Please help :( Are my girls ok?

[Jcarcary]

Hey all!
I am still a little new to the chicken game
So i have 3 Girls, who are about 8 months old.
(Betty White)

(Blanche)

(Chickaletta)

They all started to lay well and produced just about an egg a day... up until 2 weeks ago.
We had some fairly big storms come through (i live in Florida) and its been really hot.

Chickalatta started to lay her eggs outside of their boxes, which wasn't a big deal bc she was laying in the same place outside the coop.

So i got some fake eggs to try help... it didnt lol

we are a little over 2 weeks now and i either cant find Chickalatta's eggs (which is just about impossible... my yard isn't very big and there is one 1 hiding space, which is where she used to lay) OR she has stopped! IS THIS NORMAL??????

Now my new concern is Betty
She has been in her box for days... she hasn't given an egg in 2 days now. She has been in her box for hours on end.


Any advice would help
like i said, i am new to this and i am not sure if they are sick or if this is normal and i just have to wait it out.

They have free range of the whole yard, are fed organic scratch and peck feed.
also, offered live worms and crickets often. and of course lots of water inside the coop and out.


Thank you!

 

[Jessicx]

Do you think she might have gone broody? When she does leave for food and water, does she make a strange clucking sound? When in her nest, does she puff up and screech at you when you get near her? If so, she's probably broody. Broody hens sometimes stop laying, but it's all perfectly normal. You can either break her of the broodiness, or let her go the full 21 days if she has some eggs you'd like her to hatch.

 

[chicks are life]

Could some of them be egg bound

 

[haileyeverhart]

I'm not an expert but I think it is quite normal. My chickens don't produce like clockwork and they're fairly old. New laying hens don't always lay every day and might have trouble laying their first few times. Unless your hen is just sitting on the ground hunched over and not eating, I wouldn't worry about it. Chickens combs are also a good way of telling if they are sick, so make sure their combs are not pale, and that they are eating and drinking.

 

[junebuggena]

Hidden nests are a possibility. Confine for a week to ensure that she really isn't hiding her eggs. And since Betty is a Buff Orpington, and she's stopped laying, and she's sitting in the nest constantly, it's a safe be that she's broody. You might consider switching them to the higher protein content chick starter. It will help meet their protein needs better through warm weather.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I would definitely check to see if she's egg bound. She may have gone Brody. My girls are about a year and a half and they miss some days here and there as far as Laying but also check nooks and crannies of your property they find some really really odd spot she wouldn't think of to lay. I moved a tarp that was on top of an air compressor and found a pile of eggs under it

 

[Jcarcary]

Do you think she might have gone broody? When she does leave for food and water, does she make a strange clucking sound? When in her nest, does she puff up and screech at you when you get near her? If so, she's probably broody. Broody hens sometimes stop laying, but it's all perfectly normal. You can either break her of the broodiness, or let her go the full 21 days if she has some eggs you'd like her to hatch.

YES! ok that is betty for sure! she puffs huuuuge up and almost growls lol
how would i break that?

 

[Birdsong 82]

That definitely sounds like she's Brody. I've heard you can break them of it but I don't like to interfere with nature and I let it run its course.

 

[junebuggena]

Elevated wire cage with food and water but no bedding of any sort. It needs to be up high enough for air to circulate underneath her. Usually takes about 3 days. And don't feel bad about keeping her in a cage, it's not like she's doing any normal chicken stuff anyways just sitting on a nest day and night.

 

[junebuggena]

That definitely sounds like she's Brody. I've heard you can break them of it but I don't like to interfere with nature and I let it run its course.

Except that some hens don't snap out of it on their own. Brooding past 3 weeks can have serious effects on the health of the hen.