Why did our hens stop laying?

[Craigboy53]

We have four hens, all 2.5 yrs old. One Easter egger, and three olive eggers. We got them when they were a year old, and we have consistently been getting 2-3 eggs a day. In the winter of 2021-22, I maintained lights at 15 hrs daily, an and they laid all winter. Last fall(2023) we decided they needed to moult, so I didn’t turn the lights on when the day length decreased. As intended, they moulted starting in Sept. When the feathers stopped falling, about middle of November, I put the lights back on. Within a week we were getting the usual two eggs per day. Come February, we had an unusually warm period which lasted almost three weeks. We should have been -10C, but daily temps were hitting 12-15, with a couple days at 19C! Egg laying continued. Then came March, and winter came back, with daytime -3, nights -8C. Now we started getting one egg per day, then after a week, only an egg every other day, an then they stopped. Haven’t had an egg in two weeks now, although day temps are 8-10C, nights 1-2C. They have constant access to layer pellets, and I feed them a bowl of mash every morning, about 12 oz volume. They always finish the mash, but for last two weeks, they are eating 1/3 of usual pellets. I throw a handful of scratching the run in the morning. They have constant fresh water. About once a week I’d give them a bit of fresh greens, dandelions in the summer, broccoli in the winter.
The coop was thoroughly cleaned during the warm spell in February. Mucked out the roost and the run, put fresh shredded leaves in there, and fresh wood shavings in the nest boxes.Vacuumed what I could, scraped and steam cleaned the perches. No cleaners or chemicals of any kind.
They appear healthy, eyes are bright, feathers glossy, behaviour hasn’t changed…..just no eggs.
Any ideas anyone?

 

[sourland]

At 2.5 years of age they may just be taking a normal break in their laying cycle.

 

[aart]

Do they free range?
Might be time for an exam:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Craigboy53]

No, there is an abundance of eagles, hawks,owls, and coyotes here, so we don’t free range them. It’s another week since my original post, and still no eggs. They have stopped eating pellets, but devour their bowl of mash in the morning. Thanks for the link! I shall have a peek.

 

[Happy Chooks]

When chickens molt, they lose a lot of their body weight. Feathers are protein, eggs are protein. They cannot replace feathers AND lay eggs too. So even after the feathers have grown in, they have to get their body weight back to a healthy level before they can resume laying.

Secondly, egg laying is determined by daylight, not temperature.

Lastly, as hens get older, they don't lay as much as when they are young.

Best thing you can do to help them is give them a high protein feed, supplement protein (meat scraps, mealworms, etc) As soon as they can lay eggs, they will.

 

[Craigboy53]

Thanks for your reply! I know laying is day length dependent.
The strange thing is after they moulted in the fall, when I turned the lights on end of November, within a week they started laying, and gave us eggs all winter, up to beginning of March. That’s when it decreased and stopped.
Two and a half years isn’t old for a hen, is it?
This week they’ve been getting lots of mealworms, and a few scrambled eggs.
SURPRISE! Today we got a beautiful blue egg, a bit larger than usual. Looks like they are starting.
Thanks to everyone for the tips and support!