more than one problem

[judyd1]

wonder if anyone can help, all of a sudden my previously happy flock - one rhode island, one maran and two isa warrens has become a problem. Biggest problem is rhodie had dirty back end, have bathed in warm water which helped a bit but back to same state couple of days later. Next problem - suddenly only 1 egg a day instead of usual 3 or 4, big problem - maran doesnt seem to be laying. Her eggs are easier recognised being dark brown. problem number 4 there is evidence of egg eating, so I dont know if they have stopped laying or one chick (or all!) is eating the eggs.
Yesterday decided on process of elimination and put maran in seperate run, to find out which is eating eggs. This morning I have let her out because there is broken egg on floor of hen house with no egg inside so guess she is not the culprit. Have put rhodie in there for observation. I'm hoping if I do this I will find out which one is eating them.
All hens have run of small garden, are fed organic pellets and have clean fresh water etc and veg scraps. All look healthy and are active etc (although rhodie looks less than appealing with her dirty poopy back end (with some white there)
After a few years of fairly trouble free hen keeping everything seems to be happening at once.
Can anyone help?
Judyd

 

[sherylreno]

Has anything changed lately that you are doing differently? Have you checked for mites or lice or anything like that. The messy bottom is telling me there is something going on with her. How old are they? Do you use free choice oyster shell and recycle their own shells so they get lots of calcium if they need it? You can up their protein as well and this can help but once you have an egg eater it is very hard to stop that if you even can is a question. You can always get the roll away egg thingy to help you. When was the last time you de-wormed them?

I also use ACV in their water as well and this helps them a lot.

 

[judyd1]

Thanks for answering. The weather is the only thing thats a bit different recently in that the weather is uncharacteristically warm and sunny. They were all wormed about 4 months ago. I dont do anything about calcium - will do the oyster shell thing you suggest. Whats AVC?
The roll away egg things are quite expensive I think and it's never been a problem til now.
You think I should worm them again? They are about 3 years old

 

[sherylreno]

You are most welcome.

They slow down every year of their lives. 3 is actually kinda old. I know the roll away egg contraption is expensive but tyou can go onto youtube and see what's out there you can make.

What did you use to worm them? Did you follow up with the second treatment 10 days later?

ACV=Apple Cider Vinegar.

 

[WasabiChicki]

I don't mean to hijack your thread Judy but,
I am experiencing the exact same thing right now w/ my 3 year olds!
I think I narrowed it down today: there is lice on the poopy butt hen & the soft shelled egg I was getting last month from my RIR was fixed w/ added calcium (fresh comfrey leaf & more egg shells) plus more forest foraging away from the rest of the flock... they were being mean.

But I'm still wondering if someone is eating the eggs because every couple days there is a broken one, sometimes messy, sometimes cleaned up like it was lunch.
Would they eat it if it accidently broke or do they intentionally break & eat their eggs?
I am only getting two eggs (if I'm lucky) each day out of 4 layers, all 3 years old.

Thanks For letting me sneak in on this one, I'm anxious to see what ppl say about all this... Good Luck Judy!

 

[judyd1]

Thanks for interest and help - well.... i used flubenvet it was administered daily for 7 days, but I have now started the treatment again as it seems to be that worms are a possibility. Also i am feeling more sure that although eggs have been eaten whether because of accidental breaking or deliberate, this isnt happening often. The egg shells are very hard so I havent used calcium supplements. The rhodie still has dirty poopy back and slight diarohhea I think, but they all seem otherwise fit and healthy and lively. I'm wondering if their egg laying is just reducing but it seems strange after getting 3 or 4 a day that it should be reduced to one.
I havent used anything in the water other than a garlic clove. Is apple cider vinegar good?
I cant see any evidence of lice or mites. I use Diatomaceous earth regularly as this is supposed to be good for preventing these pests. Does one hen not laying affect the others ?

 

[sherylreno]

If it's stress then yes, 1 hen not laying will affect the others. If it's worms then you need to switch your meds when you repeat the de-worming every other time. The worms can become immune to the medicine if you don't switch every other time with the meds.