Another question about chicken stopped laying

[cjpines]

I've read the threads, but nothing seems to fit my chicken.

At 5- 6 months my Australorp started laying. We had two months of eggs every day.

She stopped late Aug, she did go through a minor molt in Sept, Oct but she over that, maybe. No more losing feathers.

It's been five months and she hasn't layed one egg. She's 10 1/2 mos now.

She's healthy, eating, but seems a little sleepy at times. I'm putting vitamins in the water. She gets plenty of greens, fruit, etc.

Has anyone had such a long duration of no eggs for such a young bird?

 

[Outpost JWB]

What do you feed her?

Does she still have the same nest box she laid in before?

When is the last time you wormed them?

 

[cjpines]

What do you feed her?

Does she still have the same nest box she laid in before?

When is the last time you wormed them?

Yes, she still has the same nest box and did share it with two others. They all liked the same box.

I give her what the others eat, layer feed, veggies, fruits, cat dry food for protein, dry meal worms.

I have never wormed the chickens, their poop is okay.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Hmmmm. I have had my hens take a month or 2 break sometimes longer due to cold weather. But they ALL basically take a break. We have 30+ hens.

If she were egg bound, she would have already died. If she had cocci, the others would have contracted it too by now.

Watch your chicken carefully for a few days. Make sure the others are not bulling her. Even on the roost at night. If she is not getting enough rest, feed, or daylight, her body cannot produce an egg.

Do you provide food and water for them 24/7?

My last suggestion would be to add more nest boxes. I have had to do this because sometimes the hens just don't want to share. Put a fake egg or golf ball in the new nest box to encourage her to lay there. Good luck.

 

[cjpines]

Hmmmm. I have had my hens take a month or 2 break sometimes longer due to cold weather. But they ALL basically take a break. We have 30+ hens.

If she were egg bound, she would have already died. If she had cocci, the others would have contracted it too by now.

Watch your chicken carefully for a few days. Make sure the others are not bulling her. Even on the roost at night. If she is not getting enough rest, feed, or daylight, her body cannot produce an egg.

Do you provide food and water for them 24/7?

My last suggestion would be to add more nest boxes. I have had to do this because sometimes the hens just don't want to share. Put a fake egg or golf ball in the new nest box to encourage her to lay there. Good luck.

I have 6 hens only, and 4 nest boxes. I think the fake egg is a good idea. They have food and water 24/7 inside and out. They are in a large run not free range on property. It's such a puzzlement. I don't see any bulling on roost or outside. In fact, she has always been the chick that has jumped other hens like a rooster would do which is strange to me. Maybe that's saying, dominance? I'll try the fake egg. Thank you.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Check her body condition all over, see if she feels thin or if she has any lumps, bumps or bloating in her abdomen. She may start back up any time now that the days are getting longer. The light molt in the fall combined with shortening days may have put a stop to things. Most of my birds that age lay right on through their first winter then take a break their second winter. Be careful how much dry cat food you feed them, some of it contains a lot of sodium. You might try cutting out some of the extra's so she eats more of her layer feed which is a balanced diet for laying hens, in case she's not getting enough, or too much, of something.

You also might consider deworming. Birds can be full of worms and you might never know just by looking at their poop since they do not continually shed worm eggs or worms. Even a fecal test can come up with a false negative if worms are not shedding eggs when it's done.

 

[cjpines]

Check her body condition all over, see if she feels thin or if she has any lumps, bumps or bloating in her abdomen. She may start back up any time now that the days are getting longer. The light molt in the fall combined with shortening days may have put a stop to things. Most of my birds that age lay right on through their first winter then take a break their second winter. Be careful how much dry cat food you feed them, some of it contains a lot of sodium. You might try cutting out some of the extra's so she eats more of her layer feed which is a balanced diet for laying hens, in case she's not getting enough, or too much, of something.

You also might consider deworming. Birds can be full of worms and you might never know just by looking at their poop since they do not continually shed worm eggs or worms. Even a fecal test can come up with a false negative if worms are not shedding eggs when it's done.

Her body, no lumps or bumps, or boating.

No worms to speak of.

So, why is she the only one not laying out of 6 hens that have been good layer's. They all get the same feed.

I think I will cut down on cat dry food and take you suggestion, too much sodium. Never thought about that for chickens, but for humans yes.

 

[wyoleadslinger]

I am having a problem with my girls also. I had 12 this summer that are 1 year old. And had to remove 3 of them (chicken and dumplings) as I could not get them to stop eating eggs. We hatched 23 more and then had a dog come threw and kill 9 of them two months ago. Since then they have not laid any eggs at all. Help please!! And thank you

 

[cafarmgirl]

Her body, no lumps or bumps, or boating.

No worms to speak of.

So, why is she the only one not laying out of 6 hens that have been good layer's. They all get the same feed.

I think I will cut down on cat dry food and take you suggestion, too much sodium. Never thought about that for chickens, but for humans yes.

There may well be some issue going on with her that is not apparent, especially if you are noticing she is sleepy a lot. How is her comb color? What do her droppings look like?

If she were my bird I would deworm her. She could be packing a big load of worms that you would know nothing about just by looking. Chickens are very hard to figure out and often times the best we can do is rule out the most common possible problems and go forward from there.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I am always curious in these situations as to how your know she is not laying. unless of course her comb is not red or you watch them all during the day. I have 7 Welsummers & 4 EE's. I knew when none of the Welsummers were laying as I got only green eggs & vice versa. When I get eggs, I have no idea which hens they can from.