Chickens haven’t laid for 6 months

[sooty and sweep]

Hi I have two chickens, Who started moulting August last year so they stopped laying eggs. This took a while but they have finished now and they still haven’t started laying again. They have access to food, water, oyster shells and grit. Also one of them has had a dirty and poopyrear feathers for a while

Any help would be really appreciated thankyou very much!
Finn

Edit:forgot too add that they are two years old and they have been wormed recently

 

[theoldchick]

There are several things that effect egg production. Age, diet, breed, parasites, disease, and environment. Older chickens decrease egg production as part of the aging process. Adding a good quality layer food to the diet may help. And deworming them may help especially with poopy butt. See if your vet will examine a poop sample to see what kind of parasites your birds may be dealing with. External parasites such as mites or lice will affect the health of a bird. You can wash with cat flea shampoo and blow dry them. And you can treat the area they live in with whatever miticide is approved in your part of the world. Also, look for another spot they may be laying their eggs

Just a few things to think about. Good luck!

 

[JedJackson]

How old are they? Age plays a huge factor in production. Older birds often become seasonal layers and produce mainly in spring and early summer if they produce at all.

 

[sooty and sweep]

There are several things that effect egg production. Age, diet, breed, parasites, disease, and environment. Older chickens decrease egg production as part of the aging process. Adding a good quality layer food to the diet may help. And deworming them may help especially with poopy butt. See if your vet will examine a poop sample to see what kind of parasites your birds may be dealing with. External parasites such as mites or lice will affect the health of a bird. You can wash with cat flea shampoo and blow dry them. And you can treat the area they live in with whatever miticide is approved in your part of the world. Also, look for another spot they may be laying their eggs

Just a few things to think about. Good luck!

Hi sorry forgot to add they are only two years old also they were wormed acouple of weeks ago

 

[sooty and sweep]

How old are they? Age plays a huge factor in production. Older birds often become seasonal layers and produce mainly in spring and early summer if they produce at all.

They are only two

 

[JedJackson]

They are only two

After the first year production drops off a lot, and it drops off steadily after that. My guess is they won't lay until spring. If eggs are your main priority, it's probably time to switch to new pullets and sell or process the older girls. Or if you are attached to them you could keep them and just supplement with a small number of new pullets.

 

[sooty and sweep]

After the first year production drops off a lot, and it drops off steadily after that. My guess is they won't lay until spring. If eggs are your main priority, it's probably time to switch to new pullets and sell or process the older girls. Or if you are attached to them you could keep them and just supplement with a small number of new pullets.

Okay Thankyou they won’t be going anywhere but it still seems odd not to lay for this long. Some friends of ours have even older birds that have been laying all winter and they are the same breed.

 

[JedJackson]

Okay Thankyou they won’t be going anywhere but it still seems odd not to lay for this long. Some friends of ours have even older birds that have been laying all winter and they are the same breed.

In that case it's worth investigating what the problem may be. Start with feed-- what are you giving them?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

All chicken feed is formulated to feather the nest of the feed mill that produces it, or to fatten the pocket book of the feed mill owner. Fad-Feeds don't get the job done. Feed a good production quality laying pellet 16 - 18% protein and supplement the laying pellets with a high quality canned dog food @ the rate of one heaping teaspoonful per bird per day and cut out any and all snacks or treats. Just be sure that the dog food that you use has plenty of animal protein from mammal sources. Keep freechoice oyster shell and insoluble grit before your birds 24-7.