stiopped laying

[500592]

hi i have 6 golden comets and 1 rooster 3 just hatched baby chicks and now i only get two or three eggs a day sometimes none and later in the day than normal. i took the chicks away so the other hens would not hurt them and they are doing great but i dont know whats wrong with the hens thanks for the help

 

[schmije]

I don't really have an answer for you, but I have the same thing going on with my chickens. I had four adults over the winter, and only one of them has laid anything since last year. One of them is old, and probably finished laying, but the other two are young and don't have any excuses. Luckily my chicks from this spring are finally old enough to lay, and we're getting more than just one egg a day now.

Do your hens free range? Could they possibly have a nest hidden somewhere?

 

[elmo]

Hens don't lay while they're broody, and don't resume laying until the hormones in their bodies kick back in after they're done with raising their chicks. If you took the chicks away, rather than waiting for the hens to kick them out, your broodies may not yet be quite ready to go back to producing eggs. How recently did they hatch chicks?

The other factor is summer heat. When it's really hot, hens don't lay as well, if at all.

 

[500592]

thanks for the info they do not free range much and the chicks hatched two weeks ago thanks

 

[500592]

today i noticed all of the hen but one have really light colored combsand and there wings are slighty out does anybody know what this means and also i have not got one egg today and it already 1 thanks

 

[carrlr]

Chickens pant and hold their wings out when they are hot. Not sure about the combs being lighter though. Also, when chickens molt they usually stop laying.

 

[500592]

thanks they did molt this winter i think but how can i keep them cool if they are already in a shady spot?

 

[carrlr]

I keep fresh cool water in their run. Also, I feed them cold or frozen watermelon on the rind. Some folks freeze water in bottles and place it in locations that the birds can lay next to or on. Not sure of your run/coop setup, but if you have electricity, you could try a fan on the real hot days. This will move the air around and cool things down.

 

[rungirl]

Freeze 2 liter bottles or larger plastic bottles and put them in with the chickens. They lay next to them or stand on them to cool off.

 

[500592]

thanksi still cant figure out why they arent laying so if somebody can help i would really appricate it thank