2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[sheik]

Thanks for the replies, I agree we should use this thread to record this strange phenomenon of lazy chickens who won't lay!

 

Just an update, we took Flumpy to the vet just for our peace of mind. He gave her the once over, weighed her (2.3 kilos the little porker!), checked internally for imminent eggs (there weren't any!) and gave her a glowing bill of clean health, which we were very pleased about (especially as he's an experienced chicken vet and in fact keeps them himself).

 

He confirmed it is very unusual for her not to be laying for so long, and pretty much admitted he was baffled. He suggested we could try daylight therapy to get her laying again (lock her away in the dark early, and then gradually give her more daylight each day) but we're not going to do that (sounds too much hassle, for us and Flumpy).

 

Just before we left he decided to try her on a five day course of Baytril (the miraculous all en-compassing chicken medicine!) just in case she has an intestinal problem. He didn't seem convinced, and neither are we quite honestly, but we paid our £20 and she is on day three of it now. At least this time it was given to us in liquid format, so we can just soak it into bread. Last time we had it in tablets and had a nightmare getting poor Elliot to eat them!

 

If we ever get another Flumpy egg I will update this thread .

 

/\dam

[sheik]

Related thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=47048

 

/\dam

[Mrs Webmuppet]

I have read this thread with interest as Petals ( a mini Maran) is much the same, she started laying the odd softie, laid one proper egg and hasn't laid anything since March! She sits in the nest box occasionally ( just to wind me up I think) but no egg. Her eggs are supposed to have dark brown shells so theres no mix ups with the others eggs. Snowy hardly ever lays an egg either but she is too 'posh to push' being some fancy pekin!

[Chickvic]

Ruby still hasn't laid, don't know why

[sleepymummy]

Gosh this is interesting. My Gingernut, who is only 18 months old, started laying last July, 5-6 a week, moulted at Chritmas and hasn't laid since. It's very frustrating. The vet has given her a clean bill of health too. She sleeps a lot, takes herself off to bed early and I think she is losing weight now although her comb looks fine. I get one a day from my Pepperpot now who wasn't as good a layer as . I'm glad we're not the only ones who have a hen who has gone ok strike!

[Lydia]

This is a very interesting thread.

 

I have one too. Annie is a Pepperpot who we rehomed from someone else in April. They said she was about a year old and hadn't laid for a couple of months at that point.

 

Her original owners thought she had sterile peritonitis but I don't think that's the case (I've had a chook with that and Annie is very different). When I first saw her I thought she was just finishing a moult and and she has in fact moulted again since. She visits the nest box daily, sometimes several times a day for short periods.

 

She's happy, healthy and full of vitality and has a home here regardless of whether she pops out an egg. It would be nice to think she could though.

[Cinnamon]

I have a similar thing with Sweet Pea, my White Star.

 

She used to lay every day - huge white beautiful eggs, but nothing for several months now.

 

I do sometimes find her on the box though, & she is in perfect health in every other way

[L Gibson]

Well, I have a Rhode Island Red who I bought at about 9 wks with her sister and when she came into lay it lasted for a matter of a few weeks before she completely stopped. She moulted at the end of the year and when my other Rhode Island came into lay at the beginning of this year so did my non laying hen. This time only for about 2 weeks and then stopped! We have accepted that she doesn't want to lay, she's my sons hen and is very friendly and we love her dearly. She is quite a bit heavier than her sister who lays most days which is likely to be because she isn't laying.