Stopped laying

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kcfarm

kcfarm

Hatching
5 Years
Dec 27, 2014
6
0
9
Sanford, NC
About a month ago a very big owl got in my biggest coop. I forgot to close the door the night before. Now none of my hens are laying any eggs. Before the owl we were getting about 9 all together.
What can I do to help them start laying again?
My hens are a mix. I have golden comets, rhode island reds, americanas, orintons,and marans. I live in central NC.
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome to BYC!
Where are you checking in from? Knowing your general location will help with answering the issue of non-production as I would guess it likely has less to do with the owl (though distress from such an incident can certainly effect production) and more to do with some environmental factors that happen to have coincided with the owl incident. It will also be helpful to know the breed(s) and ages of the birds you have as those are also factors that can have an impact on production at various times of the year.
 
x2 what OGM said.

If you update your profile to include your general location, it helps folks help you. It makes a big difference if you're hailing from northern Alaska or from New Zealand.

IF you're in North America, more likely your hens stopped laying due to the shorter days. Since the days are starting to get longer now, perhaps in another 2-8 weeks, your hens will start laying again. In the mean time, I would recommend to stop feeding layer feed and get a grower or starter feed. If they're not laying, they don't need the extra calcium of layer feed. Keep some crushed oyster and/or egg shells on the side for them to eat extra calcium for when they do start laying again.
 
Ol Grey Mare said:
Hi and welcome to BYC!
Where are you checking in from?  Knowing your general location will help with answering the issue of non-production as I would guess it likely has less to do with the owl (though distress from such an incident can certainly effect production) and more to do with some environmental factors that happen to have coincided with the owl incident.  It will also be helpful to know the breed(s) and ages of the birds you have as those are also factors that can have an impact on production at various times of the year.
Click to expand...
 
My hens are a mix. I have golden comets, rhode island reds, americanas, orintons, and marans.
I live in central NC.
 
kcfarm said:
My hens are a mix. I have golden comets, rhode island reds, americanas, orintons, and marans.
I live in central NC.
Click to expand...

Your hens like Little Abner's boxing opponents have been hit with a Triple Whammy.

First came the Great Horned Owl (?)

Next they are all molting.

And third this is the darkest (fewest hours of daylight) time of the year.

Any one of these things can upset the egg carton but all three at once can absolutely crush egg production.

I also get the notion from your post that your hens are not let us say "spring chickens." Am I correct?
 

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