Do I have a dud?

[isa andy]

Hey all! My problem is this... I have three hens, a road island red, a Plymouth Rock, and my beloved isa brown. I feed them a quality high protein pellet with the occasional treat here and there and of course good fresh water everyday . My rock and red give me nice big eggs almost everyday. My isa on the other hand, nothing! Now she was my first layer (3 weeks before the other two,) but about 3 weeks ago she just stopped. Haven't seen an egg since. I don't think it's their diet, she eats well and does not appear sick. Is she just a dud of a hen?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How old is she? Those older than a year will quit to molt. Have you checked for hidden nests? Many hens will take breaks from laying, but usually not a sex link type like yours but perhaps she has.

 

[Shezadandy]

One of our hens sporadically quit in the middle of summer for at least 3 full weeks. Our coop is in deep shade under fir trees, so without the lights on, it's pretty dark, and the lights are only on in the evening until sunset. Originally we set our auto door to open at 9:30am for chicken noise reasons, but because things were going well with our roosters and the no crow collars, I changed it to 8:30. Darned if she didn't lay an egg the very next day and kept on going. Then she went 3-4 days without laying again so I changed the door to 7:30 and she started right back up the next day. Might be worth trying light in the coop for a few days to see if that is her issue. I'm all for letting them take a break as nature intends- but it's a simple thing to try to rule it in or out. Usually I think people add daylight in the morning hours- click around other threads but I believe 14 hours is the minimum they want.