Another question about chicken stopped laying

[Chicken Hound]

I am always curious in these situations as to how your know she is not laying. unless of course her comb is not red or you watch them all during the day. I have 7 Welsummers & 4 EE's. I knew when none of the Welsummers were laying as I got only green eggs & vice versa. When I get eggs, I have no idea which hens they can from.

Same here I know what type of chicken laid the egg but not always the exact chicken. My 2 first year girls are very different birds but lay twin eggs.

I do also have a sudden stop in production that does not seam to match the article.

I am now getting concerned, my 2 youngest have been giving me an egg a day since they started to lay this summer until this past weekend then nothing.

Some of the older girls had started to lay after there molt. For about a week I had been getting 3-4 eggs a day, I was getting excited then nothing.

Why would such a regular layer stop like that?
Why did the older girls stop again?

Was it something I did? Is there something I can do?
I am still learning but this does not match with my limited experience. My first year hens laid thru the winter last year. I don't add light to the coop but do have a yard light like a street light.

They all look and act fine, nothing is different in there world, any ideas?

 

[cjpines]

I am always curious in these situations as to how your know she is not laying. unless of course her comb is not red or you watch them all during the day. I have 7 Welsummers & 4 EE's. I knew when none of the Welsummers were laying as I got only green eggs & vice versa. When I get eggs, I have no idea which hens they can from.

Well, we know who is laying because we see them on the nest every morning. It's always the two barred rocks, they have been consistent from day 1 laying. We have 6, three are not ready to lay, so it's easy to tell.

 

[cjpines]

Her body, no lumps or bumps, or boating.

No worms to speak of.

So, why is she the only one not laying out of 6 hens that have been good layer's. They all get the same feed.

I think I will cut down on cat dry food and take you suggestion, too much sodium. Never thought about that for chickens, but for humans yes.

I have deworming solution, but how do you deworm just one bird when they all drink the same water?

 

[cjpines]

There may well be some issue going on with her that is not apparent, especially if you are noticing she is sleepy a lot. How is her comb color? What do her droppings look like?

If she were my bird I would deworm her. She could be packing a big load of worms that you would know nothing about just by looking. Chickens are very hard to figure out and often times the best we can do is rule out the most common possible problems and go forward from there.

How do you deworm just one bird when they all drink the same water? Meaning, how to separate the water with dewormer for just one bird?

 

[mortie]

If one bird needs worming, it's likely they all do. If you are worming one you might as well worm them all.

 

[cjpines]

If one bird needs worming, it's likely they all do. If you are worming one you might as well worm them all.

If the other birds don't have worms wouldn't it be harmful to give them the chemical?

 

[mortie]

What I am saying is that if one bird has worms, it's likely they all do. I'm trying to figure out what has lead you to believe that this one bird has worms. Is it just because she's not laying?

I don't know what wormer you have but I doubt it would hurt any of them if given according to the instructions. Plenty of people worm their chickens regularly whether or not they are showing any signs.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Don't deworm in the water, it's not a very effective way to deworm. Get some Valbazen or some liquid Safeguard for goats and use that. Dose is 1/2 cc per standard size bird, repeat in 10 days. You can use a needless syringe to squirt it in the beak. If you decide to deworm them it's always best to deworm them all rather then just one bird. Chickens will get worms at some point simply due to their lifestyle. Then at least that problem will be ruled out. I think other then that I'd just keep an eye on her, make sure she's eating well and see if she starts laying again soon now that the days are getting longer.

 

[lazy gardener]

Time of year could very well be the issue. It's normal for chickens to stop laying around mid winter. You can tell if a hen is laying by inspecting her vent and pelvic structure, as well as a less reliable indicator in her facial and leg coloring. Some folks worm their birds regularly. Some folks only do when they see signs of worms: worms visible in feces. Then, others cull birds who have worms, which if they are breeding their own chicks will eventually lead to a flock which has a higher parasite resistance. You might take some feces to a local vet for a fecal float test to see if worms are the problem. Personally, I'd not worm a bird unless I saw worms. Then, if i felt it necessary, I'd worm the whole flock. BTW, there is no one right answer here: different goals and stewardship methods for different folks.

 

[cjpines]

What I am saying is that if one bird has worms, it's likely they all do. I'm trying to figure out what has lead you to believe that this one bird has worms. Is it just because she's not laying?

I don't know what wormer you have but I doubt it would hurt any of them if given according to the instructions. Plenty of people worm their chickens regularly whether or not they are showing any signs.

The posts here suggested deworming her. I have no idea if she has worms or not.