chickens hate me. What am I doing wrong?

[cookfor4]

My dad gave me a laying hen. It layed fine for two weeks then stopped. So he brings me another one to switch out. 30 minutes after he puts the non laying hen in a cage in his car, it lays an egg.
So both of them lay for about a week, then both stop.
What am I doing wrong? I have no clue. why would they lay for him and not me? Also-both times the egg shell color changes. They go from brown to an off white ivory cream color.
Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? I'm about to give up.

 

[DTchickens]

hens that stop laying can be a number of causes... Too fat. too skinny. (poor), The move can be rough on them. and cause them to stop laying. Change in food.. and lots more. this seems to be a pretty big topic. i remember seeing a post on another forum, im gonna go get it and post it here...

 

[HobbyChickener]

Do you only have one? atleast until the other came along? Birds don't really like to be lone soldiers so maybe just the company will help? Also when I have a decrease in the egg production I will spoil them a little and feed them some fresh something - carrot pototoe peels, cabbage leaves, apple chunks, fresh corn, boss, just something out of the norm for them and it usually increases what comes from them.

Don't give up yet!!

 

[MissPrissy]

Moving them will cause them to stop laying. Sometimes it can be just a day or two and other times it can be weeks before they lay again. Other things that can cause them to stop laying. Change in food, temperature, housing conditions, being in a new place, being lonely, etc. Chickens are social creatures. They 'flock'. Please don't raise a lone chicken. She needs 1 or 2 friends to be happy and healthy.

 

[patandchickens]

a) what are you feeding them and what kind of living quarters do your chickens have.

and

b) how do you know they're not laying but something (rats, or the chickens themselves) is maybe eating the eggs?

In my experience, although it is limited to my own coupla chickens, paler eggshells reflect things like: not enough calcium, chickens are getting too hot during the day, or not the greatest diet.

Pat

 

[seismic wonder2]

she needs a buddy!

 

[cookfor4]

I have two laying hens- but they both stopped. I'm trying to make sure they don't run out of food. I tried feeding them yougurt, blueberries, veggies, oatmeal, and numerous other scraps. I also have 6 chicks- I've tried including them all together, all seperate, etc. The only time either of the hens layed were in seperate cages, which I hate doing to them. I have been keeping the two hens seperate cause they try to kill each other. I switched bedding to pine bedding, and the only thing I can think of is that I'm not making sure there is consistent food. I have a pretty small space right now, and am in the process of building a bigger coop in my garage so they can come in and out. Will they seek out shelter when it rains? or should I go put them inside? Maybe they are getting cold?
Thanks for all the responses!

 

[eggzettera]

I'm not making sure there is consistent food

They should have a constant supply of layer feed, so they can eat whenever they want. They will not overeat like some other animal might.​

 

[patandchickens]

Get a sack of layer mash/crumbles/pellets/whatever from the feed store. If they are just (or mainly) eating kitchen scraps, then there you go, that may be a big part of the problem - unbalanced diet. Too little protien, too little calcium, quite possibly insufficient calories. I'd suggest quitting the kitchen scraps (or reducing them to very very little) til they resume laying. Keep the layer feed in front of them, very full feeders, 24/7. Also never let them run out of clean water, not even for an hour or two.

If the hens do not get along well then they may be too stressed to lay when they're together. But when you say 'try to kill each other', are they *really* trying to kill each other, or just working out who's boss. Which is what chickens do. You just have to give them a large enough area to live in that they aren't in each others' laps every moment of the day. Yes, they will come in when it rains (if they want to, and if 'inside' is clean and comfortable).

Good luck,

Pat