our ameraucana stopped laying during the winter and has not yet started again. she is only a year old. all the others are laying. she is behaving normally, eating, drinking, scratching. she is more timid than the rest and was the primary feather picker over the winter (even though we tried everything in the book to stop it). she likes to eat the feathers. maybe a nutritional deficiency? we give them oyster shells. any ideas? thanks!
I've heard cayenne pepper can help them lay more productively. I've tried this myself and it does seem to work. My bantam cochins were slow to lay after the colder winter we had this year. I just added some (quite a bit actually) to their feed and they ate it right up. Started to pick up production almost immediately (3-4 days). You might try something along those lines. Good luck. She sounds healthy otherwise.
Quote:Is there anything that might be causing her stress, ie crowding or a rough roo? I am having a similar problem with an OE hen. She laid two eggs then I made some changes with living arrangement (move the buckeyes in the chicken coop) and she hasn't laid another. Unfortunately I am not in a position to make her more comfortable.
thanks for the responses. the cayenne idea is interesting. i just want to be sure that there isnt some underlying health issue that i should be attending to. she does seem to get more stressed than the rest. harder to catch, feather picking over the winter, etc. they have plenty of space but are moved every few weeks around the yard with their coop. i think it was the winter that set her off. i think we kept the heat lamp on too much for warmth and the light bothered them. seemed better when we switched to a red light. could she have a lodged egg? wouldnt that cause her to act funny though? can anyone tell me what physically is happening when a hen stops laying from stress? what happens to those eggs that would have been lain? they just dont develop? could she not like her nest box? can she just decide to stop laying? that seems impossible to me. any help much appreciated! Thanks! Rachel
I'm going to bump this one because I'm curious about what happens to the eggs that don't get laid. Anyone?
