Hens Quit Laying

[JimRob]

My hens have quit laying eggs. At first I thought it was because they were molting. However, they haven't laid an egg in at least 4 months. These hens are about 4 years old. Do hens quit laying after age 4?

 

[Nutcase]

Hens do generally start to slow down at around that age but they shouldn't have stopped altogether. Are they on layer feed at all? Any sickness or recovery thereof?

 

[speckledhen]

What breeds are we talking about here? Are they hatchery stock?

Some take longer breaks at that age. Also, some end up with cancer developing over time as well, especially after age four. Some years, it's more of an egg drought than others.

My very best layer took a longer than her normal break this year during her molt. Seems the older they are, the harder the molt is on them. And I've had some hens just quit laying permanently, mostly hatchery hens, after the age of five. Yours shouldn't be completely done at four years old, but they are certainly taking a very long break. I have about 30 large fowl hens and I'm getting only 0-3 eggs per day now and have been for a couple of weeks now. There have been multiple molts on some of the hens this year, a very strange year indeed.

 

[Sherrillk]

I've got.19 laying hens, various breeds and the molt this year is unbelievable! I'm surprised my barred.rock has any feathers at all with what I'm finding in the yard. Egg production, needless to say, is way down. It's eased.my.mind a bit to hear that others are finding this a tough molt year as well. I was definitely beginning to worry.