New to chickens ( relatively). Please help

[Fewhensonly]

Hi

We bought 2 Light Sussex in March 2011, they just started laying then and were about 22 weeks old. They were very steady layers with an egg a day each.
One died o an infection a long time ago. The other one stopped laying in June and has started moulting in September.

Now I have 2 questions:

Are Light Sussex hybrids and do you think she will lay again, since she has stopped when it was still warm and she wasn't moulting.

Please help the novice

Christina

 

[Ridgerunner]

Light Sussex are not hybrids. They are a specific breed.

Your other question is a lot harder. It's unusual for them to stop laying like that before they molt. Chickens are flock animals and being by herself she was probably somewhat stressed, but to totally stop is still unusual.

I'm not sure what you mean by the other one dying of infection. Was it an infected injury or some diease? Some diseases will stop a hen from laying even if it does not kill her. She might not show signs of being sick.

Normally I'd say she will start laying after she finishes the molt, but in your specific case, I really don't feel comfortable saying that. I really don't know.

 

[Fewhensonly]

Thank you or replying:

We had 2 initial Light Sussex, Gertrude and Ethel.
Ethel had a broken egg in her "bum". I very gently pulled it out. She got sick a couple of weeks after that: her neck was very low and she was just standing around looking "puffy" and not moving very much. She did still drink but not eat very much. Her eyes were closed a lot and in the end we killed her. We disinfected the house and cleaned out the run just in case it was a disease. We bought 2 more to keep Gertrude company ( a Maran and a Bluebell). And yes, Gertrude stopped laying around that time thinking of it.

The Bluebell was bullied by the other 2 and became sick as well ( or at least we think she got sick because o bullying). The Maran started laying, got broody and is now "mother" of 4 chicks.
We put her in the greenhouse for the chicks to be warm and again, to keep Gertrude ( the Light Sussex in question) company in the chicken house we bought a Dominant Black, Cecily, who is very well and a good layer.

That's the chicken story as I know it.

It could have been a disease making the first Light Sussex ill and killing the Bluebell but Gertrude, the Dominant Black and the Maran showed no signs of being sick.

Thank you for your time reading this!!!

Christina

 

[3riverschick]

Why don't you try worming the flock. Then put them on 1 cubic inch of sprouted oats per bird, per day. Sprouted oats are great for making robust sperm for the rooster which can result in more robust chicks. It is also great for bringing hens into lay. Sprouts up to 4 days old are considered grain feed. They are used in replacement of part of the bird's daily ration. Sprouts 4-7 days old are considered green feed. These are the sprouts fed to make robust sperm and bring hens into lay. I feed sprouted oats as green feed to my birds all winter long.
At 4 days of age, there is a nutritional change that takes place in the sprout which changes it from grain feed to green feed. I usually don't feed sprouts older than 7 days because there is no extra profit in that and the sprouts run the chance of spoiling in the trays/jars as they get older.
One will want to use forage oats instead of feed oats. Forage oats are the seeds which farmers plant in their fields and deer hunters plant in their deer plots to attract game. Feed oats are the seeds fed to animals...they often have a fungicide on them which prevents them from sprouting, they mould instead.
See this excellent discussion on BYC about sprouting oats, esp. Pages 23-29 which explains the history, theory and easy How-To on the subject: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/425134/anybody-raise-sprouts-to-feed-the-chickens
Best Success,
Karen in western Pennsylvanaia, USA
Waterford English Light Sussex