My Black Orpington, who is about 1.5yrs old, hasn't produced any eggs for about 3 weeks now. She seems to be in fine health otherwise - she looks good and is acting normally. We adopted her about 2 months prior (she was the lone survivor of a hungry fox at my friend's place) and since the day she joined us, she'd been giving an egg every to every other day. My friend (her previous family) said that she had just finished molting in April so I assumed that wasn't it. She had one day (right when she stopped laying) where she looked a little lethargic and wasn't clucking as much as she normally did. I checked her over and didn't see anything amiss, made sure she was drinking and then, let her rest. By the next day, she was back to her old self but no eggs since.
I guess, I'm just wondering if I should worry or if there is anything else I should be checking for? Or is it normal for chickens to just stop laying for a while every now and again?
She's in a coop/run (and occasionally the tractor - too many predators around for free ranging) with our 8 18-week old pullets, some of whom look like they might be getting ready to start laying. (This is probably a dumb question but do chickens sync their reproductive cycles?) They all seem to be getting along ok and have free choice layer pellets, grower crumbles and oyster shell available to them as well as water with apple cider vinegar, their choice of lots of weeds from my veggie garden and japanese beetles from our traps. They get some veggie/fruit scraps as treats too. I've been checking around to see if one of the other girls might be getting to her eggs but if they are, they're eating the whole thing and all of the evidence.
Thanks in advance for your help on this one!
I guess, I'm just wondering if I should worry or if there is anything else I should be checking for? Or is it normal for chickens to just stop laying for a while every now and again?
She's in a coop/run (and occasionally the tractor - too many predators around for free ranging) with our 8 18-week old pullets, some of whom look like they might be getting ready to start laying. (This is probably a dumb question but do chickens sync their reproductive cycles?) They all seem to be getting along ok and have free choice layer pellets, grower crumbles and oyster shell available to them as well as water with apple cider vinegar, their choice of lots of weeds from my veggie garden and japanese beetles from our traps. They get some veggie/fruit scraps as treats too. I've been checking around to see if one of the other girls might be getting to her eggs but if they are, they're eating the whole thing and all of the evidence.
Thanks in advance for your help on this one!
