1 dead hen this AM....

[DaveOmak]

I had 7 hens.... now I have 6.... and the 1 roo..... Not enough hens for 1 roo.....
There was one hen in particular he was badgering... she was the one that laid an egg daily.... he would follow her and mate every chance he got.... He also tried or did mate with everyone else at least once a day... I think the hens, being antagonized, wouldn't lay eggs....
So I built a quarantine pen.... Went to put it in the chicken run this AM and found her dead.... I was too late....

Here is his temporary new home..... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...arantine-box-multi-purpose-cage#post_14207414




I have locked up the coop, all they have is the run, so the chickens would learn the roo was not going to harass them.....

It is working.... for the past 2 hours, the hens have been acting like very relaxed hens... scratching and socializing... I am totally amazed....
After their morning breakfast they used to head to the coop and hide in the nest boxes or the roosts... only to come out in the afternoon for another snack...
They talk to roo through the wire... He shows them his feeder and clucks.... they can't get in.... that's a good thing...
He's on 20% feed and in a few weeks he should be ready for the stew pot... He most certainly is not running the 20 miles a day he did before chasing the girls in and out of the coop and around the run...
I should know in a couple weeks if the hens will start laying.... I think it will take that long for their metabolism to get realigned from the harassment they were experiencing....
Anyone know how long before egg laying should start....

Since I am new to chicken raising, I did not realize how tough a rooster could be on hens.... He's not mean, doesn't pull feathers, doesn't peck.... Just demands that he be serviced about 15 times a day...

 

[DaveOmak]

The coop has now been open for several hours.... the girls are still out in the run.... sitting of hay bales... BS'ing, knitting, playing mah jong... totally relaxed.... Roo is sitting in his box.. pouting or something.... I think there is harmony.... at least 6 out of the seven...

 

[aart]

Why did she die tho....just plain harassment or something else?

Confining the cockerel is a good idea for now...how old are they all?
Look for reddening combs and wattles, check the pelvic bones(2-3 fingers wide), if they were all submitting to the cockerel they should be very close to laying.

 

[ThePRfan]

She could be stressed.My PR hen was being mated with by a young cock.When he was littler it was easier to fight him off,he grew and put lot's of stress on her,luckily Joe,the young cocks father,prevented this from happening.He normally would hear a hen alert.But don't get down and dirt and get rid of the rooster.Likely is to split them and wait for it to get colder,he's likely to mate less.But to be safe,splitting them from a harrasing rooster would work.He'll put STRESS on them,lot sof it if determained to mate.

 

[DaveOmak]

I got 2 eggs yesterday... 56 and 58 grams... Sooo, I have a new laying hen.... they are all over 23 weeks old... The first egg came on Sept. 21st.... 24 eggs in the last 25 days.... Then the hen that died, laid her first on Sept. 27th.... and she was harassed continually.... She was his favorite... She laid 7 eggs total...

For now, things are looking up...

The hen that died, I'm thinking she could have been "egg bound"... If she was trying to lay, he would stand outside the nest box, or even get in the nest box with her... Then she finally retreated to the nest box most of the time to hide....

Like I say, I think I was a day late and a dollar short on figuring this out.....

The laying hen's combs and wattles are BRIGHT red and larger than the other hens.... Is that a sign of "maturity"... ready to lay eggs... type thing....

 

[DaveOmak]

Since the rooster has been penned up, 2 more hens are laying.... (excluding the hen that died)... Daily I am getting 3 eggs... around 54-68 grams... the other day a WHOPPER of an egg showed up.... 96 grams... that must have been a chore to lay... all is well since that monster egg.... one at 74 and 2 at 70 grams.... I'm thinking of "blowing out" the egg and having a new and different Christmas Tree ornament.... Are there any steps one should take to preserve and maybe "harden" the egg so it lasts awhile on the tree.....

 

[aart]

Just make sure you rinse it really well, or 'stuff' (mold?) will grow in there.
Google blowing eggs for decoration, or something like that, probably find lots of info and ideas.

 

[DaveOmak]

Just make sure you rinse it really well, or 'stuff' (mold?) will grow in there.
Google blowing eggs for decoration, or something like that, probably find lots of info and ideas.

I read on here where 1 person, after blowing out the egg, baked it to kill all pathogens that may be inside the shell.... We bake our shells at 275 F before feeding the shells to the chickens, as to not "re transmit" any pathogens back into the flock....

Hope that works....

 

[DaveOmak]

UPDATE to my roo being quarantined almost 3 weeks...

I removed him from jail on the 7th... the hens were fine, maybe just a little leary and watching his every move over their shoulders.... Well, over their wings....... the 8th was better....
Today, 10th, there is no problem at all with roo.... He has been put in his place.... mild, friendly.... does NOT hassle the hens at all....
The 8th, had 1 egg...... 9th, 2 eggs..... This AM 3 eggs, back to normal, EXCEPT.... all 3 eggs were in one nest box... and within 2 hours of each other... 3 eggs has been the norm for the last 2 weeks... one week after the antagonizer was jailed.... If the eggs drop off significantly....... chicken soup.....

 

[Bilawal]

Dear Sir! I want to ask what breed ofyour chikens are, I have same chiken as in your picture. i had a problem that they just only lay eggs but do not sit on them.