Hasn't laid in months.

[Studio2770]

Our cochin laid her last egg probably in mid June. She's a year old so pretty young. It was hot so I knew the heat halted her production. Lately though, the weather has been mild and still no eggs. Does it take a while to get back into the groove once the weather becomes better?

 

[aart]

How hot?

That's a long time for a year old to not lay...and now the days are short so that's a factor.

Is she a year old now or was in June?

 

[HeyMama]

We had 4 hens, now just 2.

I wrote a plea last year at this time when our consistant 4-eggs-a-day production dropped to 1-2/day. Shortly after (close to a year now) we're lucky to get 1-2 eggs a WEEK. The other day one of our girls was on the nest and I reached under and found a egg mess (like she layed an egg w/o a shell)

They free range in the back part of our yard, seem quite happy. We buy fortified crumbles, give them shells (from eggs I now BUY) and offer oyster shell along with occasional lobster shells......NOTHING.

Could they be sick? No laying in close to ONE YEAR and they're only just 2 now...

 

[Studio2770]

How hot?

That's a long time for a year old to not lay...and now the days are short so that's a factor.

Is she a year old now or was in June?

We live in Texas, so it gets hot here, high 90s. She turned a year old in June. Unless she's laying somewhere else but I've never heard her cluck. Guess it's worth a try to look around.

 

[aart]

Ahh, OK so she's now approx 18 months...might be molting?
Could have been the heat... then a molt.......or she could be laying out in the range area


Might lock her in the coop for a few days:
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it.


Or could be shortening days too:
The not laying could be because of lack of daylight. Sometimes first year layers will lay all winter without supplemental lighting, sometimes they won't.
Older layers need 14-16 hours of light to lay regularly thru winter. Last winter I used a 40 watt incandescent light(this year I am using a CFL) that comes on early in the morning to provide 14-15 hours of light and they go to roost with the natural sundown. Last year I started the lighting increase a bit late(mid October), the light should be increased slowly, and the pullets didn't start laying until late December. Here's pretty good article on supplemental lighting. Some folks think that using lighting shortens the years a hen will lay, I don't agree with that theory but I also plan to cull my older hens for soup at about 3 years old.

 

[Studio2770]

Ahh, OK so she's now approx 18 months...might be molting?
Could have been the heat... then a molt.......or she could be laying out in the range area


Might lock her in the coop for a few days:
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it.


Or could be shortening days too:
The not laying could be because of lack of daylight. Sometimes first year layers will lay all winter without supplemental lighting, sometimes they won't.
Older layers need 14-16 hours of light to lay regularly thru winter. Last winter I used a 40 watt incandescent light(this year I am using a CFL) that comes on early in the morning to provide 14-15 hours of light and they go to roost with the natural sundown. Last year I started the lighting increase a bit late(mid October), the light should be increased slowly, and the pullets didn't start laying until late December. Here's pretty good article on supplemental lighting. Some folks think that using lighting shortens the years a hen will lay, I don't agree with that theory but I also plan to cull my older hens for soup at about 3 years old.

She's not molting, she doesn't look any different. Unless it's very subtle. I've checked twice to see if she's laying anywhere and nothing. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

I could try that. She may not like it but I don't like not seeing any brown eggs for months.

Our production was steady through the winter. She laid her first egg days before Christmas. I kinda knew she'd stop laying because of the heat but I was waiting for her to start back up when the weather improved.

 

[Studio2770]

So I searched the yard again and no eggs. I don't get it. If she's molting I can't tell. Our EE is definitely molting though.

 

[Studio2770]

Welp, she laid yesterday! She laid a softy today but she's getting back into it.