Banty Cochins not laying, how many hens does a roo "need?"

[BlueChick62]

Hello Friends,
I am only a year in to the backyard chicken hobby. I have 3 hens and one roo. Three, the roo and two hens are bantam blue Cochins, and the other hen is a cross bred, Wyandotte/Cochin. The cross hen is the only one laying right now. I have noticed that my hens are looking a bit bedraggled.... Is it molting time? They also look like they're sore, red/picked/scratched by servicing the roo. Any thoughts from you experts?

Why aren't the blue Cochins laying? Does my roo need more ladies?

(I'm feeding layer mash and they free range daily)

Thanks in advance!

:cd

 

[tobit]

They will usually molt in late summer/autumn (fall), so this depends on where you are, but laying is reduced when they molt and they will look bedraggled! How old is your rooster, if he is fairly young he will require more hens as he is "practicing" mating and is full of hormones! When you say bedraggled, it makes me wonder if this includes bare backs, necks and wings? - this is due to the rooster mating them too frequently and would indicate that you need more hens. A year ago I had a 6 month old bantam cochin rooster with 3 bantam cochins and 1 bantam wyandotte, and for that age he was extremely well behaved, none of my hens showed any damage from him mating them, and were in good shape. Could they have a pest infestation such as red mites? - this would lead to reduced (and then stop) laying, and could cause the bedraggled look! Generally I would recommend more hens (the more the less the load of mating on each hen) maybe 2-4 more, if you have the space for that many more chickens! But this may not clear up the laying issue, as something else is most likely causing it. Check out their coop for red mites

Hope this helps!

 

[BlueChick62]

They will usually molt in late summer/autumn (fall), so this depends on where you are, but laying is reduced when they molt and they will look bedraggled! How old is your rooster, if he is fairly young he will require more hens as he is "practicing" mating and is full of hormones! When you say bedraggled, it makes me wonder if this includes bare backs, necks and wings? - this is due to the rooster mating them too frequently and would indicate that you need more hens. A year ago I had a 6 month old bantam cochin rooster with 3 bantam cochins and 1 bantam wyandotte, and for that age he was extremely well behaved, none of my hens showed any damage from him mating them, and were in good shape. Could they have a pest infestation such as red mites? - this would lead to reduced (and then stop) laying, and could cause the bedraggled look! Generally I would recommend more hens (the more the less the load of mating on each hen) maybe 2-4 more, if you have the space for that many more chickens! But this may not clear up the laying issue, as something else is most likely causing it. Check out their coop for red mites

Hope this helps!

My chickens are just over a year old.... They were hatched in spring of 2014.... I will check for mites! I'm heading out to clean my coop in just a little while!

 

[tobit]

Let us know what you find!!