Chickens not laying please help

[chickers104]

I have 3 chocolate copper marans and 1 cochin. All hens about 15 to 16 months old. About a month ago the marans became broody and stopped laying. The Cochin has stopped laying as of a week ago but has not been in the best boxes at all. She hangs out in the run all day eating and drinking as normal. All hens are back to their normal selfs but are still not laying. This is my first time with chickens. Is this normal? How long before I get eggs again?

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Are they going through a molt?

 

[chickers104]

Are they going through a molt?

They do not seem to be molting at all.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

That is very strange. I'm sorry that i can't help you!

 

[Bob the chicken man]

If they have gone broody they will not lay eggs for another week or so maybe a little less. It is perfectly fine if that's what it is

 

[chickers104]

If they have gone broody they will not lay eggs for another week or so maybe a little less. It is perfectly fine if that's what it is

My Cochin never went broody but hasn't laid eggs in almost a week. Is there something I should be checking to make sure she is ok?

 

[sirrobyn0]

I take it this is your first go around with chickens. I'll try to give you some ideas, and tell you about somethings that I have observed over the years with chicken laying patterns. So not to state the obvious but when the cooler winter months and shorter days come the laying will slow down a lot to the point where you may only see eggs sporadically. Obviously this is summer so light is not an issue. However I have noticed that a change in the weather pattern will affect the quantity of eggs I get. If the weather has been mild and then either switches to rain, or to hot sunshine it'll slow the girls down a fair bit. Those are all things that you really can't control, but are perfectly normal to cause a change in the amount of laying.

Things that could also cause chickens to stop laying that you can control: The protein content of the food you are feeding them can make a difference. I'm not suggesting any sort of a protein additive, but a good quality layer pellet or crumble. The tag on the bag will list a few things including the protein content. Usually something on the order of 14 - 17 is what your looking for. Lower protein will cause a drop in egg production, higher protein will increase production but if you get to high it can cause other health problems. So it's a balance. I say this only because I knew one guy that was new to chickens and was feeding them nothing but scratch and corn. Getting his girls on a good quality layer pellet resolved his egg laying issues and a few other problems they were developing.

Something I think we all hate to talk about is intruders. I'm not talking about predators, I'm talking about rats and mice. If rats and mice are coming into the coop to eat the droppings or the food or to drink water, if bad enough can seriously affect the laying of the chickens and possibly their health. It can sometimes be hard to detect, other times it's easier. If your coop is on the ground look for holes that might indicate digging under or into the walls. Other times they come though cracks, air vents or the chicken door. Also look for changes in the chickens behavior such as they all move to a different part of the roost than they normal roost on. Refusal to go into a certain area of the coop would be another possible sign. I have heard of rats crawling up the walls walking out on the roosts to chew on a chickens foot at night. I'm not trying to be scare you with all of this, but it is very easy to believe that there isn't a rodent problem until the increasing rodent population starts to leave really obvious signs. Personally I think it is a good idea for anyone that owns chickens to be proactive at keeping the rodent population in check.

One last thing to consider is if something big enough to cart off an egg is getting into the coop and steeling the eggs. Ravens, possums and raccoons could do that though raccoons are more likely to go directly after the chicken. If you leave the coop door open in the afternoon so your chickens can free range for a free hours then an animal thieving the eggs is possible. One time I was having a really severe slump in egg production, and then one day I saw a Raven flying overhead with an egg in it's beak. It took this happening a few times before I put 2 and 2 together.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas on what to look for. If any of my post isn't clear to you feel free to ask questions.

 

[chickers104]

I take it this is your first go around with chickens. I'll try to give you some ideas, and tell you about somethings that I have observed over the years with chicken laying patterns. So not to state the obvious but when the cooler winter months and shorter days come the laying will slow down a lot to the point where you may only see eggs sporadically. Obviously this is summer so light is not an issue. However I have noticed that a change in the weather pattern will affect the quantity of eggs I get. If the weather has been mild and then either switches to rain, or to hot sunshine it'll slow the girls down a fair bit. Those are all things that you really can't control, but are perfectly normal to cause a change in the amount of laying.

Things that could also cause chickens to stop laying that you can control: The protein content of the food you are feeding them can make a difference. I'm not suggesting any sort of a protein additive, but a good quality layer pellet or crumble. The tag on the bag will list a few things including the protein content. Usually something on the order of 14 - 17 is what your looking for. Lower protein will cause a drop in egg production, higher protein will increase production but if you get to high it can cause other health problems. So it's a balance. I say this only because I knew one guy that was new to chickens and was feeding them nothing but scratch and corn. Getting his girls on a good quality layer pellet resolved his egg laying issues and a few other problems they were developing.

Something I think we all hate to talk about is intruders. I'm not talking about predators, I'm talking about rats and mice. If rats and mice are coming into the coop to eat the droppings or the food or to drink water, if bad enough can seriously affect the laying of the chickens and possibly their health. It can sometimes be hard to detect, other times it's easier. If your coop is on the ground look for holes that might indicate digging under or into the walls. Other times they come though cracks, air vents or the chicken door. Also look for changes in the chickens behavior such as they all move to a different part of the roost than they normal roost on. Refusal to go into a certain area of the coop would be another possible sign. I have heard of rats crawling up the walls walking out on the roosts to chew on a chickens foot at night. I'm not trying to be scare you with all of this, but it is very easy to believe that there isn't a rodent problem until the increasing rodent population starts to leave really obvious signs. Personally I think it is a good idea for anyone that owns chickens to be proactive at keeping the rodent population in check.

One last thing to consider is if something big enough to cart off an egg is getting into the coop and steeling the eggs. Ravens, possums and raccoons could do that though raccoons are more likely to go directly after the chicken. If you leave the coop door open in the afternoon so your chickens can free range for a free hours then an animal thieving the eggs is possible. One time I was having a really severe slump in egg production, and then one day I saw a Raven flying overhead with an egg in it's beak. It took this happening a few times before I put 2 and 2 together.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas on what to look for. If any of my post isn't clear to you feel free to ask questions.

Thank you for all the info. They have been getting purina layena pellets which is 16% for protein and they get fresh fruits or veggies almost every day. The coop itself is raised and I've seen no signs of rodents. I've also checked numerous times to see if any predators can get in and there is no sign of anything getting in. They don't free range but have a very large penned in area that I check every day for signs of anything unwanted. It has been very hot in our area for the past week so possibly that's the reason along with the combination of the ones that are just coming out of being broody?

 

[sirrobyn0]

I think it is probably the combination of the bloody ones and the heat. If it were me I'd give them into next week and see what happens. Continue to monitor behaviour and for any possible rodent activity but I'd suspect it's the heat more than anything in my opinion.

 

[aart]

They have been getting purina layena pellets which is 16% for protein and they get fresh fruits or veggies almost every day

Welcome to BYC!
Would you put your location in your profile,
so we know what your climate and season is?
Meanwhile, we'll assume you are in the northern hemisphere where it's summer now.

Lots of fresh fruit and veggies could be decreasing the consumption of the balanced nutrition in the layer feed. Keep those 'treats' to less than 10% of the volume of daily intake of layer feed.

If it's very hot, they may be drinking more water but passing it right thru to shed heat from their bodies, that leaves less water in the system to produce an egg.
Plus the stress of dealing with the heat can decrease laying.

The Cochin may be 'thinking' about going broody.

Lastly...both Marans and Cochins are not stellar layers,
they can lay fewer eggs per week,
and take more 'breaks' during various times of the year.