[donna nash]

Hi ive recently rescued 4 chickens from slaughter and absolutely love them, i have been feeding the layers mash and they have been snacking on corn, they have a warm hen house with straw and plenty of fresh water, when i first rescued them they laid eggs quite a bit for a few days probably due to being battery hens and thats all they did, now they have stopped, am i doing something wrong, i bought two fake eggs and popped them in there hose, can someone help please thankyou

[ivanhoe]

Hi,  normally they will stop laying due to new surroudings when moved.Do you know how old they are . ivanhoe.

[donna nash]

Hi yes i think they are a yr old, ive noticed that the balder one keeps being nasty to the others too. I dont mind so much they are not laying but my kids loved fetching the eggs, im glad i recsued them, ive learnt alot on this site, like my hens shouldnt be poooing in there nesting boxes, but dont know how to stop that when they are aleep at night

[richyrich7]

Hi and welcome to the forum,
They will need some time to become adjusted to their new surroundings, when they get stronger try to encourage them to roost on a perch, birds tend to drop 2/3 of their poo just before bed time, you may have to cover the nest boxes up for a day or two in the afternoons to stop them going in to sleep in them, with care and patience they should be fine.

[donna nash]

Hi thanks for the reply, they seem very contented which is nice, they make me laugh when i let them out in the morning as they come out one by one making little noises. I will block off there nesting part then as they have a perching area too.