lindaroot
In the Brooder
- Jan 27, 2015
- 9
- 0
- 25
I have a flock that includes eight layers and 15 pullets who will be five months old mid-month. I keep one penedesenca rooster who is reasonably well behaved for a roo. They live in a shared chicken yard, roughly 20 x 18, in which there are four separate coop structures. The silkies were all by themselves in a coop with a silkie roo before the move. The male had been my personal pet as a cockerel but became outrageously aggressive as he matured. He is living at my son's house. When we moved the birds into the new area two weeks ago, my older layers (born Thanksgiving- 3 Orpingtons and a Penedesenca) arbitrarily moved into the bachelor coop with my one penny roo, who is 10 months old. He mates with anything that moves, but they are his particular harem.
The silkies moved into the first floor of the old Orpington coop and continued laying an egg at least every other day for almost a week. Then they stopped and have gone without laying for more than a week. My pullets (15 of them, 11 Easter Eggers and 4 Penedesencas) want nothing to do with their prior coops and more or less function as yard birds.) At night they select any two coops with vacancies except the ones they used to occupy. And I have only four functioning layers, and they all lay on the same side of one nesting box in what used to be the bachelor pad. I have seven extra nesting boxes while the line forms for the use of the one they prefer.
Two questions: 1) How can I encourage the silkies to resume laying? And; 2) With the 15 pullets (18 weeks old now) how can I settle them into permanent digs in the two vacant coops and get them to use any of the seven unused nesting boxes.
The silkies moved into the first floor of the old Orpington coop and continued laying an egg at least every other day for almost a week. Then they stopped and have gone without laying for more than a week. My pullets (15 of them, 11 Easter Eggers and 4 Penedesencas) want nothing to do with their prior coops and more or less function as yard birds.) At night they select any two coops with vacancies except the ones they used to occupy. And I have only four functioning layers, and they all lay on the same side of one nesting box in what used to be the bachelor pad. I have seven extra nesting boxes while the line forms for the use of the one they prefer.
Two questions: 1) How can I encourage the silkies to resume laying? And; 2) With the 15 pullets (18 weeks old now) how can I settle them into permanent digs in the two vacant coops and get them to use any of the seven unused nesting boxes.
