Gap in Laying - should I be worried?

[Lorielus]

Hi all,

I have returned with another in my endless list of newbie questions.

My chickens started to lay a few weeks around (at about 22 weeks old) - a bit haphazardly in terms of how often, but nice eggs with strong shells.

A couple of weeks ago I lost one of them (the vet thinks she may have gotten impacted as there were no external signs other that subdued behaviour). Since then there's only been one egg by any of the remaining three hens (and two ducks, but they hadn't started laying at all yet anyway). They otherwise seem content and happy - lively as ever, feathers look fine, no sign of mites, etc. plenty of colour, eating/drinking as normal.

Should I be concerned at all? Do hens tend to be affected like this for a while if they lose one of their own?

In case it's relevant, the species are two cream legbars, one sussex, and the two ducks are khaki campbells.

 

[aart]

Well, are you sure the other 3 were laying previously?
22-25 weeks may still be a bit young.

Was the one who died laying?
Did the vet open her up(necrospy) to ascertain the cause of death?
That sounds gruesome to newbies, but it really is the only way to know what happened.

Losing a flock member can be stressful for a bird,
but they don't react like we do at the loss of a flock(tribe,family) member.
They usually get over it in a few days once the pecking order is restructured.

Do you free range?
You might need to confine your birds to coop and run to habituate them to laying in the coop nests.
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.


Best way to know who is laying and who is not is a 'butt check',
also gruesome, maybe, but good to know how to check this very important aspect of you layers anatomy.

Vent Appearance:
Dry, tight, and smaller - usually not laying.
Moist, wide, and larger - usually laying.

Pelvic Points, feel for the 2 bony points(pelvic bones F-F) on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.
(Spacing is relative with chickens size and humans finger size.)