Hi All, about a month ago I bought 3 hens, 1 buff orp,1black orp and a splash blue rock. I was told that they are all about a year old and they were laying prior to shipping them to me. well...now they`re not, they haven`t laid any eggs at all since I`ve had them. How long in your experience does it take them to get over the stress of shipping? When do you suppose I`ll start getting eggs? AND is there anything I can do/give them to help get back to normal? They eat and drink no problem at all, so thats not an issue. thanks Tony
It can take a month or more after hens being moved for them to start laying again. I bought a hen last summer and it took her over six weeks to start laying again. And she wasn't shipped; I picked her up locally about an hour away from where I live.
Shipping will often cause chickens to stop laying, as will cold, lack of light, change of housing, new flock members, change in diet, and the list goes on and on. Stress may also induce a moult which could delay their laying even longer. Provide a good diet, let them settle in is really all you can do. And be very patient.
Thank you everyone, I`ll just sit back and wait and have to be patient, soon enough I`m sure I`ll be on here again complaining that I have TO many eggs from them. lol Tony
Try "warming" her from the inside !!!! It relly does work... put some cayenne pepper in with some cornmeal I use 2 bottles (2/1.00 at wal-mart) with about 2 lbs of cornmeal and that will warm her up it will not affect the taste of the eggs but it is a cheap way to try...
Wow I feel really lucky I got my hens two weeks ago , six hens and I get at least three eggs a day. I just added 5 more hens and got six eggs. I did not think I would get any for a while. I went only one day with no eggs. I guess all hens are different. Mine had to travel about a hour to get to my house. Erica