Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Chicken Momma]

I have four hens, two are roughly 2 years old and two approximately 1 year old.

 

Five days or so ago one of my older hens (Margo) fell ill. She had diarrhoea and would not eat although she did drink ( water with added ACV) She separated herself from the other three and looked very poorly indeed. This lasted approximately three days. During this period I found outside the coop 2 lashes and one 'empty' 'rubber' egg. I only saw Margo pass ONE lash and from the time she did so her appetite came back and she is now back to normal.

 

However

 

NONE of the girls, who previously were laying daily, have laid an egg for 5 days! I have looked all around and can find no secret nests anywhere. I have also cleaned out the mucky coop/nestbox and put in fresh straw. Their appetites are normal as is their behaviour. They all have bright red combs and look the picture of health. They are fed mainly on layers pellets with an afternoon tea of mixed corn, suet pellets (very few) and the occasional Mealworm.

 

I am stumped! Any ideas folks? My inclination is to wait and see but it is SO frustrating to go from 20 - odd eggs a week to zilch!

 

Grateful for any comments or suggestions!

 

Many thanks

Angie

Isle of Man

[Beantree]

Well the reasons I have from my experience for suddenly stopping laying are not what you would expect Chicken Momma.

 

Most likely is a bad fright caused by a predator at night. The 'lash' is co-incidence.

 

The other is egg theft by one of your neighbours. Try padlocking the nest box as it worked for us.

[Egluntyne]

I would worm them and cut back on all treats. It can make a difference.

[Chicken Momma]

Thanks Beantree and Egluntyne! A big fright is certainly a possibility (we are deep in the countryside and there are a lot of long tails about) but not egg theft! We are very remote and have only one set of neighbours - an elderly couple who I share eggs with anyway. I will certainly cut back on treats but worming them could be difficult - if they won't take the wormer. I had thought of crushing up some pumpkin seeds and adding to their feed as I had heard that is a natural wormer. Have you heard that?

 

Thanks fir your advice ladies!

 

Angie

[Egluntyne]

I would use Flubenvet. They probably won't notice, and will eat the treated pellets if you withhold all extras.

[Chicken Momma]

Thanks Egluntyne I will try it. Although not sure how to ensure each hen gets the right dose. They do adore grapes so I guess I could put it in those.

 

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xx

[Egluntyne]

The best way to ensure that they get the correct dose is to add it to the pellets as per manufacturers instructions. That way they obtain the correct amount, as they eat according to their age, weight, and whether they are in lay or not. Also, they get a sort of continuous treatment throughout the course. Giving them a bit of Flubenvet on a grape will give them an indeterminate amount in one hit and is not likely to be truly effective.

[Chicken Momma]

Thanks again I'll give it a to. I'm also wondering if the other three hens could have stopped laying in sympathy with Margo as she was so unwell. Sounds silly I know but I know a flock can be traumatised by the loss of one of their number ....

 

6 days now!! and just 8 days ago I got FOUR eggs from FOUR hens in one day!