Chickens stopped laying hay/straw suspect?

[cardgunner]

We got 6 new chicks last year in May. It took them until winter to start laying. I'm in NY. But now they ALL stopped. It has been over 2 weeks and not a single egg. I introduced hay/straw (Can't remember what I bought from TSC) to the run. It was getting so muddy I wanted to do something to clean up the run. That was maybe 6 weeks ago. Could that have done something? Otherwise they are very healthy.

Thanks in Advance.
Cardgunner

 

[aart]

Might they have made a nest in the hay/straw and eggs are out of sight?

 

[cardgunner]

Thank you for the reply. No. The run is very open and no nesting areas.

 

[Acre4Me]

Thank you for the reply. No. The run is very open and no nesting areas.

Sometimes, even in nest boxes with straw, it can be hard to find eggs. So, if the straw is sparse/not a thick layer, then you can probably see that there are not eggs. But, if they kick it around/pile it up or there is a lot of it, you may not see a hidden nest or some eggs.

Light: has it been really overcast? We’ve experienced a lack of eggs one year when it was really overcast for weeks.

Comb/wattles color: if they are red, they are likely laying…or getting ready to start again. If lighter color/pale, then they are not likely to be laying.

Water: fresh cool water. If you provide additive water (like ACV or electrolyte water) then you should have an additional plain water source. If there is only one waterer, you should have 2. If they do not drink enough, then egg production stops/slows. In summer when mine hide in the shade and drink enough water to just exist, they slow down laying. I combat this by giving them wet feed with ice cubes that will melt. This way they eat and hydrate at same time and think I’m awesome for bringing them a “treat”. Maybe watered down feed “treat” will help.

Too many treats: if you provide layer feed, it is bare minimum nutrients. If you give them treats, it dilutes those nutrients. Cut out treats. Or, buy an all-flock, typically 20% protein, and oyster shell (the all-flock doesn’t have enough calcium for layers), and see if that helps.

Molt: if they have decided to molt now (unusual, but could happen), they stop laying an energy goes into making feathers. Feathers are mostly protein, so increasing protein helps. Ways to increase protein during molt- switch to all flock, provide cooked meat (watch the salt, unsalted is best) including fish. Meslworms are really just meant to be occasional treats- they are high in fat, so should not make up the extra protein.

 

[Yardmom]

We tend to hear about chickens who have not laid during the winter and are now beginning to lay again. Your birds are not in this category. They have been laying during the winter. It may be that they are do for a bit of a break. All chickens take breaks in the laying cycle.
Being the eggs seemed to stop with the straw, checking to make sure they don't have new nests as well.

 

[Daniel Grey]

Is the run covered or uncovered? If uncovered, I have read something about mould spores being bad for chickens - the straw could be getting mouldy from rain/ mist/ precipitation. Although, this is unlikely so don't suddenly stress out because I am a bit of a negative thinker sometimes!

 

[aart]

Yes, knowing what all and how exactly you are feeding might help here.
Do you have other older birds?
Might be good to do a vent check:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Loving my girls]

Hi there hun,
I used to use straw and my hens got lice (the warmth of the straw encourages mice and lice - that’s my opinion only of course, I know many use straw with no problems) Anyway I digress … The lice look like white cotton buds at their vent. Easy to see they are literally white fluffy looking balls at the end of their vent feathers.
Pretty icky actually
They drink the blood inside the quills of the feathers and eventually cause a type of anaemia which, in turn if not caught early, can cause a hen to stop laying.
It’s more likely they are laying elsewhere but it’s worth a quick check.
Hugz

 

[cubalaya]

We got 6 new chicks last year in May. It took them until winter to start laying. I'm in NY. But now they ALL stopped. It has been over 2 weeks and not a single egg. I introduced hay/straw (Can't remember what I bought from TSC) to the run. It was getting so muddy I wanted to do something to clean up the run. That was maybe 6 weeks ago. Could that have done something? Otherwise they are very healthy.

Thanks in Advance.
Cardgunner

no

 

[Ridgerunner]

I introduced hay/straw (Can't remember what I bought from TSC) to the run. It was getting so muddy I wanted to do something to clean up the run. That was maybe 6 weeks ago. Could that have done something?

Have you had a change in lighting? If they had extra lighting and it was shortened then they think the days are getting shorter so it is time to stop laying and probably molt. This could be lighting you provided on purpose or something as simple as a security light bulb blowing out. This is a common reason for all or most of them to stop laying.

Them hiding a nest is a very common reason for people to think they have stopped laying.

Has an egg eating predator shown up? Many critters that eat eggs leave signs behind, like eggshells or wet spots, but some take the whole egg. Snakes leave no signs but they typically eat a few and then disappear for a couple of days to digest them before coming back for more. So if it is every day it is likely not a snake. Canines like fox or coyote swallow them whole but would more likely to go after your hens so not likely one of these. But a dog can leave the chickens alone and eat eggs. Does a dog have access?

Humans take whole eggs too. This does not necessarily have to be a stranger, some people think something like this is a fun practical joke.

So what can you do? If your chickens free range or roam in a large run you might try locking them into a smaller space for a while, if you have room. This might stop hens that are hiding a nest and force them to lay where you can see the eggs or you might lock out an egg eating predator.

You can discretely mark an egg or two and leave it down there. If it disappears you know something is getting the eggs.

Good luck with it. Stuff like this can be really frustrating. Sometimes it is normal for them to take a break but sometimes something else is going on. Not know is the hardest part.