2 yo Hens Stopped Laying in May, Still No Eggs

[aart]

How far will I need to insert my finger(s) into their vent?

Not at all.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[twobuckchuckfarm]

Not at all.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Thank you for sharing this article! Glad to hear its a non invasive procedure

 

[twobuckchuckfarm]

Have you done a vent or pelvis check? Any snakes or rats?

No snake or rat issues here. I have not completed the vent or pelvis check yet. I plan to today! Is this the same examination procedure as the link provided above?

 

[nuthatched]

No snake or rat issues here. I have not completed the vent or pelvis check yet. I plan to today! Is this the same examination procedure as the link provided above?

Yes, that's it.

 

[Melissa67137]

i am also having issues with hens not laying for the first time.

my first was a rescue hen so there's no way to know her age.....this is her 3rd winter with me......she molted in June/July and hasn't laid a single egg since. i think she just may be done laying.

however I have 3 easter eggers, got as chicks and raised myself, and all lay a different color egg so I know when someone isn't laying. well they all are on their 2nd winter with me. they molted in october/novemeber and hadn't laid since until about the first of January I had one start laying....the others never started back up yet and now the one that was has also stopped again.

I have checked everything.....the coop is inside the chainlink dog kennel that I have butted up against a storage shed making a 12ft x 12ft run. the run walls and floor are wrapped with hardware cloth, outside the walls I have landscaping pavers lining the run just in case, the roof is cattle pannels wrapped with tiny chicken wire and covered with heavy tarps.....the whole thing is checked over every day and there is no sign of any critter getting in the run. rioght now for winter the run is kept wrapped in clear plastic to keep the drafts off the birds. I keep fresh water daily for them in a heated dog bowl. I keep nutrena nature wise 18% soy-free layer pellets out at all times......they were changed to this when my local orschlens farm store sold out to tractor supply last summer and I could no longer get the sunset farms egg-treme layer food (which was absolutely awesome). they also get a couple handfuls of cracked corn one day a week and a couple hands full of meal worm/black fly larva on another day.....on these days the items are raked into the wood shavings in the run so the hens have to search for them. I give them electrolyte water after molt, and through out the height of summer heat but not normally in the winter. They all seem very healthy.

I don't know what is going on as they have all always laid right through winter before......have been so prolific on laying that I got 2-3 eggs a day and was giving eggs away.....now I have to buy eggs myself......so frustrating.

 

[rosemarythyme]

they all are on their 2nd winter with me. they molted in october/novemeber and hadn't laid since until about the first of January I had one start laying....the others never started back up yet and now the one that was has also stopped again.

Not unusual for them to stop laying completely post molt and until daylight length starts increasing. 1st of January isn't all that long after winter solstice, so doesn't surprise me that only 1 started up and then didn't continue consistently.

You'll probably start seeing eggs in Feb, maybe even late as March, depending on the hours of daylight you get. With each passing year after this the chances of these birds molting earlier and resuming later increases.

 

[Melissa67137]

Not unusual for them to stop laying completely post molt and until daylight length starts increasing. 1st of January isn't all that long after winter solstice, so doesn't surprise me that only 1 started up and then didn't continue consistently.

You'll probably start seeing eggs in Feb, maybe even late as March, depending on the hours of daylight you get. With each passing year after this the chances of these birds molting earlier and resuming later increases.

Thank you for your response. Let me see if I understand what you are saying about the molting and resuming. From now on they can molt before Oct/Nov but still won't restart until after Jan/Feb of the next year? Is this typical no matter the breed of chicken or are there breeds that do better than my easter eggers? I had planned to every couple years to get a couple new chicks and send my oldest hens to freezer camp as soon as the new pullets start laying......hope I don't have to start doing that until next year though.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Hello from Connecticut. If all the hens are acting normal, and appear healthy, well thats a great thing for your piece of mind. This is the second year in a row that my 5 hens stopped laying, in Sept/Oct only to begin again in January. (one gal stopped in Aug when she started her molt). This summer i added 2 new pullets to my flock of 5. The original 5 pretty much stopped laying in September/October and I havnt had an egg since this week actually. 3 eggs finally. When i look back at my notes, same thing last year, stopped laying late fall only to pick up again in January. I had to really rethink why i have chickens. (especially while purchasing eggs at the store all winter). To feed me is only one part of it. i had to ask myself, what if they never lay again? i would do nothing different. I would still treat them as my pets that just happen to give me breakfast from time to time. I have come to enjoy their breaks from laying because these girls get all in a tizy during laying season. someones always hootin' and hollerin', gettin' all sensitive about the tiny details like if the coop windows are open and who wants this door closed. Lots of big emotions during the laying season around here, lol. This spring I plan to include #1 a new Coop and #2, some new chickens and maybe a rooster. I am starting to understand this chicken math thing.....good luck!

 

[ffamom3]

What are you feeding? We had to switch from Tractor Supply brands, Dumor and Producer's Pride, and that did the trick.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you for your response. Let me see if I understand what you are saying about the molting and resuming. From now on they can molt before Oct/Nov but still won't restart until after Jan/Feb of the next year? Is this typical no matter the breed of chicken or are there breeds that do better than my easter eggers? I had planned to every couple years to get a couple new chicks and send my oldest hens to freezer camp as soon as the new pullets start laying......hope I don't have to start doing that until next year though.

Correct. Some breeds are supposedly better winter layers but if you ask a dozen keepers they'll probably name a dozen different breeds.

EEs aren't really high production birds. I find them fairly reliable for my purposes, but because they're not bred for anything other than variety in egg color their laying isn't necessarily the most reliable. Production types like sexlinks will produce more heavily, but drop off around the 2 year old mark.

To optimize egg production you'd want to add new chicks at least every 1 1/2 to 2 years, so the younger ones pick up the slack. In commercial settings the general rule seems to be any layer 18+ months is "done."