Recovered from worms but not laying

[Danandbek]

Hi all. I have been lurking around these pages for a while but never joined up. So much good information to be had!

We have 3 Isa Brown chooks in Adelaide Australia (hot and dry kind of place). We had a worm problem last year, 1 of the chooks (Coco) lost a lot of weight and was obviously not well. Her crest shrunk and she stopped laying.

We wormed the chooks, over a couple of efforts the worm problem was solved. Coco has put back on all of the weight she lost but has not started laying again. The other 2 chooks have not stopped laying (1 a day each). This all happened about 6 months ago. Coco is now noticeably larger than the other 2, her legs are yellow and she is probably over weight.

Does anyone have advice about how to kick start her laying again?

They all share a large 'coop' area and free range in our yard most days. We have not changed their feed other than introducing different things which people have suggested (like corn at the suggestion of the local fodder supplier) to try and get her laying. They have continuous access to layer pellets and are given about a cup or 2 of grain scratch most days, plus scraps...


Any advice would be welcomed.

 

[donrae]

Has her comb reddened back up?

If so, my thought is she's laying somewhere else during the free range time.....

 

[Danandbek]

Hi Donrae
Thanks for the thought... I wish it were that simple. There are days they do not range so we would know if there was a 3rd egg, there is no surprise egg happening!

Her crest is now very red and full. It is the largest of the 3 chooks - A nice change from when she had worms and was under-weight. Her legs are noticeably yellow compared with the other chooks. I read somewhere that this is because of the lack of yolks being produced.

I am very confident that she stopped laying when her condition was poor and that she is now in much (too much) better condition. I think she is now over weight but suspect that is because she is not laying. I keep wondering if there is a hormone that can be missing - required to kick start the process?!?

Dan