Strangest thing, flock stopped laying

[DVTO2]

I have 10 Rhode Island Reds. They are just over 12 months old. They were laying fine all winter, and then things [picked up quite a bit for a few weeks, laying almost 9 or 10 a day, sometimes, and then about 10 days ago they suddenly stopped laying - not a single egg in 10 days. I had started feeding them dandelion greens, and had given them a large quantity just before they stopped. They have had the same food since they started laying - Country Feeds Layer. Maybe one of the chickens is molting. None are sick and none have died. I live in northern CT. I even put a lock on the coop just in case someone might have been filching them. Any thoughts?

 

[aart]

Do you free range at all?
Did they empty their crops of all those greens?

 

[DVTO2]

I do not free range. Don’t one if they emptied their crops? How do you tell?

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't think it is your feed, I think it is a hidden nest. They can be quite clever at hiding it, sometimes in plain sight. Any time I get a sudden and nearly complete drop in egg production it has been a hidden nest. Sometimes in impossible places.

Go down there mid morning, with a book and some coffee and wait and watch. Someone will show you where it is.

Mrs K

 

[boatagor]

They could also be eating them. It only takes one to break an egg, discover how delicious it is, and teach the rest what to do. I've had times where there was no evidence at all of egg eating, but when I watched the nest, sure enough, that was the problem. You can blow out the inside of an egg and fill it with mustard, then put it in the nest. They will peck it and taste the mustard and stop eating them. Dish soap is supposed to work too but mustard was more successful for me.

 

[DVTO2]

I think it would be hard for them to eat 50 or so eggs in a week without evidence, also hiding 50 eggs would be impossible. Given the drastic increase in greens I gave them before this happened, I’m leaving in the stuffed crop direction. I’ll investigate more tomorrow.

 

[aart]

I do not free range. Don’t one if they emptied their crops? How do you tell?

Feel the crop in the morning before giving feed/water.
Hard to imagine it would affect them all, but maybe.

 

[DVTO2]

Feel the crop in the morning before giving feed/water.
Hard to imagine it would affect them all, but maybe.

I watched some videos. I’ll check the crops this morning. I’ve had chickens for more than 10 years and never had this happen before, certainly not that I was aware of or on this scale.

 

[aart]

I’ve had chickens for more than 10 years and never had this happen before, certainly not that I was aware of or on this scale.

Yes, it's definitely weird.

 

[DVTO2]

I believe I’ve figured it out. I checked the crops of several hens and they seemed fine. I then looked at the water bucket which had water in it, and realized they hadn’t been drinking enough. I checked the nipples and they seemed clogged. When I gave them a pan of water they were all over it. I think they were dehydrated. My guess is they will start laying in a day or two.