**stolen-then found, only some hens laying?**

[DirtCreature]

So, i got chicks when they where 7 days old, hand raised them, they where about 23-35 weeks old and i thougt about to start laying. Then they got stolen off out property with out 3 goats. ----I tracked them down and with the sheriff got my animals back and pressed charges------ So, now my question is, when we went to go get the animals back the chickens where in a cicken yard with the perp's own chickens who where already established layers, and now that we have them home they are calmed down and started to lay finally. some of the eggs have been broken, some soft, but only get 2-4 eggs a day and only 1-2 are edible because they others are broken or soft. are all my chickens laying? can i expect more eggs then 2-4 with 6 chickens? and at what point do they if so? also, is it going to hurt me in the long run not knowing an exact date they started laying?
Thanks so much for any feed back.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Maybe they weren't being fed a very good diet while they were being held hostage. It is possible that they.are laying the weird eggs because they are stressed from being moved. I would think they should all be laying by now, and not knowing the exact date they started isn't going to hurt anything. So glad you got them back, and good for you for pressing charges. The nerve of some people, nothing is safe anymore...

 

[Ruth Ann]

I think in time with good diet they will be fine.
I do know with mine...I don't get eggs from all hens each day.

I can't believe a chicken theif these days...amazing

 

[allieloveschickens]

Wow, glad you got your animals back! I agree with Howfunyisurchicken, it is likely they weren't being fed properly- sounds like they need more calcium. You can purchase oyster shell at the feed store and give it to the chickens, you can also grind up eggshells for them- both are great sources of calcium. Do they lay in a nest box? It is possible that they are stepping on each others eggs, and if the shells are thin they will crack- this can be trouble because it can teach the chickens to start eating their own eggs, which is a very, very, hard habit to break (some say impossible). Definitely try giving them more calcium, hopefully they will be laying hard shelled eggs soon!

 

[patman75]

They were probably stressed when they were introduced to the new flock and had to deal with the whole pecking order thing.

How long were they gone for? Could they have picked up some kind of microbe? You might want to deworm them.

Glad you got your livestock back.

 

[mikensara]

what would posess someone to steal your flock.. good for you pressing charges