When they are stressed like and predation on them they can stop laying. During low daylight time you can put a light inside with a timer and it will help. You can also help them when they are moulting during the heat of summer. I feed soaked scratch and soaked steam rolled barley 50/50 mix. I...
I'll get called a liar but this is 100% true. My oldest game hen ever was 26 , she only laid 1 or 2 eggs a year at the end but i did my best to hatch every one of them. She was lively and was always at my feed bucket. I raised her from a chick , she was 1 month old with a broken leg when i got...
the problem with a pallet on the floor will be manure build up which will lead to maggots. Chickens eating maggots can lead to the maggots eating them from their craw outwards from the inside. While it won't happen often i have seen it first hand.
When setting up roost stagger them , given that you only have 7 hens 2 - 4' wide roost poles are plenty. Give 1' of space forward and 1.5' above for the top roost