Hens have stopped laying? Please help?

[fluffykitty12]

So all my hens have stopped laying. I had a flock of 14, but one of them died suddenly. I was draining an ascetics fluid from her, and I believe the stress of being on he back while I held her was too much, as she died about ten minutes later in my arms, gasping and struggling to breathe, comb blue.

I've noticed egg production slowing lately, and now it;s stopped all together. Another one of my hens came down with the same illness that took the other one- I can confirm because I hear her breath rattling, her lungs sound wet, and she pants and gasps very easily. She also has much dark diarrhea suck to her butt feathers, just like my recently deceased chicken.

I'm putting tetracycline in ALL their water, as a preventative measure, since I don;t want them all to come down with it. But what's made them stop laying? They are approximately 3 years old, and lay all winter round, as we have a lamp in the coop to provide light.

Are they just too old? I figured they'd slowly phase out of laying, but not all at once! So, are they ill, or have they simply aged out of laying?

 

[junebuggena]

Ascetics fluid is a symptom of heart failure, and so is the comb turning blue. Three years old isn't really old for chickens. What is their diet like? Do you feed a lot of treats or grains? What is their activity level like?

 

[fluffykitty12]

I have them on Purina layer feed right now- they have a large 16 by 16 foot enclosure, surrounded by hardware cloth, though they generally spend their summers sitting under the coop in the shade. They do get table scraps, such as fat from pork chops and corn cobs. What do you suggest? I'm getting 1-2 eggs a day from 13 birds.

 

[junebuggena]

Lay off the treats. And since you've already had one heart failure related death, no more animal fats. Chickens can get over weight and die from heart attacks, just like people. If it's not a healthy food for you, it's probably not a healthy food for a chicken either. They tend to eat less when the weather gets warm. Only give them high protein treats like lean meats and mealworms. Switching to a feed with a higher protein content will help to ensure that they are getting enough to produce eggs. If they aren't actively laying, they shouldn't be eating layer pellets anyways. Be sure to offer a calcium supplement like oyster shell once they do start laying again.