I have an 8 month old Gold Sex Link hen who has, until now, been the most reliable of all my hens, laying an egg every single day. Until a week ago.
A week ago, there was torrential, and I mean an inch or two an hour, rain. And two of three hens stopped laying for a couple of days, due to stress or protest or I don't know what. However, they are in fully-covered quarters, with full protection from the rain, and my property is on a hill so there was no flooding.
The GSL has not begun laying again. Nor will she squat for me, though the other two will. I can't tell what's up with her.
Is it typical of a hen to stop squatting and stop laying, under weather-related stress? She isn't moulting. The feathers under her vent seem a bit messy with poop, but it's an ordinary color, not yellow or green or worrisome.
A week ago, there was torrential, and I mean an inch or two an hour, rain. And two of three hens stopped laying for a couple of days, due to stress or protest or I don't know what. However, they are in fully-covered quarters, with full protection from the rain, and my property is on a hill so there was no flooding.
The GSL has not begun laying again. Nor will she squat for me, though the other two will. I can't tell what's up with her.
Is it typical of a hen to stop squatting and stop laying, under weather-related stress? She isn't moulting. The feathers under her vent seem a bit messy with poop, but it's an ordinary color, not yellow or green or worrisome.