bakhau
Hatching
Hi all! I have a concern that I hope someone more seasoned may be able to help with.
We have two girls, an Ameraucana who is around 7 months old and an American Sumatra that is just a few weeks younger. A few weeks ago, the Ameraucana delighted us with her first beautiful blue egg but has not laid a single egg since! She didn't lay it in the nesting box but it was inside of the coop, on the opposite side from where they sleep. Just last week the Sumatra began laying and has pretty consistently given us an egg every other day (the kind you'd expect from a young Sumatra; smallish and brown) and she always puts them in the same nesting box, as you'd expect.
We have just recently begun switching them to layer feed and I have absolutely scoured their runs (they have two: a small one where their food and water are and a larger one so they can roam; both are fully enclosed) looking for a sign of any eggs and have come up with nothing. I did read that the Ameraucana can take a bit longer to begin laying but is it normal to lay a single egg and then no more for a time?
I'm hoping, perhaps in futility, that her reproductive system just needs a little more time to be in full working order. They have the same environment and the only major change was early June when we had to, sadly, say goodbye to our beloved rooster. He had been mating with the Ameraucana pretty regularly even though she had not laid yet. She laid the egg a week or two after he had gone but is it possible he damaged her? Should we be worried that she won't lay any more? Has any one else experienced the same and then had them begin laying normally?
Perhaps she is laying and its just somewhere very strange and the neighborhood possum is running off with them before we have a chance to find them?
We're just at a complete loss as to what to do or what to expect.
Really appreciate any thoughts on this!
We have two girls, an Ameraucana who is around 7 months old and an American Sumatra that is just a few weeks younger. A few weeks ago, the Ameraucana delighted us with her first beautiful blue egg but has not laid a single egg since! She didn't lay it in the nesting box but it was inside of the coop, on the opposite side from where they sleep. Just last week the Sumatra began laying and has pretty consistently given us an egg every other day (the kind you'd expect from a young Sumatra; smallish and brown) and she always puts them in the same nesting box, as you'd expect.
We have just recently begun switching them to layer feed and I have absolutely scoured their runs (they have two: a small one where their food and water are and a larger one so they can roam; both are fully enclosed) looking for a sign of any eggs and have come up with nothing. I did read that the Ameraucana can take a bit longer to begin laying but is it normal to lay a single egg and then no more for a time?
I'm hoping, perhaps in futility, that her reproductive system just needs a little more time to be in full working order. They have the same environment and the only major change was early June when we had to, sadly, say goodbye to our beloved rooster. He had been mating with the Ameraucana pretty regularly even though she had not laid yet. She laid the egg a week or two after he had gone but is it possible he damaged her? Should we be worried that she won't lay any more? Has any one else experienced the same and then had them begin laying normally?
Perhaps she is laying and its just somewhere very strange and the neighborhood possum is running off with them before we have a chance to find them?
We're just at a complete loss as to what to do or what to expect.
Really appreciate any thoughts on this!
