I have had my hands full with all my chickens. There never seems to be a dull moment these days. I had been dealing with three broody chickens, but now only two. I was so glad when our girl Barbie finally gave up the broodiness.
Unfortunately, not long after her broody spell we figured out that she had coccidiosis. It has certainly been stressful for me to deal with that so soon after a worm infestation. Our girls are free range and we work to keep things sanitary on the homestead. We are currently treating the whole flock with Corid.
After losing three chickens unexpectedly over the years, I am a lot more proactive about getting our chicken poo analyzed if I notice anything unusual. In the past month, I have been to the vet twice for such analysis. Both times it turned out to be necessary.
Between broodiness and the worm problem, we were not getting any eggs from our five chickens. We have had four of our chickens for only two months and one chicken, Nailie, had never laid an egg. She is about two years old. We have been waiting for her to come around.
The other day we were gone for a short time, but before we left it seemed as if both Kota and Nailie were acting as if they could possibly lay. One of our broody chickens, Buster, was staying in the coop, but just outside the nesting box. When I came home, I saw her in the nesting box and sure enough when I took her out we had our first egg in several weeks. The only problem was I had no idea who laid it. Did Nailie finally come around?
We waited to see if one of them would lay again or give us some kind of clue. Finally, today I came home and found Nailie in the nesting box. I went inside and soon after, I heard her making a fuss. Buster had immediately laid on the egg again, but it was only for a moment thanks to Nailie letting me know what she accomplished. I am so happy that she finally laid an egg.
Kota has been acting as if she has wanted to lay for several days, but we have never found any eggs if she laid them. She doesn’t like to lay in the nesting box. Today she kept looking like she wanted to lay on top of the nesting boxes where they stick out of the coop. That would have been a perfect way to end up with broken egg on the ground. She likes to sniff around the lawn mower area too looking for a spot. Eventually she did let me know that she laid her egg in a hard to get to spot under our deck.
Now after weeks of no eggs, we have two girls on the job again. It makes me happy not just for the eggs, but that they are healthy enough to start laying again. I will be glad to see Barbie get all better from her illness. She seems active and alert, but in the morning she is very slow to come out of the coop. I am also ready for Buster and Lilah to quit being broody. I love all my girls and I want them to be healthy and happy.
