petehiggins Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hi folks, My 2.5 year old Lohmans 'egg-a-day' Princess stopped laying about two weeks ago shortly after I found an egg which appeared to have been layed without a shell in my 'Cube'. She is my only brown egg layer so I know which are hers.....and only my two other Wyandottes have been laying since (and they are fine). Nevertheless, she has behaved normally since (the boss) with her normal huge appetite......right up until today! She looks fine and dandy, but I think a few feathers lost in past couple of days, but her energy and spirit is completely gone today! I don't think it's a moult because she never behaved like this in previous moults..... she is barely interested in eating, nevermind being first to the food, she just stands by the fence and stares! My partner (who is filipino and chicken versed from childhood) checked her over last week-end and said she was not egg-bound but there was an egg in early development...... yet she has not layed in the week since.....what do I do? (ChickenPartner is 250 miles away, so pretty useless as usual ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 ...and whilst I was typing that she has just thrown a small amount of 'lash' ..... is that all it is? Anything I can do to help her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 At 2.5 years she will be coming towards the end of her laying life. She may perk up now that she has passed the lash. Has she been wormed recently? Is her abdomen swollen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thanks, This morning she is much more her perky self - first out of the Cube to the food. I use Verm-X with them and I think it was just throwing the lash which was upsetting her yesterday (gobbled up quickly by my other two - disgusting ) After the lash, do they renew the lining and continue laying eggs, or is it like a hysterectomy and her laying career is over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Please bear in mind that Verm-X isn't a wormer, so we'd recommend that you worm them with some Flubenvet; you can buy ready milled pellets online. You will see an improvement in the whole flock once they are properly wormed. As they haven't been done previously, I would worm them again 3 weeks later to make sure that any worm load is at a minimum and not compromising their health. Details are in the FAQ section of the forum. I would get some NutriDrops and dose this girl with them... you will see an almost instant improvement, and thereafter keep up a regular quarterly worming routine, plus supplement their water with a good quality poultry tonic such as the Nettex vitamin boost or life-guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I guessed at worms on our first post Petehiggins. Using Verm-X confirms it and we have been caught out as well. Marriages do layers pellets with Flubenvet premixed. Our girls love them. The time to lay after a'lash' varies in my experience from 2 weeks to a year. But it is only the oviduct lining, so no reason to stop laying forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Oh dear....I thought Verm-X was the organic alternative to nasty chemical wormers? Just ordered the Marriages pellets with Flubenvet.....hope my girls like them last time I tried them on Marriages they wouldn't eat it and I had to throw it away. How often do you use sanitising powder in the run, and is it just in the run? I sometimes let my girls wander around my garden for a treat....do you sanitise powder gardens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Chickens don't like changes and feed is a big one. They will eat it when they are hungry so don't worry if they starve for a while. Ours preferred the Marriages with Flubenvet to their Smallholder pellets for some reason? The little piggies stuffed themselves. Be tough and don't give in to them. They will like Flubenvet powder coated on their feed even less. I've never used sanitising powder Petehiggins. It has always been easiest to move the run and coop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Make sure that you keep them in the run as much as possible when you are worming them petehiggins; if they have no alternative to the Flubenvet pellets, then they will eat them I use Ground Sanitising Powder in the run before I put down new litter, then once a week when I rake it over. I take it that your run has a clear, waterproof cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 I like to give them the freedom of the garden... but they are soooo destructive..... hence we are moving to Devon with the requirement of a field they can dig to their hearts content. Currently they are in a Cube with walk-in extension which cannot be moved around because of the available space. On reflection - I would not have had chickens in an urban garden..... they need space and grass!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Sorry....no I took the covers off my runs so the rain can help flush the woodchip covering I use - yes proper chicken wood chip! But outside the Omlet walk-in run they have another fenced area twice that size which was my onion/garlic patch but the girls have owned it since they got here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 They will need somewhere covered (that's not their coop) to get out of the bad weather; chickens hate being wet, and paddling around in the wet, or damp litter will give them fungal foot issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petehiggins Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 My girls have cover in their Cube extension and loads of woodchip so their feet never get wet. They also have perches in the walk in run. You folks seem VERY critical.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 That sounds ideal petehiggins. Not critical at all - you are asking for advice, and I am trying to see if there's a root cause, and also give some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 You folks seem VERY critical.... I remember feeling like that when I first came on here many years ago, but I have found all the help invaluable - as DM says its not criticism but getting to the bottom of things . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaKiw1 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 We sprink;le Stalosan over their woodchip (very thin layer) and earth base of their OMLET WIR once a week when it's cleaned and poo pick daily. I think it's always good if the rain can be kept out of the run when possible but ours never seem to mind if they get wet when out free-ranging. Everyone works out their own best approach and you'll get lots of differnet suggestions via the forum that you can pick from - but i 've never known anyone be critical in a nasty way on here - not like on a horsey forum i used to go on where people expressed views very forcibly and posters regulalry got real upset ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Gosh Petehiggins read through posts when I read last one and see no criticism at all just helpful advice and suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Stalosan is also good LunaKiw1, although you may want to avoid using it on a windy day, as it is very powdery, and vile if it blows in your face Ground Sanitising Powder and BioDry are both more crystalline (if that makes sense) like fine table salt, so less likely to blow around. All my birds, bar one daft Araucana, refuse to hang around in the wet weather. A dry and light run will prevent bacteria from breeding in the litter while the UV light will help to kill off any intestinal worm cysts. My grandfolks just used to have wheeled shed in a paddock - when it rained the chooks went in the sheds and moped around, looking out at the rain things have moved on since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Critical, no. Invaluable help, yes. I have learned so much from this forum. I do hope your girl is better soon, hopefully that lash will sort her out. I do find mine go to the driest part they can when the weather is bad. Apart from the batties, they will do anything not to be confined (bless them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
