where are my eggs - please help

[donrae]

Also should i worry about the bubbles in their eyes and the "sneezing" as i say other then the molt they all seem themselves.

thank you so much for your replies, i feel so much more positive and ive only been a member of the group for 30 mins!

I'd be concerned with this, but I'm not sure what you would do about it. From my research on respiratory illnesses, once a bird is exposed they become a chronic carrier. Carriers don't necessarily exhibit symptoms, but they do show decreased egg production and fertility. That's why the respiratory diseases are such a big deal for the commercial folks---not so much that the birds die from the disease, but the survivors don't produce as well. I'm not sure if running a course of antibiotics would help at this point, since the birds are asymptomatic otherwise. You might see if you can get your hands on some Denagard and give them a course, see if that helps.

 

[AshlyMommaWard]

Just my $0.02 on the upper respiratory symptoms:
Had this happen suddenly to my old flock, birds all less than 1 year old. Brought in new birds carrying URI.
Over night symptoms began about a week after bringing in new birds. Came out in am one pullet with eye swollen shut and multiple others with bubbles in eyes, wheezing, sneezing. Researched and treated with Tylan. Only a couple of my birds made it through the epidemic unsymptomatic. Treated them anyway. Gave Tylan orally to each individual bird, dosage based on weight, twice a day. Got full improvement from all birds except one poorly cockerel who was extremely late to mature and generally a poor bird, he didn't make it. None of my laying pullets who showed symptoms layer while showing symptoms! They all began laying again about a week after getting better. So, IF your girls are of an age that they'd still lay during winter then they're probably not because of the URI. Most of my birds lay completely through their first winter and then molt and take the winter off each following winter. If your birds are on their second winter I wouldn't expect eggs until days begin getting longer again. For your young pullets that should be beginning laying, I doubt they will while ill. I don't personally know what the outcome will be if you never treat this URI, but I doubt it would be good.
In regards to becoming carriers, I believe it depends on the type of uri they've got, there seem to be a few different kinds, some being more serious than others. After my flock's URI I bought "test birds" I knew they were healthy, and they were a pair of a breed I wanted to add to my flock. I integrated them directly in 3 weeks after ALL birds were healthy and showing NO symptoms. Test birds didn't get sick and neither did any birds I added after them. So my birds weren't carrying any contagious uri permanently.
Hope this rambling helps.

 

[azygous]

For years, I haven't used light on a timer to extend winter daylight to encourage laying, but this year I plan to as soon as I see the hens are done molting. I already put a rope light on a timer to come on in the coop with the new pullets, and after a month of the added light, I'm starting to get pullet eggs.

I set the time to come on at 4 am, approximately three hours before sunrise. Years ago, I used a light and staggered the light to come on in the evening after sunset and again in the early morning, but some of the chickens were caught in the dark and unable to roost with the light going off in the evening hours. Most of us old timers prefer the light to come on before sunrise for this reason.

Also, check out rope lights. They are encased in a ten-foot plastic tube and very safe and take up zero space in the coop. Cheap, too.

 

[Blingchix6]

I have a string of LED Christmas lights strung up in the coop on a timer. My girls lay fewer eggs in the winter but I still get some. Get some lights now that they are in season. The LED lights don't get hot. Good luck with your little flick