9mo Wyandotte stopped laying

[TanyaTS]

Help - newbie here - my little 9 mo old Wyandotte, who has been laying smallish eggs since August - stopped laying eggs about 6 days ago. We checked her out - felt belly, looked at vent and she seems ok there - also still eating and pooping and scratching around with the others although not as vigorously. What could it be? If it was due to just a stressful event, would they stop laying for this long? I should note that of my 4 she is the one that has never laid every day. She is a sweet chicka who seems to prefer bugs and foraging over her feed more than the others. Could it be dead if winter nutrient deficiency? I have tried separating her with her own bowl of grain and extra grubblies but seems she’d rather eat with the rest.

 

[BullChick]

It could be that she’s egg bound. Put petroleum jelly (or KY) on your finger, and see if you feel an egg inside. You can also try feeling for one by touching her abdomen. The solution is a warm bath, and extra calcium. If you bath her, give her a moment to relax, then laugh quietly when she falls asleep.
A scare can make her stop laying for a while. Shorter days can too, but days are getting longer, so that’s not likely.

 

[TanyaTS]

We have bathed her and I did the vent check with gloves finger and didn’t feel anything. She really loved the bath and the blow dry afterwards ha! Should I still be checking for egg (ie latex finger check)? I check her belly every day because we pick up all our chickas a lot. It feels ok though?? She is so tiny

 

[Birdslave]

Help - newbie here - my little 9 mo old Wyandotte, who has been laying smallish eggs since August - stopped laying eggs about 6 days ago. We checked her out - felt belly, looked at vent and she seems ok there - also still eating and pooping and scratching around with the others although not as vigorously. What could it be? If it was due to just a stressful event, would they stop laying for this long? I should note that of my 4 she is the one that has never laid every day. She is a sweet chicka who seems to prefer bugs and foraging over her feed more than the others. Could it be dead if winter nutrient deficiency? I have tried separating her with her own bowl of grain and extra grubblies but seems she’d rather eat with the rest.

Hi! I'm "Birdslave". Maybe I can help you. When a chicken is young and getting into the laying regimen, they lay small eggs first. They will usually hold-off laying if they are molting or if it's too cold where they are hanging out. Omega egg is excellent to help nutrify your bird(s). That's what I give my hens. My vet said don't give organic. I don't know why, but he said it causes problems. Layena from Purina, and Henny Penny and Omega egg as a sprinkle over the crumble is best. NEVER let your feed go bad from the elements, like wet weather, etc. Make sure you have AMPLE fresh water. Birds are half fish! (kidding) but they really need a lot of freshwater to digest the (Crumble is best for young and older) feed. They also need dry bedding that is clean. They like all eggs taken from the nest before they lay again if you don't want them to breed. Chickens are choosey. I don't know what set you have for them, but weather will influence laying as well as mean birds in the flock. I hope I helped.

 

[TanyaTS]

Thanks for the tips. I do give my chickas Dumor organic feed crumble mixed with Purina Layena. Organic is no good?! Oh wow. And I am a crazy clean freak over their coop and run and over clean food and water bowls etc. I am a stay at home mom caring for my young adult son with autism so we have plenty of time to fuss over the chickas ha! In fact we are starting this little farm for our son. So being obsessive over them is what we have lots of time for . Is it possible there is some mean girl dynamic I am not seeing and she got kicked to bottom of pecking order and it’s stressed her so badly that is enough to stop laying for 6 days? She is so much smaller than my other gals....

 

[TanyaTS]

I will look up the Henny Penny supplement too. Thanks for that. Oh and they have one of those solid Amish built coops and have supervised free range time only and large fenced run. We do have a lot of predators around...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My Wyandotte will lay for a while, than take breaks for a while. What variety @TanyaTS ?

 

[TanyaTS]

She is a Silver Laced.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Nothing wrong with organic feed. Dumor is made by Nature's Best & is a good feed. Some would argue 16% protein is not enough, but most layer feeds are 16-17%.

 

[TanyaTS]

My chickas love DuMor and I have tried several brands. I do add grubblies to it and we live in TN so we still have *some* grass during winter - do you think that is enough to boost protein? Should I mix a little grower feed in with layer feed to give to her?