my hen won't lay

[irenew]

I have a silver laced wyandotte, who became ill a while ago (end of last year) she grew hunched stopped laying lost some feathers. Then she recovered,she looks gorgeous, she is back to laying but she seems to lay invisible eggs. She sits for an hour then jumps up shouting that she's layed her egg and there is nothing there. I've tried watching to see if she is eating her own eggs but I can't tell. It isn't enough for a hen to look beautiful she shoud be producing she is only a year old.

 

[feathersnuggles]

Don't give up yet. They will sing an egg song, even when there's no egg. Mine do it, more often than not, to get another bird off their favorite nest. It's like phony encouragement, "Here's the egg song - now get off the nest, you've already laid your egg, sucker."

Anyway, since your bird was ill, you may need to be very patient. Likely, she used up her body's reserves of protein for healing from her illness and afterwards regrowing all her new feathers. She's probably building up her reserves again, because egg-laying uses a lot of her body's stored minerals and protein. Give her time. She deserves it, after all she's be through. Make sure she gets adequate good-quality protein, calcium supplement (oyster shell) and fresh clean water available all the time.

Besides spending time in the nest & practicing the egg song, here are other indicators that would show you she is very close to laying again:
1) comb and face get much redder
2) pelvic bones, that surround the vent, spread apart enough so that you can easily fit three fingers between them
3) she squats, when you reach out for her

 

[Minniechickmama]

Have you checked to make sure she is not eggbound?

 

[irenew]

Hi
Yes I am making sure she gets oyster shell etc and she looks otherwise healthy

Egg bound? I wondered when she got ill whether she was eggbound.

How do I check for this

Here is how she is looking today- sorry a bit out of focus because she wouldn't stand for the photo

 

[EggBreakfast]

What a gorgeous bird... hope she starts laying again for you.

 

[irenew]

I'm just thinking
The day she stopped laying was the day her "mum" hatched out her next brood of eggs. This silly hen kept trying to pretend she was a baby and of course her "mum" rejected the silly hen. It would be interesting if she starts laying when the teenagers start

 

[ArizonaNessa]

I just can't get this out of my mind so I am just going to ask. Are you sure she was "ill" and not molting? What you are describing as "ill" sounds just like molting to me. If she was molting then she wouldn't lay during that time and it could be a little while til she's gets her groove back. She looks splendid in the picture. Don't give up just make sure she is getting good nutrition and is acting normally. She will come around.

 

[irenew]

efinitely she was poorly She spent a lot of time huddled and hiding and looking miserable. I'm not sure if she lost feathers but she grew heaps more-and grew bigger

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
No, your SW hen does not look egg bound to me. If she's eating well, is active, drinking well, & pooping well, etc. -- she's not egg bound. Egg bound birds are usually huddled up, not eating, eyes shut, or intermittently straining to get out an egg. They LOOK sick. Their vents often are protruded or swollen and Painful-looking. Egg bound birds HAVE an egg in them, either shelled or shell-less variety, but they just can't push it out. It's a calcium deficiency issue. They need an emergency dose of calcium, usually an injection of liquid Ca. You can usually feel the bound egg, if you gently slide a gloved finger into their vent. They need help getting it out. It's a tricky potentially life-threatening situation, because the egg can break while inside which will kill the hen.

Anyway, I think you have a healthy bird who needs time to get back into the egg laying groove. Give her LOTS of acceptance for where she's at, right now!

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
You may have discovered something there. On a side note, Wyandottes are notoriously susceptible to being broody, because of their big poofy bodies, which make excellent egg incubators. My 10 month old Wyandotte got SERIOUSLY broody, recently. She stopped laying eggs, even though she just begun laying (she was a late bloomer). It was interesting, but caught me off guard because I didn't think they could go broody, so young. Next year, I think I'll give her some fertile eggs, if she's broody again. It will be fun to see her... she SO wanted to be a mother this year.