Soft shelled eggs

Hi everybody. Everything still going OK although I don't think they enjoyed the thunder and lightning we had the other week, but the are still laying well. I had a tripple yolker last week. Never heard of that before!!
 
Hi everybody, I have a little poser that I would like to solve. One of my new girls- a Bevans Nera was sat in the nest for a long time a couple of times last week. I had to lift her out to get at the other eggs but as soon as I had left her she was back on the nest where she stayed for a little while before she joined the others. They are now 25 weeks old. Is it too early for a hen that young to get broody? Added to that she hasn't laid for the last couple of days. She was straight out with the rest of them yesterday morning and today and she is still out. She is eating and drinking ok. Has anybody got an answer please.
 
Further to my last on Monday Both the Bevans Nera seem to have gone off the boil at present, one definitely has and the other lays now and again. A few of their feathers in the laying box. Is it a little early for them to go off laying after a couple of months or so? The others are still laying so we get enough eggs.
 
Yes, you should usually expect continuous eggs from pullets throughout their first Autumn and Winter. Are you sure the coop is free from redmite and that the lost feathers aren't due to chicken lice round their bum areas?
And have you ever wormed them with Flubenvet since they arrived?
 
Hi Marigold. I haven't wormed them since I got them. I did ask the breeder where I got them whether I should worm them but he told me that they had been wormed, and that what it said on his web site together with being innoculated. Not sure now whether to worm them or not. Had a full compliment of eggs this morning. No more feathers on the floor since I cleaned them out on Wednesday.and she is not sitting in the box for any length of time now. I don't think there's any red mite in the coop as I treat it every time I clean them out.Will keep an eye on things.
 
It would be good to worm them with Flubenvet at some point soon, as they should be done every 4-6 months anyway, before the winter, and then again in Spring. All chickens get worms and it can improve productivity as well as acting as a general tone-up to their systems if the worm burden is regularly kept in check.
 
Hi Marigold, I will make a point of worming them in the coming week. Thanks for the advice.
 
Hi everybody, One of my Bevis Nera's has gone broody again. She did this a few weeks ago then seemed to get over it and started laying again, but at the beginning of last week she went broody again. The books say that a broody hen should be separated from the rest and put in a separate cage with plenty of air under her. I haven't got a suitable cage to put her in and keep her safe at night so when the others have laid I have resorted to lifting her off the nest and shutting the coop door so she can't get back in. Once out she is feeding and drinking but once I open the coop door when it is time for them to go in, she is in like a rocket and straight in the nest where she stays until I open up the next morning and we start all over again. Can anyone throw some light on why she is acting like this and is there anything else I can do?
 
She will remain broody until her hormones return to normal, and then with luck, she will begin another egg laying cycle. There are several factors which will help this to occur; exposure to as much light as possible, rather than the darkness of a nestbox; confinement in a bare area where there is nowhere to snuggle down and nest; and cool temperatures, i.e., below what she would encounter in a warm nestbox. The slight stress of being netted off away from the other hens, though still within sight of them, will also help.
Three ideas -
1) partition off a corner of the run and leave her out there overnight, with shelter from the rain under a box but with just bare ground underneath her, no bedding - or use a dog carrier, rabbit run etc to confine her away from the coop. Overnight, you could put the carrier in a shed or garage if it's not safe in the run itself.She will stay cooler out there, and the slight stress of separation will also help her hormones to decide that maternity isn't a good idea.
2) If you can't safely leave her out in a corner of the run overnight, try making a small enclosure with some netting in a corner for daytime use, so she doesn't get a chance to go in the coop during the day. Or, even better, if you can make a circle of chicken netting on grass, leave her outside on her own in there during the day, with pellets and water. She will complain and march around but the exercise, and particularly the exposure to light will be helpful.
3) If you feel she must roost in the coop overnight, block the nest boxes with upturned large plastic flowerpots after the hens have finished laying, so she at least has to perch and isn't tempted to snuggle down in a nestbox. You may need to go down after dark and check that she is actually perching, and not nesting on the floor. If she is doing this, lift her on to a perch. And remember to remove the pots before the hens want to go in to lay!

With experience of a particular hen, you'll notice the first signs of her broodiness and can begin treatment before she really gets stuck in. I used to have all the equipment ready for when my Buff Sussex went broody yet again, and found that she could be cured in 2-3 days if I caught it early enough. It may take much longer if she has already been broody for several days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top