Unsecure chicken perches

[igobarefoot]

Hi everyone

 

I'm really struggling at the moment with one of my girls laying lots of softies. I've got 4 hybrids, all about a year old and they've all been laying almost every day since last November.

 

Henny Penny has always laid lovely big brown eggs, up til a month ago when she laid her first softie. Since then she has laid four more, the last three over the last four days. She was really poorly with it all on Sunday, so I took her to the vet yesterday morning, but unfortunately the chicken expert vet wasn't there so we left with just an antibiotic injection.

 

The other 3 girls are absolutely fine and still laying every day. They are all fed a mix of layers mash & pellets and I'm now giving them limestone flour and cod liver oil as suggested, as well as some meal worms or sweetcorn mixed in with weetabix. I've also got some Zorcal D on order and hoping it arrives soon.

 

But none of that seems to be working for poor Henny. She started walking like John Wayne again this evening and then laid a perfect yolk right in front of me, no shell at all this time

 

I've read that it might be a good idea to try and stop her producing eggs for a while by taking her off the pellets? But what should I feed her instead? And whatever I feed her I will have to feed the other 3 as well

 

I'm so worried that all this softie laying is going to wear her out or bring on peretonitis - what should I do for the best?

 

I love her so much, its all so upsetting

 

Any advice would be really appreciated,

Thanks

Emma

[Jools]

It's a difficult one because your three healthy girls need their nicely balanced diet to keep them healthy, but I understand your dilema. Is there a way you can feed HP separately, maybe just a discrete handful of corn a couple of times a day to fill her up so she doesn't eat much in the way of pellets or mash? The only other thing I'd do would be to cut out the sweetcorn and weetabix for all of them (tough love lol!)

[igobarefoot]

Thats a good idea, I'll try her on some corn early in the morning and late afternoon when I get home and see if that helps. I'm really not bothered about never getting another egg from her ever again to be honest, I'd much rather that than watch her go through the discomfort of laying softies every day

 

She's having her first dust bath in ages at the moment and is looking chipper in herself, so thats a good sign. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she has a softie free day today, which would the first since Friday!

 

Am going to stop the treats as of this evening too - you are right, its just sooooo difficult to be tough when they come running towards me every time I step out the backdoor!!

[Egluntyne]

You could shorten her days too. That will have an impact on her laying.

 

It will mean you putting her to bed in a separate coop, very early, and then perhaps moving her in with the others later, so that she can get up with them in the morning. It will require a bit of a commitment and faff, but should help.