Ameraucana begins laying again after 11 month vacation

[LAFreewayChickens]

So we have a wheaten ameraucana that started laying (for the first time) in Decemeber 2010, then stopped in Jan 2011. After a while, we figured out that she was behaving kind of broody, but was never really committed to stay on the nest for more than an hour or so. At first I thought she was trying to lay an egg.

I tried keeping her in a broody cage (although my daughter would usually let her out and say "How would you like to be locked up in a cage?!"). I dunked her in cold water while my daughter wasn't around. We even tried putting live chicks under her (which ended somewhat tragically for one of the chicks).

Anyway, I had given up on the idea of her ever laying again. She's been the freeloading "pet" member of our backyard flock. (As you can probably gather, there is no way my daughter would forgive me for culling her). But then yesterday she laid an egg, and another today.

They are oddly long and thin, and a very pale shade of blue, but I am certainly not complaining...

It is very welcome as our very consistent ISA Brown boss chicken is molting and has taken a break from laying. Perhaps at some point all 4 chickens will lay at the same time.

 

[chicmom]

Do you let them free range at all? She could very well have a secret nesting place, which could explain why you didn't have eggs from her in the nesting box. Perhaps the boss wasn't letting her use the nesting box.......

 

[LAFreewayChickens]

They do (usually) free range in our small (urban) backyard, but she did not lay even when we were out of town and left them in the tractor for a day or longer. (Or when I was able to keep her in the broody cage for a day without my daughter letting her out).

Plus when she stopped laying, she was using the nesting box plenty, she just wasn't laying any eggs in it. When eventually realized she was broody, in a part-time, not very committed kind of way.

Plus we have two nesting boxes in the tractor, although the girls all insist on using the same one (although we can get them to switch back and forth just by switching the location of the fake egg that lives there). If she was willing to lay anywhere besides the same nesting box as the other hens, there was a convenient spot readily available.