I have 4 chooks; a Black Australorp (Kali), Game Bantam (Myf), Game Bantam x Rhode Island (Itchy), ISA Brown (Penny) and a Game Bantam x Pekin rooster (Roger). I get regular eggs from all but the Isa Brown. She was a consistent layer of 70-80gm eggs giving 5 or 6 a week for about 12mths, then stopped laying in early March '19. She now spends 1/2 an hour or so in the nestbox most days, does her egg song, accepts the rooster and returns to free ranging with the others, but no egg. She moulted mid-April at the tail end of the wet and looks nice and healthy. If she was egg-bound she would have been dead months ago. The fact she still goes through the motions but produces no eggs is frustrating, as you can't really eat them once they have a name!
She may have reached the end of her egg-laying life. I read that Isas generally live 2-3 years but have been known to live 5-8 years if well looked after. They don’t lay all their lives, perhaps your faithful girl has done her dash and now deserves peaceful retirement. I lost two Isas at about 2 years of age, my oldest will be about 3 1/2 in September. She’s still laying but will still go through the nesting routine even on days she doesn’t produce. Once she stops, I hope she lives on a few more years after that.
She could be done....or just 'practicing'. Have had several hens that did the 'nest visit but no egg' for awhile before commencing to lay again. But.... Welcome to BYC! @Cajones13 Where in this world are you located? Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor. Please add your general geographical location to your profile. It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
