Catwoman Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Am a complete newbie to hen keeping, so be gentle! I have 5 hens 2 are about 20 weeks old, and 3 are around 11 weeks. On arrival we had them in a smaller run and after a few days the older girls started laying again. One only seemed to lay double-yolkers and the other would lay every 2 days rather than daily. I felt their run was too small, so we have now moved them to a much larger run where they seem much happier. Problem is the 2 older girls have now stopped laying. They are hybrids. They have cider vinegar a couple of times a week in their water, are fed on layers pellets and will eat occasional kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s, have grit, and look to be in fine health. The only thing I can think of is that having roosted on the bars they have started sleeping in the nesting box at night. Could this stop them from laying? We've had no egg action for 12 days........ I've checked all over the run for eggs, but nothing. Advice please.....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Firstly, they are still quite young –' point of lay' is a term of art and hens are likely to have an erratic laying pattern in the early weeks. The double-yolkers are common when pullets are coming into lay. Secondly, I wonder if they are just too well fed? I would hold back on s"Ooops, word censored!"s and restrict their free ranging time to make sure that they are mostly eating pellets. You say they only get occasional kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s, and that should be fine, but it's worth restricting their diet for a few days to see if it makes a difference. When mature hens have stopped laying, it's often recommended to worm them, however your hens are still quite young and I'm not sure what the recommendations are for worming pullets, and whether this would have been done by the breeder. I would just give it a bit more time. I definitely don't think sleeping in the nestbox will stop them laying, mine do it all the time. PS you will find this forum is a very polite and helpful place, so please don't hesitate to ask questions! New henkeepers are always welcome to the flock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 the 11 week olds are still a bit young to be wormed and they should still be on growers ration until they are at least 18 weeks old the 20 week old ones can be wormed. if they are laying softies or thin shelled eggs they are more than likely been eaten or they could be laying in the garden if you free range them. sleeping in the nest box wont stop the laying there personally I'd get a bottle of life guard tonic and put them on course of that for a week it should sort out any soft shell problems it also helps them adjust to the stress of laying eggs for the first time also check the sell by date on the pellets as some brands can go 'stale' close to the date I had it happen with a well known brand a month before they were out of date Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Could be stress from moving them to a biggger home. They do lay on and off when first start though.good luck xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Eeeekk still no eggs! They look very happy, I've checked pellets which are fine, I cut out all kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s,tried chicken tonic, and wormed the older 2 hybrids, and still nothing. How can we go from happily laying, to moving and enlarging the run a month ago and nothing now? Can't see any "hidden" eggs, nor where any other creature could get in and steal the eggs....... Any other advice please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosecork Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 It's already been mentioned but mine go through phases of laying soft eggs and these are generally eaten with relish - sometimes to the point of not being able to tell a broken egg has been there at all, however wouldn't be for this length of time. Have you checked they don't have a difficult to detect underlying problem that could have put them off lay? Like scaly leg mite or lice? Or have they been very hot/dehydrated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 They are still very young and are at point of lay. Their systems sometimes take time to get on a regular basis. They will settle down eventually. Keep off the treats and keep those on layers pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 I went to check on them after lunch, and waiting for me were 2 eggs! How very random.....is it normal that both would come back into lay at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 it depends on what your call normal with hens laying eggs after all they don't read the same books and forums as we do but it happens and new layers can be a bit hit and miss for a few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
