Most chickens start laying at the ages of 5 - 7 months. If you have a hen that is already laying, and have just bought her, give her a few days to adjust to the move.  There are a few things that can cause a hen to stop laying.  Stress is the underlying factor that can cause hens to stop laying. These are some very stressful things that can make them stop. 

•  Chickens do not like damp drafty conditions. Keep chickens in a dry, well-heated environment.  Avoid allowing your chickens to catch a chill.
  
• Once a flock has established order, they do not like to be moved around. Moving them to another pen or adding another chicken can disrupt them. Rough handling can also affect them.
  
• Predators will cause hens to stop laying.  Keep hens in a safe, well-protected environment.
  
• If you are not feeding your chickens the proper food, they may not be healthy enough to lay. 
  
• Chickens need at least 14 hours of light to lay. In the winter, there is not enough sunlight to do this. You may use artificial lighting during the winter months to keep up their laying.  A 25-40 watt bulb turned on in their roost a few hours before or after dark should help. Just make sure they get the 14 hours of light somehow.
  
• All chickens molt after about one year of laying. They will lose their feathers and will stop laying for about 2 - 6 weeks.
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• Parasites or illness will also prevent hens from laying eggs.
  

Chickens should have 3 square feet of floor space per chicken. There should be 6 to 8 inches of roost space per chicken too.If you have more than one roost, they should be placed 12 to 15 inches apart. They also need 3 to 4 inches of feeding space.  A nesting box should be 1 foot by 1 foot (or larger). You need 1 nesting box per 4 hens. I personally use a large plastic storage box filled with hay as my nesting box.  There are many things you can use for flooring. You can use regular dirt, hay, pine shavings, saw dust, and some even use cement or wood.

There are a number of ways to keep your chickens warm during the coldest part of Winter. The most important thing you can do is make sure that their roost has no drafts at all. There is really no end to how to keep them warm. The most useful way is to place a light bulb in their roost. Be sure to try to get one that is either red or heavily coated to reduce brightness. A 100 watt bulb should do. Another way is to get a heating unit and place it in the roost. No matter what you use, be sure that they are not in a place that they can catch on fire.

There are many things you can do to keep your chickens cool during the hot Summer months.  Provide shade and lots of fresh water. You can also go out every night and soak a few places down with the hose where they can lay to cool off. Another thing you can do that works really well is frozen water jugs. Get a few water jugs and fill then 3/4 full of water, and freeze over night. As soon as it starts getting hot, place the frozen jugs around in the shady areas. The chickens will lay down next to them to keep cool.

Behavior

It is best to place the new chicken inside of a cage, and then place the cage inside the coop, so that the other chickens can see and talk to the new chicken, but will not be able to attack it. After about 2 weeks they all should be used to each other enough to be allowed together. It is best to do this at night by placing the new chicken on the roost while the others are sleeping.  Be sure to be awake when it gets light outside to monitor their reactions. You may see them pick on the newbie a little, but they are just establishing pecking order. Only if the newbie is getting injured would you step in.

It is almost impossible to stop egg eating once it has started. First thing you must do is remove the chicken from the flock. If you do not, it could spread the habit onto the other chickens, and then you would have a mess! To find the one who is eating eggs, find out when the eggs are being laid, then check on them every 1/2 hour until you see that an egg has been eaten. Inspect every chicken's beak and see if you can find any yolk on them.

Some people get the eggs, blow the yolks out and then fill the eggs with mustard and nasty spicy, smelly foods. Then put the egg back in the nest. Do this for about a week or until the chicken stops eating the eggs.

Prevention is the best method for egg eating. Use one nesting box per 4-5 hens. Keep egg shells strong.  Make sure there is plenty of oyster shells for the hens to eat whenever they want.  Don't use bright lights in coop. Avoid startling a hen who is on a nest. Keep the stress low, and provide enough room for your hens.

Cannibalism is caused by many different situations.  Chicks need 1/4 sq. foot for the first 2 weeks.  Chicks will need 1/2 sq. foot for at 3 - 8 weeks. Chickens need 1 sq. foot from 8 - 16 weeks. Adult chickens require 1.5 sq. feet after 16 weeks.

If the chickens become too hot they can be cannibalistic. Constant light or too bright of a light can cause the chickens to become stressed. If using light in their coop, be sure to use a 15-25 watt bulb.  Use no more than 16 hours a day. If you are using light as a heat source, use a red or infra-red bulb.

If the chickens have to fight for space around water or feed, it will cause them to become aggressive and start to peck. Hungry chickens will start pecking at each other. Always have plenty of space, food, and water. If your chickens are pecking at each other, remove any badly injured birds and apply anti-peck lotion or pine tar.

Health

 The only reason you really need to trim their wings is so they do not fly over your fence or up into trees.   You can tell the difference between a healthy chicken and a sick chicken by their appearance and production. The signs of a healthy chicken are as follows:

• Combs and wattles should be bright, full and waxy. 
• Eyes should be bright, shiny, and alert.
• Nostrils are clear and no breathing noises.
• Head and tail should be held high and upright.
• Breasts are full and plump.
• Abdomen should be firm but not too hard.
• Posture should be erect, active, and alert.
• Feathers are clean and smooth.
• Vent is clean and slightly moist.
• Droppings should be firm, gray-brown with white caps.

If your chicken does not have all of these signs, it is possible that it may be getting sick.

First Aid Kit 

1 package of the following...Terramycin and Electrolytes and Vitamins. 

1 bottle of Bloop Stop powder or spray

Some kind of Poultry Insecticide Dusting powder

Baby Tylenol

Anti-peck or Pine Tar

Neosporin ointment

Peroxide and Bandages and butterflies

Blu-Koat ( Blue Coat )

If your bird has been attacked or is wounded, there are certain procedures you should take.  The first thing you have to do is remove the bird away from the rest of the flock. Examine the injuries on the poultry to see how severe they are. Wash the wound with warm soapy water and peroxide. Place the neosporin and Blue Coat on the wound. If possible, bandage the area.  Give the Poultry some tylenol.

On the infant Tylenol dropper.. Regular sized chickens: up to the  first line on the dropper by the tip. Bantums: 1/2 of that.

Place the injured bird in a warm place where it can eat and drink, but is away from the rest of the flock. I suggest you clean the wound at least 2 times a day. Once the wound has healed sufficiently, at least 3 days after the attack, you can return the bird to the rest of the flock. Be sure to put anti-peck or Pine Tar on the wound to keep the others from pecking at it.

Feed

Pullets and Roosters can be fed scratch. Hens who are laying eggs need to be fed Lay Chuck. If you have Roosters and Pullets with Hens, you can feed them all Lay or you can provide a mixture of both Lay and Scratch.

All chickens need to have some kind of grit. You can use sand, or if they free range, they should be able to find little rocks in the dirt. All laying hens must have Oyster Shell which will provide hens with calcium to make the egg shells. Never feed your chickens raw potato peelings or molded foods.  Do not feed them uncooked eggs. Once they start, they will never stop.