Thanks Clucky, here's hoping! She seemed ok about being shut out yesterday afternoon & got up ok this morning (she's always last out anyway) so I thought I'd been worrying over nothing, but I've just got home & had to take her off the nest where she was somewhat reluctant to relinquish her 3...

Kicking her off does seem to be working - I shut the house after the other 3 had laid today & she's been ok for the last couple of hours at least. Lots of dustbaths (she is the most prolific bather of the group anyway but she's having a lot today even by her standards) but maybe the cold wet soi...

Thanks both, I think she is broody, she's constantly back in the nest box, even all last night despite removing all the bedding & one of the planks...! She'll eat briefly when I turf her off but then goes back, but at least she's eating & pooing the most enormous poos!. I had to leave the eg...

Hi, Any advice welcome please...! I've only had 2 or 3 eggs a day from my 4 girls for a week or so & today one of the Wyandotte bantams has spent most of the day sitting in the nest box. I thought she laid first-thing but she has been back there most of the rest of the day. I've taken her off on...

I've got silver laced wyandottes & barnvelder bantams but you're right that to some extent it's a case of what's available, i was going to go for Orpingtons but no-one round me did them bantam-sized. The barnvelders are definitely more confident, a bit flightier & far more prone to ignoring ...

OK, thanks everyone, i'll give it a go (& hope they don't turn their beaks up after being brought up on 'posh' stuff from the shops...! ).
Clare

Hi, now all four of my girls have come back into lay, they're getting through the crushed shell in their mixed grit like there's no tomorrow (mostly ignoring the grit or chucking it out the bowl to find the shell). They're laying good eggs with strong shells, but it's not cheap keeping them in crush...

Hi, I'm planning a pre-Christmas tidy-up (!) & will have a load of shredded paper by the end of the day. Can I use this in the nest box (I usually use hemp bedding) or will it be too sharp for the girls? I don't want them getting paper cuts!
Thanks!
Clare

Are the eggs still ok to eat?

Oh great!! , thank goodness i can escape here to work all day!! Mind you, the two that were already in lay are still laying, & one of the others who hadn't started laying before has just started......so they're clearly not hugely distressed!

Thank you, both, i'm glad i went for pellets as the alternative sounds very complicated! I now have some very cross girls wondering where their regular greens are & what these strange new pellets in their feeder are.....i hope they have short memories & don't shout at me all week....!
Clare

Hi, I have bought some worming pellets with 5% flubenvet, but then started worrying that it would be too much for my girls as they're only bantams not full-size hens...will it be ok? & should I feed for the full 7days? & if so, is it right that they can't have any treats or FR during the 7da...

Thanks Mo, I appreciate you taking the time. I agree with you about babies too! She's absolutely fine in herself, entirely happy, eating / sleeping / bossing the others around etc with no apparent concern, it's just me worrying about her lack of growth, it's clearly not bothering her in the slightes...

Thanks Mo, I hadn't considered a moult....but she stopped growing her comb a few weeks ago & hasn't shown any signs of moulting. She just seems to have stopped growing. (she's never started laying eggs).
Clare

Hi, Next daft question from a newbie...sorry! I have 4 bantams, 2 barnevelders, 2 wyandottes. The top girl, a barnvelder, now approx 30wks old, started growing her comb / wattles about the same time as the others, but whilst they are now fully developed & the W's laying, she seemed to stop when ...