Chicken Keeping Failure

[elizardbreath]

So I've had my girls for a month now...

Three: a BSL, a SLW and an Isa Brown. The BSL and SLW were actively laying at my friend's home (I'm borrowing them until fall) but the IB is a pullet. (Though her comb and wattle are beginning to redden...) So, they were laying and now they're not. To be honest we did get one egg the very first morning, but nothing since then. Several folks suggested that the stress of moving would be an issue, but it's been a month. How much longer would be reasonable?

They are in a 5 x 5 raised coop within a 10 x 10 run. They have two waterers and one feeder with layer crumbles and oyster shell. The kids were giving them cracked corn and table scraps daily, but we stopped that a week ago fearing they weren't getting enough protein. I am letting them out into a larger fenced-in area to "free range" for 30 minutes or so each day to ease boredom and get some greens and bugs since there is nothing green left in their run. (No where to hide eggs in there.) Since We've stopped throwing cracked corn in for them, I've noticed the BSL is starting to get pecked on the head and is losing feathers. Boredom?

When they arrived we treated them for lice / mites and then retreated as instructed. The SLW had a bunch of egg clusters on the base of some feathers. But that seems to have cleared up, so that doesn't seem to be an issue.

Artificial light was also a thought, but we are in northern Michigan and it's light here from about 6:30 AM until after 9:30 PM. (The girls usually go into roost about 8:30 on their own.)

I've checked for the "squat" when I go to pick them up and there's nothing. So, I'm not sure what to do. I need and and all suggestions anyone might have for me so I can bring up my failing grade in Chickens 101....

 

[GitaBooks]

First off, love the avatar. My family are huge lego fans!

Reasons to cease laying in hens:
Stress from moves, new places, crowded conditions
Improper nutrition
Molting
The heat (if it is hot, they may not lay as many or even any eggs)

If they were raised in a large pen they may simply not be use to smaller, backyard pens and so think it isn't normal and be stressed about it.

Don't worry, hens ceasing to lay is pretty common. I have 25 or so hens and today I got something like 8 eggs. Its not that hot, but I did notice that I've still got egg-eating problems. I have to work on that.


Try offering a dust bath, more time to free range, hidden treats, ect.

Best of luck!

 

[elizardbreath]

Thanks! I've been doing a ton of reading and have finally decided there's probably not much I can do that I haven't done already. I've controlled the controllable variables...

They did go from living in a much larger barn with the freedom to come and go and free range on a large property to my little backyard set-up. Not to mention a four hour drive in cat carriers in between - pretty stressful! I had hoped they'd be settled in in a couple of weeks, but here we are almost five weeks later and still no eggs. So, I've decided not to worry about it. I'm going to enjoy the girls for the rest of the summer and just have fun with them. If we get eggs, great. If not, I know a lot more about chickens than I did a couple moths ago, so it's not a total loss...

My issue is, having them for the summer is really all I'm able to do. It get's really cold here in the winter (like -30 before the windchill) and I'm not in a position to invest money into winter proofing and electrifying our little coop so the birds could deal with those kind of temps. I'm sure we could winterize it, but financially that isn't really an option. Perhaps we'll try again next summer and get the birds earlier - maybe April. That way they'd have more time to get use to their new "home."

Thanks again for your help!

 

[sjturner79]

Thanks! I've been doing a ton of reading and have finally decided there's probably not much I can do that I haven't done already. I've controlled the controllable variables...

They did go from living in a much larger barn with the freedom to come and go and free range on a large property to my little backyard set-up. Not to mention a four hour drive in cat carriers in between  - pretty stressful!  I had hoped they'd be settled in in a couple of weeks, but here we are almost five weeks later and still no eggs. So, I've decided not to worry about it. I'm going to enjoy the girls for the rest of the summer and just have fun with them. If we get eggs, great. If not, I know a lot more about chickens than I did a couple moths ago, so it's not a total loss...

My issue is, having them for the summer is really all I'm able to  do. It get's really cold here in the winter (like -30 before the windchill) and I'm not in a position to invest money into winter proofing and electrifying our little coop so the birds could deal with those kind of temps. I'm sure we could winterize it, but financially that isn't really an option. Perhaps we'll try again next summer and get the birds earlier - maybe April. That way they'd have more time to get use to their new "home."

Thanks again for your help!

Yeah, one of my hens took a 140 day break from laying after being moved from 10 acres with 50 chooks to 1 acre with 15 chooks