I feel angst for my hen just laying..

[thndrdancr]

Wow, I feel like a mother that has a child in labor.

My poor sex link, I dont think she is old enuff, she is 16 1/2 weeks and started laying. She usually goes around singing all the time...well, these last two days, the singing sounds more like crying and then when she lays, she cackles and its NOT a happy cackle. She really doesnt look that big I dont think, and I tried to delay her laying with oatmeal, etc. I wanted to help her, but not much I could do and she wanted to be left alone already.

I watched for two hours today while she cried, and circled the pen, my other poor pullet tried to help console her but just ended up being in the way most of the time.
Even when I let her out yesterday evening, she just pecked around like she didnt feel well, and my other pullet runs around like the dickens, all frisky and usually Red does too.
My EE is 1/3 again the size of Red, so that egg HAS to hurt, poor baby.
I am so proud of her, but I sure feel a lot of angst for the poor thing. Mom used to always pet the dog and console her when she was in labor, I almost feel like doing that for her, but I doubt she would appreciate it much.

I guess extra lovin in the eve and treats will have to do.

Jill

 

[davecash]

that sucks. I am so sory.. i dont know of much you can do, but i am sure that you can try to talk to her and console her and try to make her as comfertable as possible.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, not much you can do. They were bred to be egg machines there. My sexlink who started too early now has a myriad of laying problems and now has developed acities.

 

[thndrdancr]

Ok, in that case, I guess getting oil in their system would be the best thing. I hear black oil sunflower seed has natural oils, I havent given any yet but will buy some immediately. Any other ideas for natural oils I can get into her to make things go a lil "smoother"?

I myself drink olive oil now an again, but my birds dont really care for that...lol

 

[TreyClark281]

aww poor birdy..
id try the black oil sunflower seeds...
hope she stops laying (at the time)
not common to want a chicken to stop laying lol.

 

[LynnGrigg]

Hello! Do you give chickens the whole black oil sunflower seeds?.... like the one I put in the bird feeder? My young ones seem to be getting ready to lay and they are only 12 weeks. Thanks

 

[equine chick]

How about some ground flaxseed. I just started giving it to my older hens, and roo. They are 16 weeks today, you only need to toss about 1/4 cup with thier feed every couple days. My horses are on a flax supplement so i decided to try with the chicks.. You can get it at some feedstores and they sell it at the grocery store too. They haven't started laying but they love it.

 

[thndrdancr]

Flaxseed is a great idea, I even have some I bought and never used laying around somewhere I do believe.

I just soaked some bread in olive oil and gave them, normally they wont eat it, but the laying pullet went nuts over it this morning. She really is acting like there is not something she is getting in the feed that she needs, she is pulling at it with her feet (not typical of her), pecking at it, rejecting it, she acts like she is starving for somethin tho. She went ape over the olive oil soaked bread tho, so maybe she knows she needs it.
She wont eat any oyster shell (and actually the one I got looks like huge sharp pieces, is it ALWAYS like that? I feel like I need to grind it up more for her), have been grinding egg shells and letting her pick at that too, but thats not what she is after. This is the first thing I have seen her go nuts for since Saturday. She is even off a little on the treats she normally loves, just picked at the cherries I put in her pen and rejected them, ate the grapes but not like she normally would, etc....
Yea, Trey, weird to want your chicken to STOP laying...lol
Lynn, I dont know about black sunflower seeds at that age with the shell on, I think thats what most folks give theirs, but my girls just now look like they can handle it, this last week. Mine also looked like she might lay too early, was trying to delay it with feeding her oatmeal in her feed etc, she started squatting when I would pet her about 3 weeks ago. By all means, get some kind of natural oils into their system if you can if they start laying. Equine chick has a fantastic idea with the flaxseed, try that, its small enuff they could eat it with no prob. Great idea.
Thats why I love this place! Thanks all.
Jill

 

[Southern28Chick]

Does oil make them stop laying?

 

[thndrdancr]

I dont think so, Southern, but it eases internal workings a bit, even in people, so I figure it cant hurt chickens either, as long as its not a strong oil anyhow.
In my case, I think my pullet is just not big enuff body wise. My EE is 1/3 again her size and not laying yet, and she is really acting like its hurting her quite a bit, even tho the eggs are fairly small. She is pumping them out every 24 hours too, I wished she WOULD stop or go every other day or somethin.

I think its kinda like a 13 year old startin to have kids, they can do it but its REAL hard on em, we all know how hard that is on people when that goes on.