Hen stopped laying

[jbrokaw32]

Need help. Will keep this short. I have 2 birds, will call them brown and green. Went away on vacation for 4 days and the in laws took care of the girls while we were gone. When we came back from vacation my mother in law said she has not received any eggs since we were gone. This could not be true, so I went to the boxes and had 5 brown eggs and 1 green egg with green chicken refusing to move off them. Since then, "green" chicken has not laid a single egg and its been 2 weeks. Brown chicken is delivering like clockwork and green chicken barely leaves the nesting box for most of the day. Is she trying to hatch them? Why is she not laying herself?

Here are some facts:

Both are sisters and about 18 months old
Live in Texas and weather has not been an issue in June
Diet has not changed, if anything they are spoiled with food
Both seem healthy and active (except the 20 hours a day in the nesting box)
Both of them use the same nesting box

Please help !!!!

 

[Black Jaque]

Yes it sounds like your green hen is broody. She is trying to hatch eggs. You can either place some fertilized eggs underneath her and give her 3 weeks to hatch 'em, or you can break her broodiness.

To break a hen of its broodiness I put her in a milk crate with mesh underneath her for 3 days, with food and water of course. The whole whole apparatus is up high so she has airflow on all sides and no feeling of privacy. Then just return her to her coop.

You may have some difficulties because you only have two hens so the other one will want company for three days but they should all survive.

 

[jbrokaw32]

Thanks for the advice. Taking some time but she is not in the nesting box 24/7 anymore but hasn't laid yet either. Figure it might take a few days or more so optimistic. Thanks again.

 

[Black Jaque]

Did you put her in a broody cage?

Yeah after breaking them out of their broodiness it takes a week or two for them to start laying again.

 

[jbrokaw32]

Didn't use a crate but was looking for a rabbit type cage or something. Ended up just blocking her off the meeting boxes. The other hen would lay about the same time everyday so I just waited for her to be done then blocked them both off until bed time. Did this for a couple days and she is outside for the day now instead of brooding. Hopefully I see eggs soon

 

[GuineaFowling]

Must be common for easter eggers to go broody. Mine goes broody often and I finally decided to give her some fertile eggs. Unfortunately, something came into the coop at night for the past couple of nights and stole her eggs. One was hatching but died in its shell, poor thing couldn't break through the membrane.