Hen not giving eggs.

[fatimastic]

My Australorp hen, Bubu, will turn 2 on March 31st. She was a good layer but I've noticed she hasn't given an egg for a week or two now (this is the time spam I've started noticing her. She may have stopped laying for a time longer than this.) This scares me because I've lost 3 hens to reproductive issues and 2 of those in the last week of February, back to back.

I've checked Bubu's abdomen and vent and there seems to be nothing wrong with it. It's not hard,huge or water balloon like. Her vent also looked plump. Not as much as normal laying hens, but still normal.

Bubu is actually molting. Can that be the reason she is not laying? Her behavior seems normal except for the fact that she goes into the egg box and sits there for an hour or two and comess back out. My hen with EYP used to show that behavior, but she was a lot loud and created a ruckus. This hen is not like this.

I also think the “Australorp” chicks I got from the farm weren't pure breed. Because they have mixed color of combs. One has this dark purple since birth, other has pink and one has pure red. They are just different shades of red.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, aren't reproductive issues mainly hereditary?

And can chickens be show behavior of both sex? Bubu has big comb and wattles and surprisingly, has comparatively larger spurs as compared to her other fellow hens.

What are your takes on this?

 

[nuthatched]

Totally not a pure australorp, and hens can have big combs and wattles and spurs, in fact, it's pretty common in some Mediterranean and jungle breeds.
Yours look like it has some leghorn or Mediterranean breed in it.
Reproduction issues can be inherited, it also can be caused by feed, weight and build. She could be doing a soft molt and not laying or hiding her nest.

 

[fatimastic]

Totally not a pure australorp, and hens can have big combs and wattles and spurs, in fact, it's pretty common in some Mediterranean and jungle breeds.
Yours look like it has some leghorn or Mediterranean breed in it.
Reproduction issues can be inherited, it also can be caused by feed, weight and build. She could be doing a soft molt and not laying or hiding her nest.

I called out the farmer before for claiming them to be pure breeds but he just ignored me.
I have limited their feed and they aren't over weight or underweight. I'd classify them as normal.
She is definitely doing a molt on her back. How long do hens stop laying while molting? Don't they lay at least once or twice a week? And do they sit in the egg box for a long time?
When she was trying to lay an egg 4 days ago, I gave her Calcium Citrate. I've given her 3 tablets so far. And I've also started antibiotics just in case she is in her early stages of disease. What else can I do?
Thank you for the reply!!

 

[nuthatched]

Ok, What do you feed them? The looks like she could also being picked or over mated. Chickens typically don't lay at all during molt, since moltings takes lots of energy. Higher protein feed will help. Like 18%-%20 or higher, if you can find it. What is the dosage on the calcium tablets and was she egg bound? you don't want to over do it.
I wouldn't give her antibiotics, she's not sick, it's not great to give any animals antibiotics unless you can confirm or highly suspect there's an infection somewhere. She looks like a friendly hen.

 

[fatimastic]

Ok, What do you feed them? The looks like she could also being picked or over mated. Chickens typically don't lay at all during molt, since moltings takes lots of energy. Higher protein feed will help. Like 18%-%20 or higher, if you can find it. What is the dosage on the calcium tablets and was she egg bound? you don't want to over do it.
I wouldn't give her antibiotics, she's not sick, it's not great to give any animals antibiotics unless you can confirm or highly suspect there's an infection somewhere. She looks like a friendly hen.

This feather loss happened due to over mating... she was the roos favorite hen after all. Should I start giving them boiled chicken feet? I've seen my neighbor do that and his hens are all healthy and excellent layers.
This is what my feed looks like and this is the medicine I gave.

 

[nuthatched]

Chicken feet wouldn't hurt, meat scraps, stuff like that, you can even feed them cooked eggs, or cheese to give them a protein boost. chickens love yogurt. she probably doesn't need any more medicine unless you can tell something's wrong but it won't hurt her that she had some. :]

 

[fatimastic]

Ok, What do you feed them? The looks like she could also being picked or over mated. Chickens typically don't lay at all during molt, since moltings takes lots of energy. Higher protein feed will help. Like 18%-%20 or higher, if you can find it. What is the dosage on the calcium tablets and was she egg bound? you don't want to over do it.
I wouldn't give her antibiotics, she's not sick, it's not great to give any animals antibiotics unless you can confirm or highly suspect there's an infection somewhere. She looks like a friendly hen.

She is a bit scared of me but when I hold her she behaves nicely.

Chicken feet wouldn't hurt, meat scraps, stuff like that, you can even feed them cooked eggs, or cheese to give them a protein boost. chickens love yogurt. she probably doesn't need any more medicine unless you can tell something's wrong but it won't hurt her that she had some. :]

How long should i boil the chicken feet for? And I should probably clip of the nails.
I actually treat them to yogurt once a week at least because they enjoy it so muchh. What do you think about her vent? Does it look normal to you?

 

[fatimastic]

Chicken feet wouldn't hurt, meat scraps, stuff like that, you can even feed them cooked eggs, or cheese to give them a protein boost. chickens love yogurt. she probably doesn't need any more medicine unless you can tell something's wrong but it won't hurt her that she had some. :]

She sat in the egg box again for 2 hours. Tjis behavior is worrying me.

 

[nuthatched]

She sat in the egg box again for 2 hours. Tjis behavior is worrying me.

Hmm, could she be broody? Is she growling when you try to move her from the box? I'm stumped

 

[fatimastic]

Hmm, could she be broody? Is she growling when you try to move her from the box? I'm stumped

She not at all broody. She just sits and comes out.