Would this stupid rooster have anything to do w/ NON-Laying

[Mommysongbird]

Our pullets are now like 26 weeks old, at least 4 out of 5 were laying, and as of yesterday only 1 layed, today NONE layed.

What is the deal???? And does this STUPID rooster have anything to do with it???

 

[chickmashnoon]

why do you think the rooster would have something to do with it? Is he stressing the girls out bad? It could more likely be a molt or the lower light levels of winter. How many hens do you have for your roo?

 

[flocksalot]

They could also be hiding their eggs. We have a naughty little stinker that finds a new spot everytime I find her clutch. Speedy is going to be in for a shock once the snow flies. Wont be so fun snuggling down into the grass.

 

[Minniechickmama]

What has your weather been? I have noticed that during stormy weather days, my egg collection gets lighter too. In addition, on those really stormy days in summer, the eggs are smaller.
The days are getting shorter, so I would expect the girls will be dropping off slowly, but last year they all just up and quit about the same time here. Give them a little break then add some supplemental light a little bit more every day until laying picks up. If you let them have a break for a little while, it helps them to not burn out as fast, so I have read.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
Yeah, I think he is stressing them out. He won't let them eat half the time, HE has to eat first and he is a glutten and he is just a HUGE BULLY!!

I thought at 25 or 26 weeks that is still too young to molt?? They are only about 6 months old. I thought we had 5 pullets, but I really, really think that 5th one is a roo as well. He has never crowed, but just has the hackles of a roo.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
Not sure where they would hide any, they are NOT free ranging and their run is wide open 4 ft x 8 ft. The coop is fairly larger than what we will need now, but I can see all the way through it. Nothing???

 

[Mommysongbird]

Quote:
Our weather got really cool, really quickly. So that could have something to do with it as well.

I want to rig up a light in the coop, but it will mostly be for warmth, but can't do it until this roo is gone. Sometimes I have to go out in the evening to make sure everyone is inside and see who has been 'booted' off the roost for the night and he will start crowing at the littlest of light coming through. He is CrAzY.

But I mostly believe it is him being a bully and taking so much of the food.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Lots of different possibilities as to why there are no eggs. Some you are not going to like. But first. I'm usually a supporter of giving an adolescent rooster some leeway in his behavior, give him a chance to grow up. But if I had one treating his girls like that at 26 weeks, that rooster would be gone. Kicking them off the roosts and hogging the food instead of giving them food are not behaviors that should be happening.

The only time in their lives that age has anything to do with molting is when they are chicks. A chick will go through two juvenile molts before they reach adulthood. They just outgrow their feathers and need to replace them. Once they reach adulthood, many different things could trigger a molt at any time. Most of my pullets that start to lay in late summer or fall skip the molt and keep laying all winter that first year, but something could have triggered a molt. If they are molting, you should see a lot of feathers laying around.

Often when eggs go missing, it means they are hiding a nest on you. But that usually does not mean all the eggs at once. Most usually keep laying in the coop if that is where they are used to laying.

A change in the weather can affect their egg laying. With mine, it is not as dramatic as you describe, but not all flocks react the exact same way.

It would be a freak occurence, and with a dramatic reduction two days in a row I do not think this is it, but most chickens do not lay every single day. It is possible that the stars aligned just right and they all decided to skip the same day. But they usually lay the day before they skip and day after they skip. With a dramatic reduction two days in a row, I do not think this is it.

I'll mention this at the risk of freaking you out. I really don't think this is it because the reduction in egg laying should not be so dramatic, often you will get deformed eggs for a bit, and/or they would probably be showing symptoms, but it is possible they could have caught a disease. I really don't think this is it, but have they been lethargic, having discharges from their throats, sneezing, or some other symptom.

This leaves something taking the eggs. It sounds like they are in a pretty good enclosure, but you are looking at it and have to be the judge. It could be something like a snake, rats, not just something big. A snake leaves no evidence, but usually does not visit every day. Rats would leave some evidence, such as egg shells or wet spots, but it is possible the chickens will clean up the egg shells. Possums, skunks, raccoons, or foxes are usually more active at night, but they can come out during the day. But with all of them missing, I don't especially think they are responsible. They are just not that consistent.

It is possible the chickens have learned how to eat eggs. Usually they will leave evidence behind, such as egg shells or wet spots, but not necessarily. If it is only one eating the eggs, I would not expect them to eat all the eggs. What I experienced was that one hen would open the egg and others would then help her finish it off. And she was not shy about opening the egg in my presence.

Often when all the eggs disappear with no evidence, I think of the family dog. Some dogs learn to eat eggs. Whenever they hear the egg song, they go help themselves.

Lastly, when all the eggs disappear with no evidence, I think of humans. To me, that is a really scary thought, but don't rule this out.

You might want to put an egg in there to see what happens. If it disappears, you will have a pretty good clue.

Good luck! It could be something simple as a molt or them hiding a nest somewhere, even if they are confined into a small area. I really hope it is something like that.

 

[flocksalot]

I have a girl that likes to hide the eggs by covering them with bedding. I use both shavings and hay in the nest boxes. She somehow gets the eggs buried deep into the shavings and you wouldn't even know it. The hay sits ontop as if nobody laid in there that day. She's probably thinking of going broody on me.

b I figured this out when I was missing eggs and pulled out bedding to see if an animal had breached the bottom of the nest boxes. I would check every possible thing, but I would think long and hard about that roo too. At my place I have plenty of larger roos to do some discipline, but even then we have an occasional over zealous boy that terrorizes the girls. I put them in a separate coop without access to the girls until they mature enough for me to decide whether or not to keep them. They are usually around 6 months when I decide where to put them. Stay in the soup coop or their own harem. If they are nice and gentle with the girls they get a free pass. The other boys get broiler feed and extra corn.

 

[galanie]

Get rid of that stupid rooster. Ridgerunner is right. He should not be doing that at his age. He's a dud.