2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[steve72]

Hi, Im new to keeping chickens, had the pleasure of being offered 3 ex batt's 4 months ago. When we got them home they settled in and we were getting 2 eggs a day. Over the last 2 weeks it has dropped to 1 a day if we are lucky. Did have a case of red mite in the coop which i treated with a blowtorch and then powdered everything. Thursday evening one of the girls was looking all puffed up an straining, about 10 minutes later she had what looked like a sack hanging from her vent. I gently pulled it out, it was just like an empty soft egg, she perked up immediately. Gave her a bath and she went off to bed. Still only 1 egg last 2 days. Should I be doing other things to encourage laying? Do chickens get too old to lay? Im not sure how old my girls are, the guy I had them from had them for 9 months. Any help would be great.

[Redwing]

hmmm

 

If they are alreayd ex batts and have been to a home since then they could be reaching teh end of their laying life

 

There are a couple of things you can try though:

 

Worming - if they ahve worms this may reduce the amount they lay, Flubenvet is the stuff to go for

 

Check water levels - if the hens arent drinking enough then they will lay less, make sure plenty of water is available and that its fresh and clean.

 

Tonic - try a good tonic to see if that helps

 

Cut down on treats and feed treats at the end of the day, this means they will fill up on layers pellets which may kick start the eggs again

 

Dont be surprised if the situation doesnt improve much though. Ex batts will slow down on the laying from two years old

[steve72]

Thanks for the reply.

I thought the food treats may be an issue and cut those out 2 weeks ago. My misses was spoiling them, they were eating better than me!

 

Will go down the route of worming. where can i get it from? will the local farm shop have it or is it a trip to the vets?

[Redwing]

My misses was spoiling them, they were eating better than me!

 

 

standard stuff then!

 

Flubenvet can be obtained form a farm supplies shop if someone there is trained to sell it, at my local CWG only some members of staff are allowed to sell these things. Otherwise it can be obtained on line easily enough.