do they ever take time off from laying?

[ratlummountain]

for no good reason?

as far as i can tell she's not broody, or going into a molt.

she's almost a year old and has been laying eggs strong since last fall. in fact she's been my best layer, both her and haley have consistently laid 1 egg a day since they started.

i feed crumbles with free choice oyster shell and grit.

about a week ago i noticed she was on the roost early while the others were still running around ~ the sun was still out. seemed odd.
then the next day she seemed to be in slow motion. not lethargic or "drunk", but she'd walk while everyone else ran. and she seemed kind of puffed up.
that night again she was on the roost early.

so late that night i brought her inside and put her in chicken jail, away from the others.

my first thoughts were she was eggbound. i'm fairely positive she hadn't laid an egg in 2 days at that point. her eggs are always a darker color & bigger than the rest, and i hadn't gotten any since 3 days prior.
her poop was watery, not the normal thick mix of gray matter.

the next day i gave her a 20 minute soak in warm water and massaged her belly. she seemd to enjoy her spa but still no egg.

she remained in chicken jail for 3 days will still no eggs. her appetite for food and water was good, and her poop returned to normal.

so on sunday i returned her to the coop, and now 2 days later still no eggs from her. i have caught her on the nest, but she jumps up and comes to see if i've brought any treats.

i've felt her abdomen and can't feel any eggs inside, i've compared her to my other girls and she feels normal.

today she's running around like a maniac like normal.

i have them in an enclosed run and there aren't many places to hide eggs.

i'm baffled, do they ever just take time off from laying?

 

[silkiechicken]

Sometimes they do, espeically if they've been laying hard for so long. I wouldn't worry too much this time, but if she does have episodes like that again, I wonder if she could have begun to be an internal layer.

 

[ratlummountain]

an internal layer !?! what the heck is that?

so far it's been 5 confirmed days and still no egg, but i suspect it's actually 7 days.

she's acting normal now but still no eggs.
i'm not overly concerned, but it wasn't something i was aware they did?
maybe she's reached the end of her egg laying days already? no matter, she'll have a forever home here. gretta has been my favorite since the beginning, she's the sweetest & friendliest.

 

[Laura240sx]

Hello, I am new to the site and chickens. I got two pullets two weekends ago. They were free range chickens before I got them. I let them do that for a couple of days but my dogs just weren't having it. So I put them in their run and the white chicken has only laid one egg in almost two weeks. She seems very stressed since being put in the run but how do I know if she is egg bound? What do I do if she is or maybe she is just upset from all the changes in her life over the past two weeks.
Thank you for the help.

 

[mamaboyd]

We have 13 hens who are almost a year old, they layed eggs regularily, but for the past 2 weeks, we are lucky to get 4 eggs out of them a day. They are eating and drinking fine, and don't seem to be losing many feathers, so I don't know if it's just a mild molting season or what.

Laura240sx, I think it's possible for chickens to stop laying eggs when they have a change in their life, so hopefully your hen will begin to lay again soon!

 

[Laura240sx]

Thank you. I hope you are right. I know very little about chickens and don't want to hurt them while I am learning. I was worried. Thank you.

 

[babyboy1_mom]

Sorry ratlummountain, but it looks like your post got taken over and your question "an internal layer!?! what the heck is that?" did not get answered. I really wish that I could answer that for you, but being a newbie, I do not know and this is the first time that I have heard of such, so I want to know the answer as well.

My posting a reply will keep this post active and maybe a more experienced chickaholic will answer. I will watch your post, so that if they do, then I too will know the answer. I am going to go PM someone and ask. If I find out, then I will post back here and let you know.

Sorry again for your post getting taken away.

Dorothy

 

[mamaboyd]

I did try to answer part of ratummountain's question by saying that my hens are kind of going through the same thing by not laying eggs for days. They are around the same age, and have been laying steady since the November 2007, so it might be a mild case of molting that her hen is going through.I haven't a clue as to what internal laying is so I am interested into seeing what others have to say.

 

[mamaboyd]

Maybe this link will help???
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=40165

 

[babyboy1_mom]

http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfilel=htm/bc/502807.htm

Go to the above link and type in "internal layer."

Hope this helps.

Dorothy