Is this normal?

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We got our rehomed year-old free range chucks on Sunday and they've been laying from the off...until today.

I've been adding spice to the mash and green drops to the water to help them settle...and a couple of grub worms yesterday.

They seem very inquisitive and sprightly, too much so when the door is open and they take off to explore the garden! :D

So just one egg today isn't something I should worry about I guess.

How do I wean them off mash, why should I do this and what is it I should be weaning them on to? Thanks.
 
Hello, you will find they will lay at first them go off for a little while until settled in- you don't need to take them off layers meal/mash- most people put them on layers pellets which is the same thing in pellet form- probably because of the convenience- keep on them meal if that suits you or slowly change them onto pellets.
regards, David :)
 
are your hens from the farm near silverstone? i have four of these ladies. i wouldnt worry about a drop in eggs for now just let them settle in and they will soon be back to normal. make sure you give them grit or oyster shell to help them make strong egg shells. dont worry if you dont get an egg a day from them all. 5 eggs a week is about normal. mine went straight on to layers pellets and are fine. good luck with your new ladies!
 
Thanks.

Yes, they came from Jo. To be frank, I reckon they've settled.

From the minute they get up they're loudly demanding to be released into the garden and they totally ignore our Springer as he puffs and pants about.

I've got a trough filled with grit for them, should I scatter some too do you reckon?
 
Any shift in habitate will put them off laying for a short while. (imho) It takes a day or two for the backed up eggs to stop flowing. If they are now settled, I suggest it will be a few days and they will start again.

Almost all my chooks were POL or layers when I got them and all layed for a day or two when I got them then stopped briefley before starting again. I'm too lazy to get a grit hopper, so every week I put out a couple of handfulls of oyster shell and then a couple of handfulls of corn on top. It lasts a few hours and is gone, but for a few O-shell scraps.
 
i wouldnt worry about scattering it you will just end up wasting it. you can either add it to their feed or put it in a seperate dish. they will help themselves. sounds like you are doing everything fine. x
 
Rehoming chicken always causes some trauma, and they usually stop laying for a week or so. The fact that they layed at the start only means that those eggs were already in the tube so to speak, and had to come out. The trauma means that actual production of eggs stopped on the date of the move.
It is not a good idea to let them into the garden until they settle and start laying properly, (They have an outdoor run?) or they will start laying outside, and then you will have to keep them in even longer to break the habit.
 
Well, today saw a return to a full compliment of eggs again. \o/

I'm wondering whether I removed the first egg too early yesterday and if I'd left it the rest would have laid?

Still, I'm amazed that they've shown no trauma at all so far - they're all far too inquisitive, vocally demanding the run of the garden this morning...I could hear them halfway down the road as I went to work!

They polished off all of the food today for the first time - I was ramping it down to find an ideal quantity to limit waste. Looks like an extra two cups tomorrow.

The other thing bugging me: they ALWAYS poo in the water. Not in the grit, not in the food - two or three in the water everyday. Is this alright for them?
 
animartco said:
It is not a good idea to let them into the garden until they settle and start laying properly, (They have an outdoor run?) or they will start laying outside, and then you will have to keep them in even longer to break the habit.
Click to expand...
I don't let them out until they've laid - which I thought would be first thing but they do like to drag it out.
 
The other thing bugging me: they ALWAYS poo in the water.
Click to expand...

I use a bowl, buckets and proper water feeders. The only one they messed in was the bowl, because the silly girls initialy tried to perch on the side. They soon learnt not to.... I mean .... why in the water when theres a loveley herb patch further up the lotie ? ;)

If it remains a problem I suggest a water feeder on legs. Well worth the investment for indoor water in freezing weather and the bird needs to be an acrobat to poo in the small valley of water :lol:
 
Today 3 out of 4 laid but there is a clear sticky mess with no smell over the straw. None of them look out of sorts...odd?
 
I've had something like that just before one of my hens went into laying ... she's still with me, but it may not be the same thing. *shrug*
 
You want to try to keep the water free from 'poo' if possible, not good for them if they end up drinking it for obvious reasons. What kind of container have you got the water in? Can you stand it on something to raise it above the ground a little so its higher than bum level but still easy beak reach?
 
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