kokotg Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Anyone want to brainstorm with me? I have 4, and we've gone from getting 3-4 eggs a day to one. I think it's always the same chicken laying, too. They're not broody. I've looked all over the yard, and I'm pretty sure they're not laying somewhere else (they have the run of our fenced yard most of the day). They're acting normally, aside from not laying eggs. I did notice tonight that my leghorn is keeping one eye closed a lot of the time. They aren't doing the thing where they stick their wings up when I go to pet them anymore. umm, yeah, so what's up with my girls? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Are they moulting? Did something scare them? Actually my friend says hers just stopped laying. Perhaps it's the changing of the seasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 I don't THINK they're moulting. Isn't it too early for moulting? We're in GA, so it's still very much summer here. Also, I should have mentioned, they're just 9 months old, so I was thinking they wouldn't moult until next fall? maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 4, 2008 Author Share Posted September 4, 2008 And nothing scared them as far as I know (this has been going on for maybe a week now). They don't, umm...seem scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 And nothing scared them as far as I know (this has been going on for maybe a week now). They don't, umm...seem scared. :lol: I'm sorry. I'm just visualizing myself trying to determine whether or not a chicken seems to have been frightened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison in KY Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 sometimes they quit laying when it's really hot. Sometimes it's when the days get shorter (not enough daylight). I just know ours go through phases where they stop laying eggs, unfortunately :) Alison in KY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Has the weather turned cooler? If you mix some curry powder in with their mash. it warms their body up and they start laying again. It takes a few days to start working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 If you mix some curry powder in with their mash. it warms their body up and they start laying again. It takes a few days to start working Curry powder?! Can you taste it in the eggs? (like when they get real grass or just feed?) Sometimes it's when the days get shorter (not enough daylight). They can definitely tell already. Try putting a light on a timer to come on around 4 and go off when the sun is up. :lol: I'm sorry. I'm just visualizing myself trying to determine whether or not a chicken seems to have been frightened. Me too. I have actually seen my chickens chased by a fox. A couple of hours later, I couldn't have told that they had been scared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Wow. So you got them as chicks in January? I can't quite imagine that, but I guess you are that much farther sound than me. :) In my experience, pullets don't molt until after one full season of laying, so it doesn't seem as if they should be slowing down so dramatically yet. Any chance you've got a snake or a rat in the coop eating the eggs? What time are you collecting the eggs...er....egg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 Has the weather turned cooler?If you mix some curry powder in with their mash. it warms their body up and they start laying again. It takes a few days to start working curry powder, eh? good to know! but, no, it's not getting cooler here yet. It's been in the 80's or 90's every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 Wow. So you got them as chicks in January? I can't quite imagine that, but I guess you are that much farther sound than me. :) In my experience, pullets don't molt until after one full season of laying, so it doesn't seem as if they should be slowing down so dramatically yet. Any chance you've got a snake or a rat in the coop eating the eggs? What time are you collecting the eggs...er....egg? yep, we ordered them from Ideal. In retrospect, probably not a good idea, but they all made it okay. We check for eggs at least twice a day--not always at the same time. Usually once early to mid morning when we let them out of the coop, and then again sometime in the afternoon or early evening. The coop is a chain link dog pen with a small hutch inside it--I'm nearly sure there's not a snake hanging out in there. A rat is possible, I guess, but it would have to be really sneaky. I'm really thinking they're just not laying. We usually hear them when they lay eggs, and they've been really quiet lately. And they don't do the thing with their wings (when my leghorn went broody a little while back, I could tell she was about to start laying again because she started doing that again). Only other weird behavior is that they're sleeping in crazy places--tonight when I went out to close up the pen, only one of them was on the roosting bar; one of them was on top of the hutch, one was in the nesting box, and one was on top of the nesting box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 It may be that they are eating their eggs. Check beaks carefully. Try upping their protein--give them some dog food. would they not leave a mess (at least some random eggshell) in the nesting box if they were eating them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I don't THINK they're moulting. Isn't it too early for moulting? We're in GA, so it's still very much summer here. Also, I should have mentioned, they're just 9 months old, so I was thinking they wouldn't moult until next fall? maybe? One of my hens started moulting a few weeks ago and I'm in NM. It's still summer here, too. The other hen isn't moulting but isn't laying either. ETA: REgarding the suggestion about putting a light on a timer for them. Make sure that you do allow them some dark time. It's not good for them to be under a light 24/7. Also, be safe about the light. I'm so braindead sometimes my chickens are lucky I haven't burned down their coop around them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 