If it's not one thing, it another.

[FluffyandGinger]

Please help, I'm still new at chickens .... And I slowly get my head around each little learning curve as they come up.

My latest....

My fav chook has all of a sudden stopped laying in her nest box. The last couple if mornings she has run out in the morning to lay in her secret nest..... Which is inconvenient for me to get to. I've recently come across a brown snake in the garden and I'm petrified I'll bump into it again getting to this secret spot.

I've looked on this site and some people have suggested red mites, could this still be a possibility if she's happy to hang out in the nest box otherwise?

How can I entice her back to laying in the nest? I've cleaned it out, put fake eggs in there and nothing else has changed....

And my other chook went broody a couple of weeks ago, I broke the bloodiness and now she's leaving feathers everywhere. Molting? How long till she will lay eggs again?

Not feeling like I'm having much luck at the moment with these two girls

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[chickkrzi]

Look like she wants to be a mommy really bad. And you keep taking her eggs. what I would do is try to have someone get those eggs she's hiding.then lock her up so she can't get back to her hidden nest she made. You can put her eggs in her favorite nesting box and let her hatch out her eggs or let lay some new ones then when she goes broody, then break her.
As for the hen in molt. It's really depends on the breed as for as how long she'll molt. Some breeds like the Legg horns will take about 6 weeks, I had buff or ping tons take as long as 3 months.
But the thing to remember is chickens are just like any other pet (dog cats goats) ,and you'll always have some challenges. Just relax, enjoy them and take one problem at a time. Soon enough they'll start be coming easier to take care of. Good luck with your hens.

 

[donrae]

Keep your favorite locked up in the coop until after she lays. She'll fuss a bit, but it's not going to hurt her at all to stay cooped up. Do that for several days in a row, until she quits fussing and just lays in the coop. You may have to do it periodically to remind her where to lay.

I have two older hens that are the last remainders of my flock from when I free ranged 3 years ago. These hens have been cooped for 3 years, lay in the boxes no issues, no problems. I decided to do some limited free range last week and you guessed it---both of those girls went right back to thier hidey-hole nesting spots from 3 years ago and laid, 3 days in a row each! I guess old habits really do die hard