Rooster gone now no eggs

[robyn66]

The cock/erel was removed in June...so 3-4 months ago.
When did the free ranging/lost bird/egg slow down happen?

Adding new birds causes stress which can affect laying habits....plus....18 month old hens will be slowing/stopping production about now prior to molting,
most mine haven't laid in a couple weeks.

The drop off almost started immediately. The Alpha Hen that disappeared a week later really made it worse. And ever since if we get one or two eggs a day from four birds we felt lucky. We are now down to one egg a day from the flock. The four girls left over seem kind of lost. Three of them stick together and one seems to get lost a lot. And I dont mean I cant find her, I mean she will be sitting in the coop (with the door open) or somewhere in the open in the yard screaming like something is after her. I run out of the house and it appears she is upset because she cant find the other three. When she sees me she literally flies to me and I guide her over to the other three hens. We free range them on the weekends when we are home and this happens at least once per weekend with the poor thing. That was the other reason we were considering the new rooster. Our other one was excellent at keeping the girls together and not letting any stray. He was an incredible defender. If he hadn't almost taken my daughter's eye out and hurt all of us repeatedly we would have kept him. But I dont want to upset my hens more than they are.

 

[robyn66]

With the breeds you currently have I would advise that you will not see many eggs until the end of January, maybe later. If you wish you can supplement the light in your coop and that may jumpstart your hens' internal clock and fool them into thinking that it is already January. Pay special attention to ChickenCanoe's post that appears above, her post very likely names the cause of your egg lessness.

How often should I give this to them? Like one can of tuna should be enough or should I do it weekly?

 

[robyn66]

As others have stated, seems they are affected by all the recent changes. They are animals, not vending machines, as I always say, and changes, including decreasing daylight, affect them. If they are not producing, there is a reason. Let them rest and get settled again after all the upheaval. Getting another rooster will likely cause more stress.

I know they aren't vending machines. I know this was a terrible shock for them all but I thought since all of this happened in June they would be settled by now. I only brought the other two in because I thought it might make them feel better to be 6 again. I would never cause them stress knowingly.

 

[Criticalicious]

Is it possible a predator took the alpha hen? That could have stressed them out in addition to losing the rooster. I don't recommend that you get another rooster because it doesn't sound like you're prepared to work with his natural behavior to defend his flock - and that's fine. You don't need a rooster unless you want fertilized eggs.

 

[robyn66]

Is it possible a predator took the alpha hen? That could have stressed them out in addition to losing the rooster. I don't recommend that you get another rooster because it doesn't sound like you're prepared to work with his natural behavior to defend his flock - and that's fine. You don't need a rooster unless you want fertilized eggs.

We dont know exactly what happened to our Alpha. We know the yard was full of wild turkeys and their babies (which were about the size of the hens) so she may have gone off with them. Unfortunately I was told the turkeys would likely kill her. We also have TONS of foxes this year so that is a possibility but we didn't hear anything at all like a struggle. We combed the neighborhood for days looking for her without any luck. I am hoping she wandered in to someone else's coop. I live in a pretty rural area so that might be possible too.

 

[robyn66]

Is it possible a predator took the alpha hen? That could have stressed them out in addition to losing the rooster. I don't recommend that you get another rooster because it doesn't sound like you're prepared to work with his natural behavior to defend his flock - and that's fine. You don't need a rooster unless you want fertilized eggs.

Also, I agree that we are not prepared for another rooster. The one we had came with the other babies and we had no idea until it was too late. We werent going to harm him so we tried to raise him by hand and feed him peaches but I guess that was our biggest mistake because he looked at us as those who were there to serve him and not the leaders. We only wanted this particular rooster because the neighbors wound up with 10 roosters in a hatch of chicks. Their solution has been to shut the roosters out of the coop and "let nature take its course" This horrifies me and is very wrong. I have even offered to buy food so they keep him. He is very docile. I dont want to do anything to stress out my ladies more. I just wish I could help the roo.

 

[Criticalicious]

My vote is a fox saw an easy meal, grabbed her and ran. Are you still free ranging your flock? Because with a heavy predator load like that, you're likely to lose more. If something took your hen, it will be back to get the rest. I have heard of people leaving their roosters outside to fend for themselves against predators; I agree it's irresponsible stewardship. Better to find someone who wants them, even if that person will eat them.

 

[chickens really]

EEs are not the best layers after the first year. Possibly a coincidence that it slowed down when the Rooster left. Enjoy the Chickens and I hope they accept the new members with a smooth transition..

 

[robyn66]

My vote is a fox saw an easy meal, grabbed her and ran. Are you still free ranging your flock? Because with a heavy predator load like that, you're likely to lose more. If something took your hen, it will be back to get the rest. I have heard of people leaving their roosters outside to fend for themselves against predators; I agree it's irresponsible stewardship. Better to find someone who wants them, even if that person will eat them.

We let them free range during the day on the weekends. We keep an eye on them as much as we can. I hope the foxes dont take any more. Oh, we also have bears. We saw one of the neighbors roos in the middle of the road with its head torn off. The head was in the road so whatever killed it just left it there. My husband would kill them for the neighbors for some reason they think that is cruel. It is terrible. I have no idea how many of the roos are left.

 

[dalasgalas]

My easteregger doesn't lay in times of stress. The entire flock took a break after my Roo went to freezer camp. Incidentally I sent him there for exactly the same reason the you sent yours to freezer camp. Great at his job, murdering bastard to any non flock related living things. The easteregger still hasn't picked up production but our "hood" chicken is back to an egg a day. My flock free ranges in the back yard and they are still working out who's finding food and the ultimate pecking order.