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

[Cinnamon]

Sweet Pea, my White Star, has now not laid for about 5 months

She seems perfectly fine in every way,has been wormed regularly,& had preventative bug treatment too.

She used to lay a big white egg every day,but started laying softies,then shell less, now nothing.She is only about 15 months old ............any ideas???

 

The rest of the flock are laying well, & they don't have too many treats really

I am really missing her lovely huge white eggs

[Mrs Webmuppet]

Petals hasn't laid since March either. She had only just started laying, laid a few softies, then shell less eggs, one perfect egg then nothing since. She goes through the going in the nest box and the egg anouncement process but no egg She is in perfect health, wormed etc, has a bright red face. So I too would be interested in the replies to this.

[Chickvic]

I'm still waiting for someone to come up with ideas, Ruby hasn't laid since October, she went through a minor moult and never laid again Nice red face and big comb but her legs have gone fat and yellow. They're wormed regularly and don't have treats every day but no joy I did worry to start with that she was ill but she is fine - just no eggs!

[meezers]

I've mentioned in other threads on this subject , that my Bluebelle is the same , no eggs from her now for at least 6 months. She also goes into the nest box and 'announces' an egg, but it's all in her mind Yesterday though, I caught her eating a tiny( about an inch long ) tube shaped egg, I'm hoping this is the start of her laying again.

[Plum]

Could she be laying softies and the others eating them straight away. I saw mine doing it with Sparrow's eggs one day and I still don't know if she is laying any at present no trace, not even shell.

[Scramble]

Might be it Plum, bit soon for the Henopause me thinks

[Chickvic]

I have been known to watch them, Ruby will go in when Opal lays (to keep her company?) but doesn't lay herself. I'm not really that fussed so long as she is happy and healthy

[The Dogmother]

Not sure Sarah, they're in a run, aren't they? So not laying in the garden.

 

Do they get lots of treats?

 

15 months is very young to stop laying

 

You've done everything else I'd suggest.

[Griffin]

I've come to the conclusion that some of these hybrids don't lay for much more than a year, if that. Of the five girls I bought last August only three are laying with any regularity, Pancake our Bovans Goldline, Maisy the Daisybelle and Tallulah the Amber Star. Mrs Pants hasn't laid for a few weeks now. Valerie either lays softies or none at all and she's been like that for at least six months. I don't mind, I love them all dearly, but it does worry me that these commercial bred hybrids are not doing what it says on the tin. Mine are wormed regularly and treats are severely rationed due to Juliets weight problems and also because I want the growers to be filling themselves up on the good stuff.

 

Some of my younger ones are just coming into lay now, some are still too young, then there are the freeloaders and finally those that do lay, but all things considered the two eggs I got yesterday out of that lot is pretty shameful Mustn't grumble, we had a bumper crop of eight the day before

[Newmarcell]

Hi all,

 

We have a similar situation with our ranger, Martha (18months old), who hasn't laid properly since April. She tends to lay softies or shell less eggs, or a mixture of the two which is gobbled up without trace by the other chickens !

 

We treated her for every possible illness / condition, but still the problem continued. I contacted our local vets (limited hen knowledge) who said she was possibly stressed or lacking minerals so recommended a version of poultry spice. We continued with this for about one month, but no improvement, so rang vets back and they (quite honestly) admitted that they had no idea and could make no further suggestions!

 

So, yesterday I rang a vet a little further away who specialises in farm animals. We went through all of the above, and he concluded that as she's a ranger hybrid, and has laid without rest for the first year, she's simply worn herself out!

 

The vet also said that there's nothing really that can be done to help her, as long as she's happy and healthy.

 

Hope this puts a few minds at rest - it certainly did for me. I was worried that my hen was ill, but it appears she's just a tired bird!

 

Newmarcell

[jomaxsmith]

My 3 hybrids are now around 2 years old and I've been averaging about 3 eggs a week from the lot of them for the last month or so

 

My Coral has always had a problem with softies and I've got a feeling her egg laying tackle has just given in, my little red hen has never laid every day but seems to be laying about 1 a week - and eating it if the shell isn't tough as iron and my black hen is down to about every other day.

 

Bloomin' expensive, these Good Life eggs!

