chickens not laying

[arkansasborn21]

I have 85 chickens and I have only been getting 1 egg for the past month but today I got 2, they all just stopped at the same time can anyone tell me what happened

 

[fowler_chick]

mine are the same, i was getting a few eggs a day and then they stopped.......my husband say it's due to the cold weather, but i have buffs that are supose to lay through the winter!!...

 

[FortWorthChicks]

cold weather and not enough light.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Wow, 85 chickens and only 1 or 2 eggs. That seems strange. How old are they? Have they experienced any sudden change or stress lately?

Also, how often do you check for eggs? Is it possible you have some egg-eaters in there?

 

[arkansasborn21]

They range from 11 months to 1 1/2 years old and the only stress I can think of is the freak cold spell we had but I was getting the same amount of eggs before that and I check for eggs 4 to 5 times a day

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well, their age doesn't seem to be an issue. i'm stumped. Must just be the weather and lack of light.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might look through these sites to see if you see anything in them that would match your situation. Without knowing anything more than I do, my guess is that they are molting and not getting enough hours of light, but you know a whole lot more about them than I do.

Virginia Tech – Stopped Laying
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1097/2902-1097.pdf

Florida – Stopped Laying –
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/ps/ps02900.pdf

 

[Gonzo]

The cold weather is probally the problem. What breeds do you have? Some breeds stop in the winter, while other breeds lay regardless. I have a good mix of breeds, and was getting 18 eggs (20 hens) per day. When we got this bad cold spell a few weeks back I think I got maybe 2 or 3 eggs. Since its a little above freezing, I've been getting 7 to 10 a day. I would'nt stress it. They're probally not laying due to the cold and lack of light. I think 14 hours of light a day is ideal for them. I might try giving them more light by artifical means and see if that works...

Good Luck!