Arizona Chickens

[cbnovick]

Got a PBR that is listless, no appetite and has excessive thirst. Any ideas out there?

I'd post your situation on "Emergencies...." thread here on BYC....lots of helpful and knowledgeable peeps!

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

I suspect I have two new layers. I have one 8 mo laying hen and she has been laying eggs for months now, and one daily without fail since my 13 week old cockerel has been mating with her. Their eggs are fertile, one is ready to hatch in my incubator. They started mating about 2-1/2 weeks ago.

My other 7 chickens are pullets and are 15 weeks and 2 days old today. This morning I found two soft shelled eggs broken on the floor of the coop. About 5 days ago I found two other soft shelled (really shell less) on the coop floor. My laying hen is still laying her beautiful egg everyday so these soft shells must belong to my pullets. My hen does not like any other chickens in the coop when she sits in the nest box to lay her egg. If they come in she stomps around inside making a barking like racket til they leave. This could explain why they would be laying on the floor, it could also be because they are very young and don't know where to lay them.

I guess I need to sit out by the coop in the mornings to figure out who is laying these softies. I didn't expect them to start laying until 18-20 weeks....but then again I totally did not expect my cockerel to be fertile and mating successfully at 13 weeks either.

So, guess I should switch everyone over to the laying feed now...?

 

[City farm]

The wife did not rub any motherly instincts off on Batman. She has completely rejected the chicks so I gave her some eggs. She wasn't even wanting to sit on those. So I put her back in the coop with the others, block the nesting box until morning, and got the heat lamp going for the babies(just in case they want/need it). Last I checked the babies were settling down for the night and Batman was roosted with the other ladies and gentlemen. Maybe she decided chicks were too needy and wasn't going to have any part of raising them. Who knows.....

Did you put the chicks under her at night?

 

[City farm]

I suspect I have two new layers. I have one 8 mo laying hen and she has been laying eggs for months now, and one daily without fail since my 13 week old cockerel has been mating with her. Their eggs are fertile, one is ready to hatch in my incubator. They started mating about 2-1/2 weeks ago.

My other 7 chickens are pullets and are 15 weeks and 2 days old today. This morning I found two soft shelled eggs broken on the floor of the coop. About 5 days ago I found two other soft shelled (really shell less) on the coop floor. My laying hen is still laying her beautiful egg everyday so these soft shells must belong to my pullets. My hen does not like any other chickens in the coop when she sits in the nest box to lay her egg. If they come in she stomps around inside making a barking like racket til they leave. This could explain why they would be laying on the floor, it could also be because they are very young and don't know where to lay them.

I guess I need to sit out by the coop in the mornings to figure out who is laying these softies. I didn't expect them to start laying until 18-20 weeks....but then again I totally did not expect my cockerel to be fertile and mating successfully at 13 weeks either.

So, guess I should switch everyone over to the laying feed now...?

Do you have any oyster shell? We just leave it out in a cup by their food..
How many nesting box's do you have? Yeah we have a few that will decide to lay out in the open.. Then sometimes
they will all take turns intone box..

 

[City farm]

Got a PBR that is listless, no appetite and has excessive thirst. Any ideas out there?

Just want wonderwinpower said.. Bring inside to cool off..

 

[Demosthine]

Did you put the chicks under her at night?

She had been broody for about five days when I put the chicks under her. I did it at about 2300 Hours (1100pm) and she pecked me once. After that she seemed to calm down and all was good until the sun came up in the morning. Then it was rejection.

It seems to have broken her broodiness. She isn't nesting still and is running with the clan. I guess she'll poof up near dusk if she's in the nesting box but that's it. Maybe she's just a really crappy Mamma.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Did you put the chicks under her at night?

Ha ha! my first thought was that you meant did he put the chicks under his wife at night.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

Do you have any oyster shell? We just leave it out in a cup by their food..
How many nesting box's do you have? Yeah we have a few that will decide to lay out in the open.. Then sometimes
they will all take turns intone box..

I do have oyster shells out and recently I saw the pullets eating some. I have 5 nest boxes and only 8 females. My laying hen has been our only layer using the nest boxes at all. She prefers two certain ones. This last week the pullets have been hanging out in the coop in the mornings and the laying hen doesn't like them in there. Two times that she was having a fit over them being in there is when I discovered the two soft shelled eggs after they left the coop.

 

[redrocketrooster]

She had been broody for about five days when I put the chicks under her. I did it at about 2300 Hours (1100pm) and she pecked me once. After that she seemed to calm down and all was good until the sun came up in the morning. Then it was rejection.

It seems to have broken her broodiness. She isn't nesting still and is running with the clan. I guess she'll poof up near dusk if she's in the nesting box but that's it. Maybe she's just a really crappy Mamma.

I'd say it's very possible. Ive had lots of hens go broody but lack the instinct to actually take care of the chicks. Some of my worst rabbit moms were constantly building nests but after the kits arrived they had no interest in them.

 

[cbnovick]

I'd say it's very possible. Ive had lots of hens go broody but lack the instinct to actually take care of the chicks. Some of my worst rabbit moms were constantly building nests but after the kits arrived they had no interest in them.

Did you have some eggs or fake ones under her to mentally prep her for chicks?? perhaps she can't be duped that easy. <wink> I have only done the 'bait and switch' when the broody has had eggs under her...then I may put a few chicks in under at night...if she takes to them I will then add the rest....