Chicken having a long break

[Madsometimes]

We have two gingernut ranger Omlet hens which are mostly kept as pets but the eggs are nice too. They are about one year old.

Scarlett lays an egg every day, but we have not had an egg from Ginny since November. When she did lay she often gave double yolkers. What do you think the chances of her laying again? I had imagined that her break was due to the hard winter we have just had, but now the weather is lovely and there are still no eggs! Has anyone had a hen lay after a long break, or a young hen that has stopped permanently?

have you wormed them? checked for red mite etc? mine had a break over winter but we are back to 10 or 11 a day now so they should all be back in lay. that young, they should be laying.

We worm using a natural product (vermex) because there is no egg withdrawal. Maybe we should give the choocks a more convention worming treatment, even though they both seem healthy. As I said earlier, our chickens did not have a good winter, and they both suffered from coughing. However, now their cough has gone and they seem to enjoy basking in the sunshine. It is just that Ginny will not lay...

Dh has silly ideas of dispatching her and buying two new hens, but don't worry, he is far too much of a softie to actually do this.

You can give Flubenvet for worming and still have no egg withdrawal. Verm-x is a good preventative, but won't kill an infestation. She is a young hen to be off lay. Any chance she's laying somewhere else?

No she is not laying elsewhere, we will use flubenvet next week if still no eggs.

She has had the Flubenvet, but still no eggs .

Dh thinks that she is too fat, she is much bigger than Scarlett! Not sure how to put her on a diet though! We will restrict treats and see what happens. They do not get too many treats, just a corn on the cob to share twice a week and some raisins in the evening to entice them into the eglu.

Fat hens don't lay well, this is true I would cut out all treats tbh, and only feed them a good quality layers pellet/mash. Does she seem in good health otherwise? Face furniture red? Active?

She seems pretty healthy to me. Maybe she is a lazy chicken, or maybe just has dodgy hormones.

Worm, delouse, treat house for red mite, feed layers pellets, supplement with cider vinegar and lace food with poultry spice or multivits. Check For eggs laid under bushes, behind shed etc, and if she really is okay then check with a bird friendly vet! good luck.

Chickens got up this morning as usual. Scarlett laid her egg and Ginny went into the eglu to try and lay, as was her habit throughout the long break. Made lots of noise but nothing doing.

This afternoon when I was out my husband noticed that she seemed lethargic. She died an hour later .

We are not sure if she was egg bound or if there was another problem. We will wait for a week before buying more chickens, to ensure that Scarlett stays healthy. We are all pretty upset. Scarlett seems lost.

I'm really sorry to hear about your hen, it's horrid when they die suddenly like that. She sounds egg bound to me. Was she straining? Next time, try massaging oil into her vent or holding her bottom in the steam from a boiling pan, both help the eggs transition. Never break the egg when it is inside. If these don't work, try puttin hen in a warm quiet place to help her relax. It is kind of the nature of chickens that they die suddenly apparently for no reason. Unless you have ignored outward signs like a runny bum, pale combs or wheezing, don't blame yourself!

Scarlett has stayed healthy this week, and so today we have got ourselves some lovely new chickens.

We have two maran girls, one is black and one is silver. They are settling in nicely, but I cannot say that Scarlett is thankful for her new friends. She has been standing on the edge of her run for the past hour crying. However, we are very pleased that we have new hens.

Verm-X isn't a wormer - it may work to prevent worms, but will not treat any infestation. Use fluvenvet instead.

Sorry that your hen died. They can die very suddenly without much warning.