On strike!

[chookmike]

Last Friday I think it was when I dropped a note through each of our 4 customers letter boxes to say that egg production was dropping and that rather than be unreliable we would prefer to say that was it for this batch of hens. They aren't even two until July.
Since then: nothing, zero, zilch, nada.

The 4 hens are eating for England, happy as larry, whizzing around like a hen should, no knowledge of any frights apart from me first thing on occasion. Food consumption normal. No signs of anything wrong. I often see one missing, therefore in the nest box, but no eggs. Surely if they self eat then the bedding is marked with yolk or a few egg shells bits and pieces. Rats I doubt as we have mice, and you don't get both. Pip doing well on the mice though and he actually eats all of them which is fine.

Any ideas all?

We had a bit of thunder but they've heard that before. Bumble is missing but they only want to beat her up anyway. Stumped.

Mike

[Skeksis]

If they are going in the boxes I reckon all your eggs are being eaten.the assumption that there would always be signs is erroneous as they will also eat the shell and the yolky bedding. I suggest curtains

[kitla]

I suggest curtains

skeksis I don't think you meant that to sound like it did

[Skeksis]

errr no that did sound bad lol

[Richard]

They're having a Spring break. If they were laying well through the late Winter period, like mine, they usually have a rest time.

Not being against skeksis, I can always tell when someone or something is having them, usually even if they clear what we think is everything there's always a few stained bits or stickiness in there.
Try substituting the next floor with just newspaper for a day - that should show it.
I've had nest boxes and not had any lay in them, they all go in one particular poo toilet tray, the only one they don't sleep over, pretty clever!

Probably best on your day off to just go up there every half an hour and take a peep.

Mine were laying 3 / 4 a day every day this year. Suddenly, in the last three days I've had 4 !

You also usually find that when one stops, the other's follow suit.

Just keep things as natural as you can and let nature take it's course.

One of mine was up to Letter Warning 2 last November

I'm no expert, but I like absolute minimal interference.

Richard

[chookmike]

Thanks all

I suspect one of them was looking down into the kitchen and when they saw Bumble getting a scrambled egg for breakfast they put the word around that if all their effort was going into feeding that floozie who lives indoors they wouldn't bother! There is another keeper down the road so we are feeding ours and buying theirs

Good suggestion about the paper although that will be a 'change' and ours don't like change

Cheers

[Richard]

They're a bit like cats, they will use one place for a while, then change to somewhere else.

Almost everytime I completely clean the poo trays and replace the shavings, they move to another tray and don't sleep over that one to keep it clean for nesting.

Just one thing that's not been mentioned, they're not laying somewhere else are they?
I went without eggs for a while then came accross loads inside an old Lawn Mower Grass Collector of mine.
Another time under a load of stinging nettles.
They often lay in corners.

Sometimes it's just natural, sometimes it's a mind game !!

Richard

[KarenE]

One of mine was up to Letter Warning 2 last November

Richard, do you give your girls verbal warnings for bad behaviour? What happens when they get to the written warning stage?

[Mo]

It goes
verbal warning
severe verbal warning
written warning
severe written warning
severe written warning 2

then goes back to
slight verbal disapproval

[Richard]

That's right Mo.

I haven't actually got that far Karen, they can only call my bluff for so long.

As soon as it's final final, they're not sure and lay one

(just one mind you)

Richard

[chookmike]

Cheers all.

Tra-ra...One egg today from Head Girl - she lays torpedo shaped ones. For the second time in a row though it was two eggs joined together with an 'equator' around it so probably a double yolker. It's a start again I suppose.

No, they are not hiding them as their accommodation is plain and boring with no real hidey holes and their 700 square foot runs contains not one living thing - everything edible has been eaten and what's not edible scratched to death. There are plenty of trees and mature shrubs but these are leaf free up to the maximum height a hen can jump. I have contradicted myself there but I think you know what I mean. They are in a small run while we are at work during egg laying time anyway - I think we have only had an egg after midday once.

We'll see

Cheers

Mike