Big Bertha is 10 months old. She is not molting, does not seem sick in any way, has not displayed any symptoms of lethargy, continues to dig in the dirt and forage, etc. I've seen her at the feeder and at the waterer, and she seems otherwise perfectly normal. Three things, however, are concerning:
1) She suddenly and without fanfare "acquiesced" her position as flock leader to Lola, another EE. Lola has always laid in her own area separate from the rest of the layers (the rest were all using just 1 nest), and now Lola has stopped using "her" nest and is laying in the nest with everybody else, where Bertha had been laying.
2) Her egg production has tapered off over a few weeks. She went from laying 5-6 eggs a week to laying 4-5 eggs, then 3 eggs (1 every other day), only 2 eggs last week, and only 1 this week (Monday) and nothing since. That is the only egg she has laid in the last 6 days. She is also no longer squatting at all. I caught up with her today and put my hand over her saddle area, and she has always squatted for me since she started laying in October. All of a sudden this month, though, nothing.
3) She has stopped visiting the oyster shell tray completely and is not coming for treats, though she has never been much for "human food" anyway. She does come for scratch, though, and eats it rather vigorously, as does everyone in the flock.
Nobody else's egg production/laying has slowed down. Someone told me they sometimes molt around 10 months--could she be getting ready to molt? In the middle of winter??? It is not a particularly harsh winter here... I am in northern California, and we sometimes dip into the low 30s at night but that's about as cold as it gets. They have an open-air coop with an attached playhouse where they can go for warmth when it gets too cold (though they rarely use it except for a place to play and scratch around for stuff in the ground).
Could the slowing down in laying have anything to do with the shift in hierarchy? She doesn't seem to mind not being in charge and there wasn't any fighting over it. For a long time, she and Lola were the only ones laying, and now we are up to five laying (light brahma just laid her first egg today). Just all of a sudden, Lola seems to be the Queen and there is an obvious difference in pecking order.
Thanks for the insight of you more experienced chickeneers!
1) She suddenly and without fanfare "acquiesced" her position as flock leader to Lola, another EE. Lola has always laid in her own area separate from the rest of the layers (the rest were all using just 1 nest), and now Lola has stopped using "her" nest and is laying in the nest with everybody else, where Bertha had been laying.
2) Her egg production has tapered off over a few weeks. She went from laying 5-6 eggs a week to laying 4-5 eggs, then 3 eggs (1 every other day), only 2 eggs last week, and only 1 this week (Monday) and nothing since. That is the only egg she has laid in the last 6 days. She is also no longer squatting at all. I caught up with her today and put my hand over her saddle area, and she has always squatted for me since she started laying in October. All of a sudden this month, though, nothing.
3) She has stopped visiting the oyster shell tray completely and is not coming for treats, though she has never been much for "human food" anyway. She does come for scratch, though, and eats it rather vigorously, as does everyone in the flock.
Nobody else's egg production/laying has slowed down. Someone told me they sometimes molt around 10 months--could she be getting ready to molt? In the middle of winter??? It is not a particularly harsh winter here... I am in northern California, and we sometimes dip into the low 30s at night but that's about as cold as it gets. They have an open-air coop with an attached playhouse where they can go for warmth when it gets too cold (though they rarely use it except for a place to play and scratch around for stuff in the ground).
Could the slowing down in laying have anything to do with the shift in hierarchy? She doesn't seem to mind not being in charge and there wasn't any fighting over it. For a long time, she and Lola were the only ones laying, and now we are up to five laying (light brahma just laid her first egg today). Just all of a sudden, Lola seems to be the Queen and there is an obvious difference in pecking order.
Thanks for the insight of you more experienced chickeneers!
