9 hens haven’t laid a single egg in months!

[dehill]

Hi all,

So I’m into my second year of ownership here in the UK, enduring Flockdown 22.

I thought I’d ask for a little advice. I know egg production is meant to fall dramatically in winter - shorter days and cold - but we haven’t had a single egg in 3+ months.

My flock is mostly bantams and silkies, and I added 2 emerald hybrids to boost egg production a couple of months ago (haha!). They joined the flock, laid religiously for 2 days then stopped too.

Just wondering if I’m doing anything wrong?

Picture of our set up below. All birds and around 1-2 years old, look healthy enough to me and are fed on layers pellets boosted with some corn. They have access to nest boxes.

Is this normal or can I do anything to give them a boost? One or two a week would be a start!

I’ve added some timer fairy lights to add a little bit of light into the evening, but this isn’t changed anything.

Most have laid at some point, and the silkies laid all winter last year!

All advice very welcome!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's quite normal for many hens older than a year to not lay through the winter. Generally production starts back up slowly by February, and really begins to pick up by March. Production is driven by increasing light, and can be affected by feed, and water consumption, and also by birds diverting energy to keep warm.

Bantams aren't exactly considered productive and generally lay for reproduction. Better breeds may lay more, but almost all quit for a few months after their first season to molt and recover in the fall, and it may last until spring in some.

Make sure your a feeding a good quality higher protein ration and have fresh water available. That's about all you can do. Some add extra lights, but that's not always as simple as turning on lights.

 

[SourRoses]

It doesn't look like you have much in the way of ventilation.
With more chickens that becomes more of an issue. Housing stress can impact laying.

16% protein is the lowest acceptable amount. Feeding corn reduces the overall dietary protein further.
I'd look at raising the protein if there is a feed available over there with more, or by supplementing meat or fish or bugs.

 

[ExoticPetOwner]

Sometimes, a chickens body just needs the rest and doesn't produce the eggs. They also stop laying due to using more energy in the winter to stay warm. Stress can really impact a chickens egg laying production. There's many other reasons why they stop laying. Ways to increase egg production would be having a light on for at least half of the day ( about 12+ hours ) in the coop, having some sort of heating ( heating lamps and other devices can catch things on fire, so be careful with what you choose. Good bedding like straw and doing the deep litter method helps keep them warm. Make sure to keep the coop well ventilated, though. ), keeping them well hydrated, and feeding them food with a high amount of protein is really all you can do.

 

[Vicky Ann Painting]

Hi all,

So I’m into my second year of ownership here in the UK, enduring Flockdown 22.

I thought I’d ask for a little advice. I know egg production is meant to fall dramatically in winter - shorter days and cold - but we haven’t had a single egg in 3+ months.

My flock is mostly bantams and silkies, and I added 2 emerald hybrids to boost egg production a couple of months ago (haha!). They joined the flock, laid religiously for 2 days then stopped too.

Just wondering if I’m doing anything wrong?

Picture of our set up below. All birds and around 1-2 years old, look healthy enough to me and are fed on layers pellets boosted with some corn. They have access to nest boxes.

Is this normal or can I do anything to give them a boost? One or two a week would be a start!

I’ve added some timer fairy lights to add a little bit of light into the evening, but this isn’t changed anything.

Most have laid at some point, and the silkies laid all winter last year!

All advice very welcome!

I have heavy laying breeds Wyandottes and ones they call Production Reds. However, these things I still do for mine and only one who is broody and a couple of older hens aren't laying much during winter. Out of 21 hens we are still yielding 14-18 eggs per day. if your chickens are molting they will cut back on laying. Increasing protein will help this. Mine love no salt added tuna, cashews, and of course mealworms, and black fly larve, to name a few. Don't overdo the treats too much but you will be able to tell when they need a boost. We have a pair of battery operated lights in the corners of our coop above the perch bars that automatically come on at roosting time when the sun is going down. It adds a yellow hue light to the coop and turns off after four hours of roosting time. This extends what they think is daylight a few hours longer. Also, we give them cracked corn before roost time. It keeps their motor running during the night so the can regulate heat well during the cold. I also make sure they have plenty of oyster shell and rock grit to digest their food properly. Fresh water is extremely important too. I am a gardener and I grow fresh herbs indoor during winter as well. So I add it to their dust bath pots, nesting boxes and in the run for them to eat. Happy chickens make happy eggs. My best to you and your flock. I hope anything I babbled helps you. Have a great day.

 

[dehill]

Thank you all very much for your kind words and help. Thinking about it, when I moved them under cover I reduced their access to digging around for bugs etc. in the garden, so perhaps some protein might help. I’ve ordered some posher layers pellets and mealworms to help.

I’ve been using corn as a treat, but it hadn’t really occurred to me it’s all carbs and not much use for laying! Does a handful of mealworms every couple of days sound about right for my little flock?

I’ll add a better light.

Ventilation is 6 x 6” round vents. So around 150 square inches or 900 square centimetres total. Coop is 6’ x 4’ (180 x 120cm) for 9 birds. Is this way off the mark?

They have access to fresh drinking water all day.

Thanks again!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Another thing to consider is that adding new flock mates can sometimes be enough to stress them out and slow production too. Even if everything else is hunky dory sometimes one seemingly insignificant change can cause an egg strike lol.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ventilation is 6 x 6” round vents. So around 150 square inches or 900 square centimetres total. Coop is 6’ x 4’ (180 x 120cm) for 9 birds. Is this way off the mark?

9 birds should have roughly a minimum of 9 sq ft ventilation - about 9x more than what you have.

Doubt that has anything to do with them laying but for respiratory health it should be increased. I'd look into possibly opening up the triangle gable area on both sides - if you can cut those out and top hinge them for weather protection, that should net you all the ventilation you'll need.

 

[dehill]

Wow, this site is always so informative. Thank you. I had no idea it was so under ventilated. I will sort that definitely as the Spring is coming. I don’t think hinging the gable section will work, but I can hinge a large section of the side I think.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

re the fairy lights in the coop - I read that it's actually better to have the extra light in the early morning because at night if the light abruptly shuts off they will be disoriented and have a hard time roosting if they haven't gotten up there yet.