Araucana stopped laying

[Jajika]

I have nine chickens, different breeds, some over ten years old and still laying.

For whatever reason, my Araucana--less than a year old-- stopped laying while all the others are still laying on a regular basis.

She appears healthy, eats, dirt bathes, drinks, and flaps her wings.

She is at the bottom of the group in terms of popularity etc, so is she feeling bullied?

I keep an eye on her to be sure she is not abused and I don't see any evidence of this.

Any ideas?

 

[Illia]

Has she begun to molt? (lose feathers) It is that time of year.


My Araucanas are extremely reliable layers, my Easter Eggers on the other hand (in case that's what you have?) not so much. I did have one girl who laid for about a week, then stopped, and honestly never laid again til the next time she finished molting.

 

[Jajika]

Hi Illia:

Thanks for the good response.

Frankly, I'm not exactly sure what she is. I've posted a picture here. Her eggs are sort of gray/green.

What do you think?

 

[feathersnuggles]

She looks like an EE to me. An Araucana doesn't have a tail, from what I've read, and also had more pronounced ear tufts.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Forgot to say, she's really pretty!!

 

[Jajika]

Thanks..

She has what I call "Fluffy cheeks." Can't see them easily, but here is another pic. Does she still look like an EE?

 

[Illia]

Yep she's an Easter Egger.

Araucanas don't have tails but another thing people get confused with is that they don't have beards, nor "fluffy cheeks" instead they have literal tufts of large curling feathers protruding from nearby the earlobes.

This hen for example has such, but only on one side. Araucanas often have only one tuft, or sometimes one big and one small.

 

[Jajika]

Wow...now that is one interesting bird.

Thanks for the education I had no idea.

And you say EE's are not good layers? So Edwina (that's her name) is just being normal for her?

 

[Illia]

No no

I'm saying EE's vary. Some are great layers, some are so so, and then there's those that are quite unreliable. It varies on where you get them from.

 

[feathersnuggles]

I had a 2-1/2 year EE who died recently (may she rest in peace). She laid very well, about 2 green eggs every 3 days during her first year, then she laid about 1-2 eggs in 3 days. So, she was quite productive in my flock. She never molted, though. In the end, I think the continuous laying killed her; there was no downtime for her oviduct to replenish itself. It makes me sad because she was my favorite bird.

OTOH, my neighbor has an EE that laid for about 5-6 months, then stopped 8 months ago and hasn't re-started laying. There's no indication she will.

About sources, I got my EE from hatchery stock (via the feed store). Their erroneous label said "Aracauna/Ameraucana", which I found out happens a LOT. I don't know why the hatcheries don't label these EEs properly. For months I was confused about her breed, as I looked at pictures that didn't quite match, and read about them. Finally I realized she was actually an Easter Egger!