- Thread starter
- #11
kelzey
Songster
thank you! he’s a very sweet little guy, but he is still young yes, so he’s still learning (i think that he could be quite the gentleman by the time he’s mature). i actually walked in on him mating with one of the girls yesterday evening! i guess all it took was me talking about it online haha. i’m hoping that’s a sign that they are slowly accepting him. but i’m going to take your advice and separate him from the ladies in the morning so that they can lay their eggs in peace, and see if that helps. my girls are only a little over a year old so there isn’t too much of an age difference thankfully.That's fine looking rooster you have there!
Yes, new additions to the flock can cause stress. A rooster is definitely a cause of stress, especially if the girls are chasing him away. Clearly he is not yet accepted. Three hens to one rooster can work, but it depends on the temperament and maturity of the rooster. Some roosters are gentle and patient with the hens. If he is a young rooster you may need to put him out of the pen in the morning, and keep him out until the gals have finished their egg laying. And/or, they go out to forage, if you let them out to forage that is. If the weather has been abnormal for this time of year, that too is adding stress. Older hens will be more likely to stop laying due to stresses. But again, it would only be temporary.
You may want to scramble an egg and sprinkle some crushed calcium supplement on it. Then, feed it to the hen that is not laying. Make two eggs for all three hens to share. The calcium will help her if she is getting ready to go back into lay and low on calcium. You should have a fecal float test done for all 3 hens to eliminate the possibility of worms. I just found cecal worms in two of my hens that were laying shell-less eggs and eggs with brittle shells.
Play some soft soothing music for the hens during the day, and provide abundant food for them. Life should be good when you're making eggs!
i’ll be getting five chicks in a little over a week, so once they are big enough to move into the main coop, the other girls thankfully won’t have to deal with the stress of being over mated with.
i actually always give them their eggshells back! and every now and again give them eggs. i’ll definitely look into having a fecal float done. thank you for all your help!
