A day with no eggs?

[mosomers]

My flock hasn't been laying for long (a couple of weeks is all, but they are all about 10 months old). I have 2 EE's, 1 Buff Orp, 1 RIR, and 1 barred rock that are laying finally. A couple of days ago, I got zero eggs. Out of 6 chickens, no eggs. Is this normal? I'm worried that between my kids and I, we are checking the nesting boxes too often and making them nervous. The first 2 eggs from my Buff Orp had peck marks in them which make me worried that an egg eater was in the works, so I check often to prevent that. I also checked super often at first to try to identify which egg belonged to which hen. Then my kids are young and just as excited as I am about getting eggs, so they check often too. Would that contribute to all my ladies taking the same day off or is that just a coincidence? Or is it because they are newly laying so they haven't gotten into a groove yet?

 

[collingwood]

It's completly normal for them not to lay for one day! They may have laid them in a different spot to what they usually do!

 

[rebrascora]

Do they free range at all?
Is it possible that they are laying somewhere other than the nest boxes. My EE type hens can be very wily and are always poking about in dark corners and up in the rafters looking for mischief. Once one of them sets up a secret nest, they all to like to contribute to it and the more eggs that are left in it, the more attractive it becomes..... I found an old jack daws nest in the eves above the stable where I keep the chickens at Christmas time which had 43 eggs piled up in it..... I was still getting eggs in the official nest boxes, so I was gobsmacked at finding such a stash.... they were all still edible too..... I now have an egg hunt involving ladders every day but I'm pretty sure they have another sneaky nest that I just haven't found yet!

Are the girls all laying now? How many eggs were you getting daily prior to getting none? If you were getting 3-4 a day and then none that would be unusual but not beyond the realms of possibility that they all took the same day off. If you were only getting 1 or 2 then it's less of a concern. Did you get more than usual the following day and/or the day before? Sometimes it is better to look at the weekly tally especially with a small flock rather than worry about day to day production.

It is exciting to go out and collect eggs though and lovely that you can share that experience with your children. Hens do like a bit of privacy though, so perhaps limit your visits until after you have heard them singing the egg song....

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[mosomers]

43 eggs!! That's quite a find! My chickens free range when the weather is nice but it hasn't been nice this week so they haven't been out except for Friday. I got 2 eggs on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, none on Thursday, and 4 on Friday. 5 of my 6 hens are laying. Their run is pretty simple so I didn't think they could hide a nest, but I'll go check. Sounds like they may be sneakier than I give them credit for!

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, it was a veritable mountain of eggs! In fact it was only 40 in "the nest" as 3 had rolled off onto the rotten floor boards a foot below. I needed a ladder and a crawl board to access them. I left the ladder in place for 2 months and checked regularly until I needed it somewhere else. I checked before moving it and there were none. The following day I heard one of them up there and 2 days later when I put the ladder back and checked, they had seven more eggs up there. Talk about sneaky! I have now left an old drawer up there with some hay in it as a nest box within reach of the ladder and every day I climb up and retrieve all but two eggs. I leave white eggs one day and blue/green eggs the next so no eggs get left longer than a day (for some reason my hens aren't fooled by fake eggs). This way they are happy laying in a nest site they have chosen and feel is safe and I get to collect the eggs. Sometimes it's a question of.... if you can't beat them join them..... so I climb the ladder every day now!

Good luck finding a secret nest. It puts a smile on your face when you see how inventive/sneaky they can be! Can they fly out of the enclosure or maybe wriggle under the coup. Those EEs can be pretty agile and flighty as well as sneaky!