2 year old black sex link has stopped laying

[LesGan]

Have rooster and 4 hens with 3 hens just turning 2 years old and 1 being 11 months old. Have only been getting 3 eggs a day, and finally figured out the non laying hen is the 2 YO sex link. The middle of this past winter she began roosting in one of the 3 nest boxes at night.....always the same one. She gets out in the morning with the others. I collect all eggs each day. Is sleeping in the nesting box at night perhaps affecting her laying?? (I think I read that black sex links will not go broody). Sleeping in the nest box is the only thing different that she is doing. I think it has probably been a few months since she has actually laid an egg. I checked her a few days ago and her belly is soft, her vent looks normal. When I pressed around her vent though I heard a very very slight squeek noise that I think came from her vent....almost like "gas on her tummy". All other behavior is normal. Any ideas? She was my most faithful layer last year. Thanks

 

[firedove]

Quote:
2 is when many "laying" hens slow down on laying. Some even stop as early as 2.

Is she also the bottom of the order or picked on a lot. My 2 bottom of the order hens used to sleep in the nestbuckets for warmth because the other hens wouldn't let them snuggle up. The enclosed space kept their body heat close so they wouldn't freeze.

Stress can cause a hen to stop laying so if she is being picked on by the others she may be too stressed to lay. Also, is she losing feathers? When they go through a molt they stop laying.

 

[geebs]

Check for parasites, worms, and pests... comb color should be good... if it isn't then you have a problem.. rats stealing eggs can be a problem...mite, lice, worms can all affect egg production dramatically ... a 2 year old not laying.. my bet is on the list I just gave you.... I have 8 year old hens that still produce 3 eggs a week.

 

[LesGan]

Thanks for your responses. Hen not picked on, comb color good, good appetite, normal poops, good interaction with other chix. I have had mouse droppings in house lately, using humane mouse traps and relocating miles away. Possum in the chix house one night when I came in after dark and it scared this particular hen, but she was not laying before the possum incident. I got possum out of the house, trapped it the next night and relocated several counties away. Since mice have ben mentioned will turn my attentions to that issue. Ellie Mae will always have a place in my flock.....I shall have a geriatric wing of my chicken house!! Thanks again.

 

[cybercat]

Many sex links will not lay past year 2. They burn out. This is why they are replaced yearly to keep up production. Since they do not breed true offspring from they will not lay as much as they did either. I do not think she is broody very few will go broody.

 

[LesGan]

Thanks Cybercat. You confirmed what I was suspecting. She will just live out her life in my geriatric ward I suspose. Leslie