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

[twopoke]

hi. im fairly new to the chicken way of life and been loving it so far.

bought them in jan and they were laying well from mid feb till now.

 

most seem a little skittish for the past week

one (Blodge ) seems has gone the other way..... in a state of daze all the time like she is stonned or shell shocked or something. not too bothered about food, slow to walk about and seems to stand alone alot.

and ive gone from 4-6 eggs a day down to 1-3 and now got one (Delia ) that is really broody to top it all off.

 

is she scarnig the rest away from the nest box?? she makes a hell of a racket when you move her!

 

please help, ive looked up broody hens , sitting them on ice cubes and dunking in water look to be the cure (seems a bit nasty though) but what of the others?? i am more worried about Blodge though.

 

i joked to the mrs that ide ring her neck and sort sunday lunch out but would rather learn from the experiance than put her to the chop.

 

i leave the door open so they can get out into the run all the time as they seemed to love that, is it poss that something is getting in the garden and frightening them?? ive not heard anything and sleep with the window open all the time (you can hear when they see something they dont like)

[Egluntyne]

You would have been better off posting this in the 'Chicken Clinic' as it would get more viewings there.

 

I would deal with the broody asap as they can be a nuisance to the other hens, hogging the nest box etc, and they rapidly lose condition and are a magnet for redmite in their broody state. Unless they are hatching eggs, it is in their best interests to snap them out of it. A broody cage is the most effective method.

 

Have you done a health check on the other girl? Checked for signs of Lice, mites or worms?

 

If she hasn't been wormed recently, I'd do it now as her symptoms could suggest an infestation.

 

Good luck.

[twopoke]

ive checked her over for lice and mites and cant see any signs of anything wrong.

i havnt wormed the girls since ive had them so could be the place to start !

 

thanks for the quick reply