Hi, I have 3 hens and a rooster (the people who sold me the chickens thought they were all hens) in July one of my hens started saying cook-a-doodle-do. Well, around the beginning of august my 2 year old got into the coop and broke half a dozen eggs, so we decided to clean the coop and move it about 8 feet away, facing south instead of east. Since then the hens have only laid about 4 eggs. Any Ideas on what we can do to make our hens happy again? Sarah

-- Sarah Brown (joypeaceandlove@hotmail.com), September 18, 2001

Answers

Need more info. Is there a window and where is it facing? Is there a yard for them and from which direction do the get sunlight? Are they still eating and drinking as much? Any feather loss? Did you use any chemical cleansers?

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), September 18, 2001.

Mix red pepper in their feed about a teaspoon to 3 lbs.

-- phillip (raines@rainesridgefarm.com), September 18, 2001.

They have a yard, about 3 1/2 by 4 feet, and I frequently let them run around outside, their window faces south, they are eating and drinking well it seems, and they are quite plump, no feather loss. Their feed got wet, so we dried it out and continued to feed it to them recently, when they are out of the coop the eat the cat's food. They used to always dump their water, but when we moved the coop I found a better way to keep that from happening, but their water is now in the sheltered part of the coop, but not in the nest, could any of these things be a problem?

-- Sarah Brown (joypeaceandlove@hotmail.com), September 19, 2001.

Hello Sarah,

Since we are having shorter days and longer nights, we have a 40watt bulb on a timer inside the coop. It goes on at 4:30 am and turns off right after sunrise. The longer light hours increases egg production. Make sure you do this in the morning and not at night. They need the twilight time to come home to roost.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), September 19, 2001.

I would toss the previously wet feed. There could still be mold spores, etc. All this time with no eggs may be due to the lesser intake of the high quality mash you feed. They may be fattening up on the wrong stuff (cat food). Try giving them some fresh greens. This may be unnecessary if the coop is moved to fresh grass each day. They will usually peck an area clean to a mudhole, if allowed. They need all the sunlight they can get. Is there a window in the housing? Do you give them grit and oyster shell free choice? Do they have any signs of worms?

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), September 19, 2001.

3 1/2 X 4'is not much of a yard for 4 chickens. I'd let them out as much as possible, they need the exercise. Besides their lay feed, give them as much veggie and fruit scraps as possible and salad greens. Supplemental light is important. I have mine on a timer that I turned on this week. I have 5 old hens and a rooster in one house (my retirement village), but with good feed and care I still get 2-3 eggs a day from them. Last time I cleaned their house, I moved the nest boxes from the west wall with facing window to the south wall, and it threw their laying off, until I moved it back. Seems like, with chickens, "that's the way it"s always been" is important to them. Why were you leaving eggs in the coop?

-- Duffy (hazelm@tenforward.com), September 20, 2001.