Wet Hens

[Markb2004]

Hi

2 weeks ago i got 3 hens rhode island reds, at the start i was putting them to bed, but now they seem to go by themselves which is good.
Ive noticed that only 1 hen is laying eggs and she is laying it where she sleeps and not in the egg box. Will this change ?

Also, the other day we had really heavy rain and when i came home the hens were soaked, the next day the woke up they looked cold and were still wet, should i be concerned.

 

[sourland]

Try putting a fake or 'nest' egg in the area where you want your hens to lay. It is not unusual for hens to stop laying after a change in environment. They should all resume laying shortly. I would worry about the hens 'going to bed wet' only if they are exposed to drafts.

 

[RedDrgn]

They're not sleeping on a roost? Do they not have a roost or do they just not use it? They should have a roost (2x2 or 2x4 length of wood) to get up and sleep on at night. It'd be very odd for them to drop an egg from a roost.

Wherever they are currently laying they won't change unless compelled to do so because they apparently consider the current location suitable. Put some wooden/plastic eggs in your nest boxes to encourage them to lay there.

If your chickens have somewhere that they can go to escape the rain, then it's alright if they ended up wet. Sometimes, they just don't care and they should be alright. However, if they can't get out of the rain, then you've got an issue and should provide some sort of shelter for them.

 

[Markb2004]

Hi

Thanks for the advise, when i got home from work yesterday all 3 had laid. I was so happy, albeit they laid in their bed and not their egg place. Im going to get the rubber eggs today and see if this helps.
I have have them locked up on a run about 3meters x 2meters which seem fine, but yesterday i let them out after i saw the 3 eggs, they were so happy running around and exploring, i had to keep an eye on them as we have several foxes in the area. So far so good.