Omlet Smart Autodoor - New in box

[Popularfurball]

I know it is erratic to start with, but is there a point you should worry about not laying?

 

Had our girls two weeks now, and ten days ago our lovely black rock went all quiet and wouldn't come out (I actually thought she was poorly!) and then a creme egg sized perfectly formed (and tasty!) brown egg appeared. She hasn't laid anything since.

 

Mrs skyline started laying Sunday and has laid 4 eggs - busy little thing!

 

Should I be worried about mrs black rock? She seems ok and happy enough. They have access to water/grit/she'll/pellets etc and are in a walk in run. She is eating well and and from a reputable breeder and full vaccinated etc. I'm not sure about when they were wormed but was going to worm them in next few weeks anyway as I read it should be march and October time.

[sjp]

she isn't laying elsewhere is she one of mine started laying under the coop for a while a couple of weeks back and for some reason only know to herself covered the eggs over with the wood chip

you can worm them any time but most of us tend to worm March and October a couple of weeks time will be fine as it'll let them get used to laying

[Purplemaniacs]

Is she laying softies that are being eaten, sometimes egg shell quality takes a while to settle down?

 

Chrissie

[Popularfurball]

Unless she is eating them straight off then I don't think she is eating them - there is no mess to suggest that?

 

Run is very boring as only been up a week so just grass in it and woodchip upstairs but clean out thoroughly every few day and no trace of any eggs (I'm checking regularily each day though as I'm excited!!!).

 

The first egg was perfect, just quite small. She has stopped squatting and significantly. It's almost like she had such bad pmt with the other egg she is refusing to do anymore!!!!!

[sjp]

other than the odd damp patch of bedding there wouldn't be any sign of a softie as they eat the lot

[Popularfurball]

Should I be worried? Or taking her to a vet or anything?

 

First time chicken owner all a bit new and daunting!

[sjp]

have they got access to a pot of mixed/oyster shell grit? some birds need more calcium than others don't mix any in with the feed through. also a slug of cod liver oil mixed into the feed wouldn't hurt if she's laying softies you can get that from a feed merchant or an equine supplier

with the weather all over the place at the moment it could just be a blip a few of my mob stopped laying just after the 2nd bout of snow we had and only restarted this week but just keep an eye on her. also check the sell by date on the feed bag I had a hybrid that started to lay softies when I brought a bag of feed that was close to it's sell by date

[Popularfurball]

Yeah free range access to shell/grit, pellets and water.

 

They are having a treat every 2-3 days (usually fresh veg such as cauliflower but sometimes a small handful of corn).

 

The egg she laid was about creme egg sized, perhaps a bit smaller and was utterly perfect in its form (apart from size!).

 

Hers is the egg on the right to a medium supermarket egg

 

 

This is what they are living in (awaiting furnishings!!!!)

 

And mrs skylines in comparison

 

Four in five days from her!

[Purplemaniacs]

Lovely photos. As long as she seems fine in other ways I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of eggs.

 

When they first start laying they can be rather irregular and combine that with the weather perhaps it is just taking her longer. Eggs do get bigger too!!

 

Chrissie

[Popularfurball]

I figured they would get bigger - but they are cute that size!

 

I wish I could get them to perch too but they have no interest in perching... Anywhere! Either of them!

[Popularfurball]

So, we are now eight weeks on... And still no eggs!

 

Brown hen seems to have stopped pecking her (introduction of swing perches and Stockholm tar sorted this!)... Her feathers are regrowing and she is a happy little hen. But not laying?

 

Mrs skyline is a fantastic little layer - 6 a week usually - again all happy and healthy and her territorial issues seemed to have settled a bit!

 

If they were egg eating would they be eating mrs skylines too?

 

I can't figure out what's going on!

[merlina]

Any updates?

If she was very stressed that would stop her laying (you mentioned pecking etc)

Yes, very occasionally a hen will never lay, but as yours has laid one I am hopeful there will be more

Mine tend to stop laying if they are at all under the weather or unhappy (like when all that snow went on and on egg production went down enormously)

Other than taking her to a vet for a check-up there's not a lot you can do but wait and keep fingers crossed

[Popularfurball]

She was put down last week sadly.

 

One of her eyes closed up - eye was fine, no coughs sneezes or gunk coming out of face and happy and mooching about. She was eating and drinking and pottering about - she was a little quieter than normal but not unusually so - more cautious than anything.

 

I bathed it etc and wormed/liced them all but she didn't improve. I took her the the vet (40mins in car) and she couldn't stand very well (kept sitting down) or hold her head upright when we got there - was just too much for her so she was PTS. Vet thought she has always been a poorly hen based on the history. She was very underweight (I didn't realise, just assumed she was a different build to mrs skyline as she was always much lighter) though she ate fine. There was a suggestion of tumour/cyst somewhere unseen as no cause for the shut eye.

 

I panic bought two more chickens a couple of days before she was PTS as I was worried about the other one being alone - so we now have a leghorn and cuckoo maran too and they are all getting on well so far - and none of them have any signs of being sick and getting three eggs a day!

 

It's nice to not worry now though - I always had a niggle about her in my mind.