Can a hen "turn off" her ability to lay eggs?

[TheSpiceGirls]

I have a 1 3/4 year old BO who has not laid an egg in two weeks.

She stands tall with her tail up. But she doesn't rush the gate to see me when go out to visit. She just stands from a far and looks at me. She'll come right over if I have treats.

She appears to be eating and drinking just fine although this morning, she only had one poop under her roosting spot so clearly she didn't eat as much yesterday.

I've checked her for mites and find nothing. I've given her a good feel and don't feel anything out of the ordinary like an egg stuck. Besides, you'd think if she had an egg stuck in her that she'd be showing more signs of discomfort.

She's not hiding her eggs. While they do have a big run, there is no place for them to hide eggs.

There are a bunch of feathers in her nest so maybe she's going broody? But this has been going on for two weeks now. How long to they take to go broody?

 

[Den in Penn]

They do take vacations once and awhile. She also may be starting to molt.

 

[dainerra]

yes, molt would be my first thought since you are finding a lot of feathers in the nest

 

[centrarchid]

Yes although is not likely a mental effort. Fallowing can stop; moulting, poor nutrition, mental stress, heat or cold stress, parasite load too high, hormones kicking in to be broody.

 

[mollytinney]

I have a 13 month old Plymouth Rock that has not laid an egg for over a month, she was my star layer, up to 14 days in a row with no days off. My other two chickens (BO and EE) have slowed down as well. This started after she laid a HUGE double yoker so I thought she might be injured or egg bound, but she is acting fine and happy. No changes to food, etc,and she doesn't seem to be molting. My friend said I need to bring a rooster over for a few days to "get her going" again, anyone heard of that? Some hormone supplements maybe? Another friend told me she has heard of hens that just quit laying this young, I sure hope not, please tell me this is temporary.