that's a really good day too! All the usual checks/treatments given but no improvement. No idea what else to try so am putting it down as a mystery as I had cupboards full of eggs last year and was giving them away!

[Tessa the Duchess]

Weird, mine are only laying sporadically too. I used to get 14 eggs a week guaranteed, now I'm lucky if I get 7. I guess they are slowing down now they are 2 years old Time to add to the flock methinks

 

Tessa

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Love the WIR. I'm going to look out for an old tyre - is that for a dustbath? I have a WIR very similar to yours, (Aviaries 4U?) and couldn't figure out how to put a dustbath in for them without getting earth everywhere. And I love the ladders climbing frame

 

As Fee says, I had to get rid of it. They were avoiding a quarter of the run (in case it swallowed them up, presumably ). My run is A4u - delighted with it and had fun putting all those branches in!

[hilda-and-evadne]

Glad you posted this. Two of my hens - the Light Sussex and the Maran - have not laid for about a week but are otherwise alert and look happy. I was beginning to think that perhaps they had got too fat. The other two - Leghorn and Legbar - are much slimmer birds and are laying but a bit sporadically.

 

I have been checking on them several times a day, in case I had an egg eater but there is no sign of this happening, so far.

[Cyber Chook]

I just found a tyre via freecycle - now I'm having second thoughts! I don't want to be stuck with having to get rid of the damn thing. And my girls are complete and utter drama queens, so they're bound to think the sky has fallen in and the end of the world is nigh, if they see a big black monster lurking in their run. They've only just begun to settle down and become quieter the past week or so.

 

Anyway NEWSFLASH!!! High excitement amongst the staff (me) at Cluckingham Palace - we had the first five-egg day TODAY for about four weeks. Yay! Yes, the Omlet forum has somehow worked its magic, and the fifth egg has at long last appeared. I accidentally let them run out of pellets this afternoon, bad chicken mummy , so that'll probably be it now for another week Isn't it interesting how so many people's chickens aren't laying so well recently. Maybe it's the weather, as someone suggested here?

 

Tessa, do they start laying less that young then?

 

Caroline

[Tessa the Duchess]

 

Tessa, do they start laying less that young then?

 

Caroline

 

Not really sure Caroline, I just assumed that they would slow down as they got older. If you ever run out of pellets again I can always let you have some:)

 

Tessa