Mites?

[nuthatched]

Raise the edge of the nest boxes, attach a 1x4 to the front.
Fresh hay is so exciting to chickens, it's like a ball pit.

 

[Keedlez5]

Managed to check Wyandotte hen this morning. No sign of mites!! as far as I can tell...think it is maybe just an early molt, saw some pin feathers.

 

[Keedlez5]

Raise the edge of the nest boxes, attach a 1x4 to the front.
Fresh hay is so exciting to chickens, it's like a ball pit.

Would you suggest hay vs straw? I had always heard to avoid hay cause it still has the seeds in it, but t maybe I have that flipped. I've heard now that straw since it's hollow can harbor mites.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would you suggest hay vs straw? I had always heard to avoid hay cause it still has the seeds in it, but t maybe I have that flipped. I've heard now that straw since it's hollow can harbor mites.

No matter what you use, someone can come up with a way that it is bad or not the "best". People have successfully used wood shavings, straw, hay, Spanish moss, shredded paper, rags, sand, feed bags, carpet, and who knows what else. Like almost everyone else I have my preferences. I believe what I use should be as inexpensive as reasonable and available. I'm not going to order a special shipment of seaweed (that's another one). I personally cut tall grass from places I don't normally mow or weed-eat and let it dry. It is similar to hay and may have seeds in it. Some stems may be hollow like straw. I've never had mites. It is generally fairly fragile since it is usually fairly young growth so I have to replace it regularly, they shred it easily with their scratching. People can find a lot wrong with it. I can find things wrong with it. But it works for me.

If you want to use hay, use hay. If you don't like it, try something else.

I agree you need to raise the lip on that nest. Mine are normally 4" to 5" so they don't scratch out the bedding while rearranging the nest. With your nests on the coop floor you might want to raise them so they don't scratch the floor bedding with poop into your nests.

Have you tried putting fake eggs in your nests to show them where to lay? It does not always work but it can help. I use one golf ball per nest but some people really like the ceramic or wooden eggs. They look so lifelike that you may need to mark them to tell which are fake and which are real.

To me it looks like some of them are molting.

Could you show a close-up of the back of that hen's head where the feathers are missing? When chickens mate the rooster grabs the back of the hen's head. That's her signal to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target and fertilize the eggs. Sometimes those feathers can pull out. Some hens just have feathers that can break off or pull out easier than others. If it is only one hen it is probably not the rooster's technique.

Good luck!

 

[nuthatched]

Would you suggest hay vs straw? I had always heard to avoid hay cause it still has the seeds in it, but t maybe I have that flipped. I've heard now that straw since it's hollow can harbor mites.

Anything can Harbour mites. I use straw bedding but I spray the boxes with fly spray before adding hay and then spraying all the corners and creases in my coop.

 

[Keedlez5]

No matter what you use, someone can come up with a way that it is bad or not the "best". People have successfully used wood shavings, straw, hay, Spanish moss, shredded paper, rags, sand, feed bags, carpet, and who knows what else. Like almost everyone else I have my preferences. I believe what I use should be as inexpensive as reasonable and available. I'm not going to order a special shipment of seaweed (that's another one). I personally cut tall grass from places I don't normally mow or weed-eat and let it dry. It is similar to hay and may have seeds in it. Some stems may be hollow like straw. I've never had mites. It is generally fairly fragile since it is usually fairly young growth so I have to replace it regularly, they shred it easily with their scratching. People can find a lot wrong with it. I can find things wrong with it. But it works for me.

If you want to use hay, use hay. If you don't like it, try something else.

I agree you need to raise the lip on that nest. Mine are normally 4" to 5" so they don't scratch out the bedding while rearranging the nest. With your nests on the coop floor you might want to raise them so they don't scratch the floor bedding with poop into your nests.

Have you tried putting fake eggs in your nests to show them where to lay? It does not always work but it can help. I use one golf ball per nest but some people really like the ceramic or wooden eggs. They look so lifelike that you may need to mark them to tell which are fake and which are real.

To me it looks like some of them are molting.

Could you show a close-up of the back of that hen's head where the feathers are missing? When chickens mate the rooster grabs the back of the hen's head. That's her signal to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target and fertilize the eggs. Sometimes those feathers can pull out. Some hens just have feathers that can break off or pull out easier than others. If it is only one hen it is probably not the rooster's technique.

Good luck!

I have had the ceramic eggs in the nests, they've always been good about laying in the nests until November hit, then they started kicking everything out including the ceramic eggs.

I did my best to get some close ups of the hen whose missing neck feathers. I don't think it's the rooster's doing since none of the other hens are missing neck feathers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have had the ceramic eggs in the nests, they've always been good about laying in the nests until November hit, then they started kicking everything out including the ceramic eggs.

I have no explanation for them laying in the nests and all of a sudden them starting scratching everything out and laying around the coop floor.

I did my best to get some close ups of the hen whose missing neck feathers. I don't think it's the rooster's doing since none of the other hens are missing neck feathers.

I strongly suspect it is the rooster pulling the hen's head and neck feathers out when mating. She is laying eggs so it is highly unlikely she is molting. You can see some of the feathers growing back in. Often when that happens it is just one or two hens, not all of them.

Another possibility but I strongly doubt this one. Sometimes another hen will pluck out feathers. Usually when that happens it is at their throat or vent, not on the back of the neck.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

After some frustration about nest box materials, I ordered the fake turf nest box pads on Amazon. The girls hated them - go figure. BUT straw and/or pine shavings stick to them much better than the wooden bottem of the nest box and the foam pads we had tried at one point. They aren't perfect but do help keep the bedding in place a little bit. They also are easy to clean in the event of a broken egg. In my nest boxes, even if someone does empty them out (I have one obnoxious little EE whose goal in life is to empty not just all 4 of the nest boxes, but the entire coop, of any and all bedding ). Most of my girls will still lay on the pad vs. the coop floor. And I agree that the feather issues look like rooster damage and the lack of eggs is normal for the time of year. My Wyandottes have been some of my better winter layers, so it makes sense to me that your GLW is laying.

 

[Keedlez5]

Thanks for all the info everyone! Glad to rule out mites and also get some insight from you all on the feather issues and nest boxes. I'm going to increase the lip on the nest boxes and if that doesn't work, I'm going to try some kind of nest box inserts/pad.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm going to increase the lip on the nest boxes and if that doesn't work, I'm going to try some kind of nest box inserts/pad.

Freebie nest padding: fold up empty feed bags to snugly fit the nest box, then top with bedding. Even if they scratch the bedding out the bags will still provide enough padding for eggs. You may still need to increase the lip to prevent eggs from being kicked out though.