2 year old americana no eggs to be found

[jwbworks]

Hi all,

have a mystery going on and need help. Our 2 year old americana is not laying eggs in the coop. I am trying to figure out is she super good at hiding the eggs, or is there a health or environmental issue stressing her out.

The Setting

Here is some background live in a suburban area with a city lot sized yard thats surrounded by a chain link fence. Our girls have free rein of the yard. We have a flock made up of two age groups. We have an assorted groups of 5 chickens that are two years old, and this year we added another 7 for a total of 12 chickens. Our Americana is part of the 2 year old group.

The Problem

This brings us to our americana she is our little blue egg layer. She also has a habit of sleeping on the center support in the roof of the coop vs everyone else sleeps on a roosting bar. She till early this summer has been laying eggs in the coop. Over the summer though I stopped seeing her blue eggs. The new chickens did not start laying till september, so in not sure if it was a territorial issue. Also I not see it as an aggression issue as all the chickens mingle really well as they roam. I thought she was sick. But while doing some yard work I found she started a nest under a juniper bush using the branches as a defensive wall.

So to discourage this behavior I used plastic fencing and blocked off that part of the yard. Still no eggs in the coop.

So last month I tried putting a lightweight harness on her with a minicam. Sadly we couldn't get any good video on her. I added a camera in the coop as well as under our deck and along the side of our yard but have not seen her going off to lay somewhere else.

Info

- We have a large coop 6x8x8 with 4 nesting boxes (thank you freecycle).
- The chickens get fed Purina Layena with Omega both ina coop feeder and sprinkled across the back of the yard.
- They have a 5 gallon drinker in the coop and water dishes around the yard
- They get veggie scraps, oats, meal worms, and oyster shell spread around as added treats.

My Next Step

I have moved our americana into our mini coop and am keeping her in this coop / pen. By the end of the first day still no blue egg.


Suggestions??? please help

 

[cavemanrich]

She may have stopped for the season. Sometimes,, they go into molt, that is light, rather than heavy. It is somewhat harder to notice since the feather loss is not drastic in volume. After she finished regrowing feathers, the shortening daylight made her go on STRIKE.
All of my chickens are currently not laying. Will probably resume as days get longer about February. I'm in the Northern Hemisphere and winter is about to start.
Your Ameraucana chicken is not to be compared to High Egg Production chickens like Leghorns, and Sexlinks.
If you keep her isolated in that mini coop for a few more days, and no egg? then the mystery of a hidden nest is solved.
I did have a few hidden nest, with some of my OEGH in the past. I spied on them and followed them when they tried to sneak away.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[aart]

Am betting she was/is laying out in range area...
...but now may have stopped production due to shorter days.

Confining her in a 'strange' coop might stress her out of laying,
so may take a couple weeks.

Check her pelvic points and vent.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[jwbworks]

Thanks for the info all.

So we are on day 3 of her being in our mini coop. Still no egg.

Aart in response to your comments/questions

1. Yup I am assuming the change will affect her. She is a very standoffish bird but laways mingled with the others. At night she would roost in the rafters with our se links. When the new ones joined them (after a few weeks of divided ranging) in the main coop The easter egger kicked the sex link out of the rafters. So Im thinking the whole flock change has messed with her.

2. I have checked her vent and she is moist and exposed and its undulating.

3. I updated my info. We have a 15 chicken coop similar to the one I show on tracker supply it has a a frame roof vs and slant other wise its the same.

We are in massachusetts mass. Days are shorter but we keep a solar power set of light in the coop that adds light to the length of their day.

Let me know what other things I should be checking

 

[jwbworks]

Day 4 and still no eggs. All my other 2yrs are laying ever other day. The brahma and the sexlinked ever day. Also my new girls are all laying.

I checked her pelvic area again last night. It's still moist and undulating. There was some yellow residue. Just poop residue, or maybe something else?

The last few years she did continue to lay eggs 1 every other day during the fall winter and spring.

Any other things I can look for? Should I try more protein or grit?

Also since she is in the mini coop she doesn't have a night light so she has less light than the others so I might try to run a light to her coop to help give her a longer day. Thoughts??

 

[BigBlueHen53]

With her vent undulating like you say, i think there is a problem. She is trying to pass something but can't get it out. Can you shoot us a pic of her vent and/or what she's passing. Yes, the poop. I'll call for help.

Meanwhile, what do you feed? Do you offer oyster shell for them to free feed separately from their feed? When did she last lay an egg?
@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@azygous
Does this sound like a broken egg to you?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is she molting?
Vents move pretty much all the time.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is she molting?
Vents move pretty much all the time.

Ah! Really! That's why I call on experts like you, I did not know that. Thanks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ah! Really! That's why I call on experts like you, I did not know that. Thanks.

Go out in the morning and start checking vents, they will be moving

 

[Ms Clucky]

Look at her beak to see if she has yolk on it. They eat the shells also. If not, she might be at the end of her cycle.