WellingtonCoop
Chirping
- Jul 30, 2020
- 25
- 28
- 89
Hello friends!
We have four Bielefelder Hens that are just over a year old. We raised them from week old chicks.
(We had five hens originally but one suddenly died a couple of months ago from what appeared to be some sort of leg injury from an unknown source).
We love our girls. They get a quality layer feed every day, fresh water, lots of fun veggies, fruits and herbs, and have a nice little coop complete with three nesting boxes and with a fenced-in run. Currently, we do not have a dust bath, but they love to dig in the dirt and fluff their feathers. We have two problems that I'm trying to solve.
Problem 1: Thin Eggs despite calcium source, and way fewer eggs than before.
Recently, they have stopped laying eggs. We get one or two eggs a day, but most often just one egg which is very unusual for them. Also, despite offering up both oyster shells and crushed eggshells for them to access at any time, one or more of the hens is laying VERY thin-shelled eggs. You can poke your finger through just by picking it up gently. And the outsides are always mottled and strange. The other eggs seem okay, but could have thicker shells.
Problem 2: One of our hens looks sick!
One of the hens has suddenly lost feathers on her neck, and the skin underneath is scaley, peeling, and red. Is it molting, lice, or mites?? I have no idea! She is not missing feathers anywhere else, and I don't believe that she is being bullied. Our hens are sisters, and very docile with one another. We don't have a rooster. Overall, the girls suddenly look a bit lackluster, dull feathers, and just don't look their best. We aren't sure where to start in helping them.
I would be so grateful for your feedback!
Thank you so much
We have four Bielefelder Hens that are just over a year old. We raised them from week old chicks.
(We had five hens originally but one suddenly died a couple of months ago from what appeared to be some sort of leg injury from an unknown source).
We love our girls. They get a quality layer feed every day, fresh water, lots of fun veggies, fruits and herbs, and have a nice little coop complete with three nesting boxes and with a fenced-in run. Currently, we do not have a dust bath, but they love to dig in the dirt and fluff their feathers. We have two problems that I'm trying to solve.
Problem 1: Thin Eggs despite calcium source, and way fewer eggs than before.
Recently, they have stopped laying eggs. We get one or two eggs a day, but most often just one egg which is very unusual for them. Also, despite offering up both oyster shells and crushed eggshells for them to access at any time, one or more of the hens is laying VERY thin-shelled eggs. You can poke your finger through just by picking it up gently. And the outsides are always mottled and strange. The other eggs seem okay, but could have thicker shells.
Problem 2: One of our hens looks sick!
One of the hens has suddenly lost feathers on her neck, and the skin underneath is scaley, peeling, and red. Is it molting, lice, or mites?? I have no idea! She is not missing feathers anywhere else, and I don't believe that she is being bullied. Our hens are sisters, and very docile with one another. We don't have a rooster. Overall, the girls suddenly look a bit lackluster, dull feathers, and just don't look their best. We aren't sure where to start in helping them.
I would be so grateful for your feedback!
Thank you so much
