*Annoyed*

[4 Love of Baby Chickens]

Okay, I left with my college group on May 31st, 2012. We were working all summer long at Dollywood. A week later, my chickens quit laying on my parents, June 6th, 2012. I figured that they missed me, but I have been back for over 5 months, And they STILL have not started up again! This is crazy! They had over 13 hours of sun all summer long, so why have they NOT been laying?!

When I sell the eggs for $2.50 each, it gives me enough to pay for their chicken feed, which is over $13 a bag now.

Sooooooooooo, what is wrong with these chickens of mine? Speaking of which, I found out lots of people around here, their chickens quit laying around the same time as mine.

 

[sourland]

It sounds as if something happened to your chickens between May 31st and June 6th. Very unusual for them to stop laying at that time of year unless they were severely stressed in some manner.

 

[4 Love of Baby Chickens]

I can understand for a few weeks, but for over 6 months?

 

[sourland]

It depends upon whether or not the stress they underwent caused irreversable damage to their bodies/reproductive system.

 

[coffeenutdesign]

Do they have plenty of water at all times?

You might have a predator prowling the neighborhood, which would explain why a lot of people in the area are having the same issue.

 

[1muttsfan]

What kind of chickens do you have, and how old are they?

 

[sumi]

Lack of daylight hours aside the most common causes is stress, disease, parasites, broodiness or incorrect feeding. It's unlikely that your chickens and the other people in the area's chickens all affected by one or more of the above at the same time. I'm leaning towards an egg thief. Are your coops predator proof? As in mouse and small animal proof?

 

[4 Love of Baby Chickens]

Well, my cat is a good mouser, haven't seen any mice or rats around. She takes care of the smaller pests.
My Great Pyr. is a good guard dog, no coyotes, foxes, raccoons, or hawks eating my chickens. (though I hear the coyotes and the hawks do fly overhead). She takes care of the other predators.

Soooooo, what else could it be? It DID get rather hot around here. Up to 120 + degrees, so could it had been the heat? But it is a cooler now, cold even.
And my chickens range from 6 months to 7 years old. The ones who CAN lay are 6 months to 2 years old. The two that are 5 and 7, are my best broody hen, and my first chicken that was hatched here.

 

[coffeenutdesign]

Are you feeding layer feed? And this might sound crazy, but are they maybe too crowded? How big is your coop for how many chickens? If it isn't a predator, feed, or space, my next guess would be parasites/disease.

 

[Poultry Couture]

Mine stop randomly laying sometimes too :/