One of my hens started moulting a few weeks ago and I'm in NM. It's still summer here, too. The other hen isn't moulting but isn't laying either. yeah? okay, maybe that's all it is. So--sounds like it could be any one of a bunch of things...must investigate further. I'm relieved not to have anyone say that it sounds like they're deathly ill and will keel over at any moment, at any rate :). We're going out of town in a week, and I think my brother and SIL are not going to be nearly so excited about chicken sitting for us if they're not going to get any eggs. oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Gaah...maybe my border collie is coming to visit you? :glare: (Our invisible fence has a break in it, thus I'm losing most all our eggs to Marco (the Cursed). :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Yup, I caught my terrier sneaking out of the coop with an egg in her mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Roosting in weird places might be a sign that something disturbed them at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 yeah? okay, maybe that's all it is. So--sounds like it could be any one of a bunch of things...must investigate further. I'm relieved not to have anyone say that it sounds like they're deathly ill and will keel over at any moment, at any rate :). We're going out of town in a week, and I think my brother and SIL are not going to be nearly so excited about chicken sitting for us if they're not going to get any eggs. oh well. I'd focus on what may have frightened them. Roosting in weird places is a definite "sign" if they've not done that before now. And, as I said before, most pullets (females under a year of age) don't take a break from laying their first fall like older birds do. Hens, yes -- I'd figure it was a product of day length and the onset of a molt. Just not with pullets. Hope you figure it out. Can you tell I live vicariously for chickens? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 So if something DID scare them, what do I do about it now? How do I get them through this difficult time? A chicken therapist? Or do I just wait it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doran Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 So if something DID scare them, what do I do about it now? How do I get them through this difficult time? A chicken therapist? Or do I just wait it out? Waiting is the only real solution for the birds, but you might need to go on watch for them. How secure is their coop? Any way a critter could get in at night? Are you inclined to want to go out there several times, after dark, at odd hours, over a period of days, to see if you can catch anything in the act? That's what I'd be doing, and I'd be looking for a snake or rat, or even a pesky squirrel. Anything that might be disturbing to the birds. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl in NM Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 When we first started selling eggs we had 26 Rhode Island Reds, they are considered the most productive layers. We purchased them as day olds the first of May and they quit laying late Sept/early Oct. I remember vividly that I had several very unhappy customers. I thought they wouldn't quit or slow down on their laying the first fall also, but they sure did! I'm with the other's though as far as checking on them at night. Can you put a motion sensor light out by the coop? Then it would be easier for you to see if something is bothering them. Do you have a dog that could alert you if there was a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 :lol: okay, confession: I forgot to close up the pen one night last week :blushing:. At first I was sure that that happened AFTER they stopped laying, but when I thought about it more I couldn't really remember for sure. So something scaring them is certainly a plausible theory. When I do remember to lock the pen (every night except that one!), I think it's secure against things actually big enough to eat chickens, but something smaller could probably get in (it's a chain link dog pen, with hardware cloth around the bottom half and covering any gaps, aviary netting on top, and cinderblocks all around the bottom on the outside. But something that's small and can climb could get in through the chain link up high). We have dogs, but they sleep inside at night, so they're not much use for nighttime security. I could also go back to locking them in their hutch at night if we find out something's bothering them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I don't know about in Georgia but here we have weasels which can get into very small openings and racoons which can manipulate doors. Keeping chickens safe is not for the faint of heart. Search for chicken predators and see what you find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 I don't know about in Georgia but here we have weasels which can get into very small openings and racoons which can manipulate doors. Keeping chickens safe is not for the faint of heart. Search for chicken predators and see what you find. When we first got the chicks, we were overwhelmed reading about all the things that could kill them. DH and I have a running joke where one of us can say, "paper beats chicken" and we both start laughing :lol:. I have no idea about weasels. I know there are raccoons around, but I've never seen them near us. The chicken pen is inside a yard enclosed with a 6 foot wooden fence, and the whole area smells a lot like dog, I'm sure, so we haven't had any problems with unwanted critters that I've noticed. There are definitely millions of squirrels around, though, and I'm sure lots of other little things that could scare the heck out of a sleeping chicken. so for now I guess I'll go with the theory that something freaked them out the night I left the pen open and hope things resolve themselves soon. so one more question....should I try putting them back on the roosting bar at night and encourage them to sleep there again? Or let them do what they want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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