Wanted - Eglu Cube Mk1 Roosting Bars

[chuckmum6]

Our Cream Crested Legbar, has been a wonderful layer for the last two years with a steady stream of lovely green/blue eggs. This year we have had 3 eggs from her, she has a bright red comb and looks like she should be laying. I have looked all over the run and garden and found lots of other eggs layed by mad hormonal Pekins, trying to brood under bushes, but no coloured eggs. I suspect she is eating them, but if so she is doing it without any mess or trace of the crime! Any ideas please?

[dance in the dark]

There could may be many things. Perhaps she is just not laying to much these days. If she has had two solid laying seasons she will be slowing down, I wouldn't have expected her to stop, she may have just become a bit more random.

 

Is there any chance she could be feeling unwell? Is she looking disgruntled or less active than normal? I have found that sometimes hens can just pick up some sort of minor infection that puts them off lay for a few weeks. In that instance I would recommend apple cider vinegar in the water, or battles poultry drink, or, if you are feeling flash, net tex nutri drops, should get her to perk up if there is nothing seriously wrong with her.

 

There is also the possibility that she is just having a break. Sometimes my hens are in full lay and there just stop for a few weeks. No reason, just to give themselves a bit of a rest I guess.

 

From the sound of it, I wouldn't be tempted to say it was egg eating. There is normally some kind of residue left, and normally quite a bit of the shell, in my experience, could you lock her in a run and keep a special eye on her? When my legbars are about to lay and egg, they like to make sure the whole neighbourhood is aware, if it's the same with yours it might be easy to monitor her.

[chuckmum6]

She is positively rude with health, one heck of a character and a greedy beck! She laid her three eggs in March and nothing since, we all loved her eggs and have had stern words with her!

[sparkysmum]

Hi chuckmum6, is she sorted

[chuckmum6]

No, she hasn't laid since the three eggs in March , she eating plenty though! I can't really stake out the nest box long enough to see whether she goes in and does anything, I think she has just stopped, which is such a shame as they were such pretty eggs. I wonder if it would be possible to get a get a chicken cam, to see what she does all day!!!! I wonder what footage there would be - a day in the life of a chicken, think David Attenborough would jump at it?????

[Sue]

Is it possible that she is eating her own eggs? Sometimes birds with a very glossy healthy look can be doing this.

 

Check by placing an egg on the floor run where she can see it and watch her reactions. If she runs towards it and pecks at it then you may have a problem

 

Are the other hens in with her laying eggs? If none at all then it may be an egg thief like a crow of some type or even a rat taking them.

[chuckmum6]

She is in with 9 others laying hens, only hers are absent from the count, I think she has just stopped,typical

[Sue]

No, she hasn't laid since the three eggs in March , she eating plenty though! I can't really stake out the nest box long enough to see whether she goes in and does anything, I think she has just stopped, which is such a shame as they were such pretty eggs. I wonder if it would be possible to get a get a chicken cam, to see what she does all day!!!! I wonder what footage there would be - a day in the life of a chicken, think David Attenborough would jump at it?????

 

Well you can get a Cat Cam

http://www.mrpetcam.com/