Hi all! About a 2 months ago we came home to a barred rock hen, in a box, on our doorstep. We had no coop for her, so we brought he in & placed her in an XL dog cage in our laundry room. She gave us an egg a day from day 1! 2 weeks ago we added a chicken tractor with 4 young pullets. 1 already laying. Added our 1st hen & all got along fine. Jenny (our 1st hen) continued laying regularly, after the 1st day. 2weeks later she stopped laying!! Not broody or moulting. Eating, drinking & pooping normally. Feels (not distended) & acts normal. Any ideas? Everything changed for this poor girl. Her feed (young pullets can't eat layer food yet) eating all flock pellets. Her housing- she had human contact & light constantly. I'm at a loss as to what to do
Stress will surely cause hens to stop laying at least for a little while, someone suggested to me to use vitamins and probiotics in the water to help with stress for chickens, check around the forum for recommended brands and see if your local feed store carries any. I think scrambled eggs will also help with a little extra vitamin boost
Give her time, stress will halt laying but usually you don't see it for a week or two later. It can be normal for hens to lay in spurts, especially a dual purpose breed like a barred rock, most don't lay continuously like other egg laying breeds will.
