Juliette Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I currently have two chickens. One was ill a few months ago and I thought we might lose her but she rallied and now looks healthy. The other has been fine all along - now and again they do very runny droppings but that is the only sign of any possible ill health. They are eating, pecking around, acting normally - I have cut down on their treats so that they eat plenty of layers pellets and I regularly add shell to the feed as well. Since around 26th June I have had one soft shelled egg and that has been it. We sadly lost one following a prolapse about 2 months ago and I was keen to try and get another 2 chickens to add to the remaining pair - however I am nervous of getting any more chickens when I am not sure if the existing 2 are healthy. If they have been good layers in the past what are the chances of them laying again or do we sadly just have to give up and start again. One of them wasn't well a while ago and we thought we would lose her but she rallied and looks fine now. Look foward to hearing anyone's thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 How old are they, Juliette? And do you feed them treats? My first thoughts are that chickens do slow down and stop laying as they get older. Also, feeding too many treats can stop them laying. Finally, have they been wormed with something like Flubenvet recently? Tricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Mine are much the same (although they haven't been ill). No eggs from the older ladies for ages (the occasional one from Molly but not for weeks now) and even the youngsters have stopped now. I'm going to Flubenvet them and hope that when I go on holiday they come to their senses (so the chicken sitter at least gets some eggs for her trouble ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliette Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Thank you to both replies - no I havn't wormed them. I have cut back on treats a bit of corn and some carrott tops as that is their favourite and a few grapes now and again - but not every day. I got them August 2008 from Omlet and I think they were about 16 weeks old so started laying oct/nov time that year. I didn't realised that the worms could put them off laying - If they had worms would I see them when I clean out their tray - as I have looked and no sign. A few friends have looked at them in their run and commented on how healthy they are - but I will see if I can get some flubenvet and have a go with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 No you don't necessarily see worms when they have them. This is a common mistake that people make. Evidence of worms is usually only seem microscopically when examining the faeces. Getting to the stage where worms are seen in the poo usually means that things have got out of hand. You should routinely worm with Flubenvet 3-4 times a year (more if they are at high risk i.e kept in large numbers, little or no rotation of pasture etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
