my rhode island red is about 3 yrs old, she's always laid very regularly, but she suddenly stopped laying completely about 3 weeks ago. she's seems fine otherwise. the only other thing is that she has always been noisy, squawking/crowing, and she seems particularly noisy at the moment.. any advice?
she's stopped laying and is crowing
- Thread starter jo bird
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chrismahon
Well-known member
Welcome to the forum Jo Bird. We had a RIR just like that. Could be because of the moult and she will lay again when she has feathered up. More protein in the diet can help, like mealworms maggots and sunflower hearts (shell removed) .Could be, as in our case, she has no more eggs to give as 600 in their lifetime is about it.
I have an Amber Star hybrid which laid normally for her first year, then stopped last Autumn, and hasn't laid since. Mine still crouches when I approach, and hasn't crowed or made much noise, but she has developed a very large red comb and has always been the top hen, though not aggressively so. I put mine down to some hormonal imbalance which has developed, as otherwise she's the picture of health. I keep her on because she's best friends with my other hybrid, who is a really good layer!
With yours, so long as she seems otherwise OK I wouldn't worry, just wait a bit and see how she gets on. Certainly less worrying than the usual egglaying or prolapse problems with hens over 3 years old. Many hens slow down or stop temporarily round about this time of year, and she may well be getting ready for a moult.
With yours, so long as she seems otherwise OK I wouldn't worry, just wait a bit and see how she gets on. Certainly less worrying than the usual egglaying or prolapse problems with hens over 3 years old. Many hens slow down or stop temporarily round about this time of year, and she may well be getting ready for a moult.