 

Jo

[Henhathnofury]

Although it sounds odd, it is really a lucky thing if her body stops laying completely. My pepperpot stopped laying proper eggs...she must have been about twenty months. Her eggs had been very big. Softies and then, because she should have stopped laying and didn't, she had a nasty prolapse. She did die eventually, getting significantly more ill as egg just oozed out of her. It was awful.

 

Have you ever spoken to Bruce Maclean in Reading? He is an avian specialist. But basically a hen has a set number of eggs to lay in a lifetime and once they are spent, that's it. I have a gingernut ranger, same age as my pepperpot, who is still laying every single day. I wish that she would stop so that she could rest and retire. She is skinny and frenetic...can't stop for anyone. A proper desperate housewife always pulling straw into the nest for her egg-laying.

 

Of course there could be softies that are being eaten...they become quite crafty at that....

[tara]

Ive got 9 hens a mixture of battery and normal l get between 5 may be 6 to 8 eggs a day.My eldest hen is 4 and a half now and seems to have stopped laying.One of my battery girls is not laying as shes replenishing her looks understanable as shes getting lovely looking But then my ducks are the same at the moment out of 7 ducks im getting 2 eggs a day.I know my birds are healthy there all wormed every 6 months but l think that when they moult it really takes it out of them.I do love there eggs but l get so much enjoyment out of them l dont mind if they have a bad egg laying day.

[eggregiousness]

I have read that pure breeds, like the Cochins I have on order, are not such good layers as the hybrids. Does that mean they carry on laying until they are older or are they pretty much exhausted at the age of 2 -3 as well? I don't mind really - just wanted to be able to justify the hens to my husband...

[Griffin]

Pure breeds should carry on laying for longer because many don't lay over the winter.

[eggregiousness]

Thanks Griffin! That was the answer I was hoping for!

[Cinnamon]

Thanks all.

 

Yes, I know about the fact that once their eggs are used up, they can no longer produce more, but she only really laid for a few months

I have a 3 year old hybrid, as well as 3 other hybrids, who are still laying well - Sweet pea never really laid for longer than 6 months before stopping altogether, which seems a very short time to me.

 

Whatever the reason, she is a lovely hen & a great member of the flock, so we are happy to have her around eggs or no eggs

 

Of course I could see this as an excuse to get a couple more hens...............................

[The Dogmother]

I have 11 pure breed bantams and miniatures; they lay less eggs and stop when they moult (between end of Oct and mid-Jan). They have far less egg-related problems, no prolapses and go on laying for much longer.

 

I have two birds who are around 5 years old and still grace me with the odd egg, one retired lady and the rest laying like stink.

 

The egg production is far less predictable/reliable than with hybrids, but I wanted the hens primarily; the eggs are a bonus. I can buy eggs from a friend with a free range flock in the winetr if I need to.

 

If you want regular egg production, then I'd recommend 'stock rotation' and buying in new pullets every year to ensure a regular supply.

[Cinnamon]

Thats right Clare, & what I have done every year up til now.

 

With 8 hens I really need to wait for a couple to go to the great Eglu in the sky before I buy any more this time,however tempting it may be

 

My mix of 4 Pure breeds & 4 hybrids works really well for us, but this problem with Sweet pea is a first for me & took me by suprise a bit, bless her

[The Dogmother]

It's rare, but does happen with hybrids, some never lay an egg, which is even rarer.

 

Lovely name she has

[Chickvic]

Sweet pea never really laid for longer than 6 months before stopping altogether,

 

That's exactly the same as Ruby, laid for six months and stopped, hasn't laid now for 9 months. Like I said I don't mind, she's happy and healthy.

[chickencam]

My White Star must have been a similar age when she stopped, but she had a prolapse and died after only a couple of weeks. there were no eggs in her system when she died.

 

The super layers don't lay for very long. One of my Omlet Pepperpots hasn't laid for a week and lays very few now and she is in lovely health with a red comb etc and still goes into the box sometimes . She is 2.5 years old

[The Dogmother]

2.5 years is a good age for a hybrid to still be laying.

 

A friend has 6 pepperpots and one of them had egg tackle problems - she now lays wonky eggs with thin, mulitcoloured shells.