Crevecour Not Laying

[urbanchickenadventure]

My lovely girl, Katya, is being stubborn. She was broody for about 2 months, then started to molt. During the end of her molt she laid two eggs and then hasn't laid again since. It's been about 2 months since the last egg from her and I'm just at a loss. She's just over 2 years old and eating exactly what our laying girls are eating. Any advice or insight? Do chickens just become "duds" sometimes?
Thanks in advance!

Side note: if she is a so-called dud, she just won't be bred. We'll keep her regardless. She's good for the morale of our other ladies.

 

[STACEYH]

Most hens take a break during winter months. The short daylights effect them. At most this breeds lays 120 eggs a year.

 

[McChooky]

With what little info you've given its impossible to guess-estimate the cause of her not laying. It might help if we knew what other breeds shes kept with as they're docile birds. They need to be kept with other docile birds. Aggressive breeds bully them.Do you have more like her for companionship ?

 

[urbanchickenadventure]

With what little info you've given its impossible to guess-estimate the cause of her not laying. It might help if we knew what other breeds shes kept with as they're docile birds. They need to be kept with other docile birds. Aggressive breeds bully them.Do you have more like her for companionship ?

Unfortunately the other crevecour has passed. The other breeds are a porcelain leg horn and 4 autralorpes. She's queen-bee, and enjoys spending time with the porcelain and one of the australorpes (they've been together the longest). She's always been the slowest growing and most particular bird of the bunch, being less social to us humans but totally fine with our other hens. She is always right at the top of the pecking order, second only to the leg horn. And even then, they coexist very peacefully. All the australorps are the least dominant.

 

[urbanchickenadventure]

Most hens take a break during winter months. The short daylights effect them. At most this breeds lays 120 eggs a year.

She definitely lays the least of my girls. This past winter she didn't stop laying at all, just less frequently.

 

[McChooky]

She definitely lays the least of my girls. This past winter she didn't stop laying at all, just less frequently.

Perhaps you can get another one and breed them since the other one has passed now? They do prefer companions I read. I considered getting some myself but our winters are too cold and cloudy. They were raised as meat birds originally.

 

[McChooky]

You might have an egg eater.

 

[urbanchickenadventure]

You might have an egg eater.

That hadn't occurred to me. All the other eggs are left alone, and there's never any shell bits in the nesting boxes.

 

[Mrs. K]

She may start up again in the spring. I am getting 0 eggs right now, was hoping a pullet would step into the breach, but so far nothing. I see an uptick in eggs in mid January and good laying in February. I live in the Great Plains. A lot depends on the sunlight you get.

 

[urbanchickenadventure]

She may start up again in the spring. I am getting 0 eggs right now, was hoping a pullet would step into the breach, but so far nothing. I see an uptick in eggs in mid January and good laying in February. I live in the Great Plains. A lot depends on the sunlight you get.

I'm in the Denver area, so we get a lot of sunshine. All my other girls, aside from one molting hen, are laying. But the egg uptick you described sounds about right to what I saw last winter. Thanks for the input!