Easter Egger stopped laying

[Dani004]

Hi everyone!

A few months ago I introduced 2 new Rhode Island Red hens to my small flock. I already had a Rhode Island Red, and an Easter Egger. The introduction did not go well. It took about a month for the Easter Egger to stop attacking the new hens, she was very aggressive and not happy about the new members. (Shout out to all of you who helped me through that!)

Unfortunately, one of the new hens died in her sleep, I think it was either due to stress from the Easter Egger, or an infection from a cut she had gotten because she was attacked by the Easter Egger so frequently.

Anyway, I introduced the new hens in the beginning of the laying season. My Easter Egger laid a few eggs in the begining and has since stopped. She has not laid in at least 6 weeks. I don’t know if it is because of the new hen, the dead hen, or if it is something I need to change.

Since then we built a new coup, its gorgeous plenty of room. So she is not housed where the hen died. It is a freaking mansion, with three nesting boxes.

She still will not start laying. We got her last summer, and told she was a little less than a year.

Any Ideas? Oh, and this is how big the coop is for 3 ladies! My hubby went a little crazy.

 

[GitaBooks]

I love the coop!


It could be stress from the move or stress from the new hens, but my guess would be she could just be molting. Molting chickens stop laying all together. It could also be because she isn't getting enough protein, she isn't getting enough sunlight (they need around 14 hours a day to lay well) or she may have parasites. She could even be going broody!

As for the chicken that died, I'm sorry about that. I don't know if chickens generally die from stress, as some chickens are kept in highly stressful situations and survive for years. I'm guessing she may have been egg bound, which leads to chickens that look like they died in their sleep.

I hope everything turns out well. Best of luck!

 

[aart]

That's a pretty nice coop....Not huge tho, just big enough for 3 hens, especially come winter.

Wondering how much space they had before tho....crowding can cause serious aggression, stress and air quality issues.
Stress and air quality issues can propagate health issues.
Bringing in new birds can bring in disease.

 

[Dani004]

He did a good job didn't he?

Before was about half the size, maybe a little more. We built a skylight in the old coop for ventilation purposes. She laid in that coop all last summer without any issue.

This coop is bigger and, has the window as well as a vent on the top.

She is ok with the new surviving bird now. Do you think it is a health issue? Should I separate her from the other two? Is it possible she is just done laying forever?

It was so weird, she laid for a week or so, then just stopped.

 

[aart]

I'd just leave things alone and let them all settle into the new coop......do you have a run also?

Chickens don't like change and it takes patience and calm observation on the keepers part to help them adjust.