[dannyboy2010]

hi all, was looking for a bit of advice, i have a speckled maran that as been laying all winter and now im worried as she has not layed in nearly 3 and a half months.. she has a healthy looking red comb, norm droppings, eating her food (living a free range lifestyle) i have been feeding supplments and little tonic in there water, and all have been wormed.

can any one help??

many thanks

[PaulineM]

Hi
What age is she?
Could she be laying away? maybe you have a huge pile of eggs somewhere 

[dannyboy2010]

hi, she was point of lay juct before Christmas. and in our garden there is no were like that she can lay them out side of her nesting box

[dannyboy2010]

hi all, just need to pick your brains.. my speckeled maran, she is 14 months old she was laying evry day with out fail til january, and since then she has completely stopped.

there is no were in our garden were she could be laying (hiding them) and when the others go in to the hen house to lay she just waits outside for them,(were as before she was one of the first in).

she has a healthly comb and nice clear eyes, eating and drinking well and even been on supplements, also been wormed.

has any one got any ideas?? many thanks

[Tigerwren]

Hi Danny,
Is it possible that she could be eating her eggs?  Are you sure of her age? I am sure someone will come along with some good ideas, but other than that, I am not sure.
Good luck

[dannyboy2010]

hi, yeah just had a look in our book and sure of her age.. i have been watching and she as not even gone in the hen house unless its to go sleep at night or its raining.. as i said she just waits outside and waits for the others to lay.. were as she would lay every day with out fail..

[evie2]

I was given 2 banties who were laying but stopped as soon as they came to me.  After their moult they still weren't laying, lazy devils, so I put 3 golf balls in the nest box and hay-presto 2 eggs might work for you

Mind you if she's not being encouraged by the others

Are you sure she's not laying away, they can be quite crafty, one of ours was laying up a tree

[dannyboy2010]

hi, i have had the rubber eggs in there nesting box for a few weeks and have been doing it a few weeks at a time in the past, and i am possitive that she is not laying any were else, in our garden its not possible. and she used to cluck away after laying which i have not herd since january. and also my wife says the hen in question has put a little wait on not massivly just noticible..

[Lindeggs]

Hi dannyboy2010, what is the main food that you feed your girls?  If she has been laying all winter that can put quite a strain on the system and it's possible that she might be missing out on something in her diet that she needs to lay eggs.  What supplements are you giving her?

How old are the other hens, what breeds and how many?  Did you get them at the same time?  Did they all lay over winter or did some of them take a break?

As for the weight gain, I find it almost impossible to tell if my girls have gained or lost weight just by looking at them.  Those fluffy feathers hide a lot!  Are you able to pick her up and feel her breast bone, and compare it to your other girls to see if she is fatter or thinner than them?

It's great that you have wormed them all, as this can be an issue that is often overlooked.

I look forward to your reply and hopefully we can all help you to get to the bottom of this.

[dannyboy2010]

hi many thanks for your reply..

she lives with a coumbian black tail and a light sussex, all are the same age within a week or 2. i feed layers pellets with a vitamin powder mixed in and some times as with worming i mix a little veg oil in first to make it stick to the food, this makes helps settle it in my mind that they are eating it as the powder just drops off. and i have seen all 3 of them eating it.

i also have been adding a tonic into the water which they seem to like.

i have been giving treats like,apples, marmite on toast, and pasta but only once aweek.

and they live the free range live style.

the only thing i have done diffrently is i was feeding oats once a week in the winter to help keep them warm (as you would a horse) and stopped this in feb, but she already stopped laying by then.  i was awear that she may stop for a while after working hard all winter but 5 months seems a little long? have just picked her up and she is defently heavyir than the others, 3lbs 3.5lbs ish its as if she is putting her energy in to eating now..

[dannyboy2010]

forgot to say they do have mixed corn in the afternoon but only a cup full for all around on the grass

[joyfull]

over weight chickens often will not lay eggs, your best bet is to cut out all treats and just give all of them their layers pellets. Make sure they have access to oyster shell as well.

[dannyboy2010]

they have a grit bowl down for them and have seem her taking some, i have just weighed them all the light sussex is the same as she was in the winter 4 lbs and the speckeld was just below 3 in the winter, and all were laying well.

i dont feed them treats on a daily basis,bearly weekly, as i know marmite is good for them and the wormer sticks very well to cooked pasta it was a peace of mind thing

[joyfull]

do they have oyster shell as well?
Marmite is only good in minute quantities as it is far too salty.
Do not give them any oil, corn, oats, apples etc.
What are you worming them with to be doing it weekly?

[dannyboy2010]

i have been worming with Flubenvet,  it is a week long treatment.. i have not been doing it every week. i have it marked on the calender and give the dosage as it states on the tub.every 3 months.

the treats were for when they would not take the Flubenvet in there food, but have now got them takimng it from there food.

marmite was a winter thing, half a slice between 4 birds when ever i rembered to (once a week may be every 2 weeks)

and from my understanding once a bird is not using her energy to lay she will put weight on. it is nothing drastic just a bit more than she would normally be. they are all healthly clear eyes,red combes norm droppings,clean vent.