few eggs for a long time now

[chattykathy306]

I thought that the decrease in production last spring/summer was due to the possibility of my free-rangers laying eggs in the woods, although we never found any. Well, now they have been in the coop over the winter with a supplemental light and still we either get 1 or nothing daily from 5 hens. They seem healthy and will be 2 years old in July. Any ideas?

 

[PrairieChickens]

At that age and this time of year, the biggest suspect to me would be worms or some other illness or parasite. Even hens that look healthy can be hiding some serious health maladies, and if they do have something going on, it will definitely put a damper on any egg production.

 

[chattykathy306]

What should I do about this?

 

[PrairieChickens]

Well, the first step is to try to diagnose the problem. Observe their droppings for any sign of poor health or nutrition, and consider contacting your vet about analyzing a stool sample if necessary. If their dropping appear to be normal and healthy, odds are you don't have anything to worry about, so that would be where I'd start first. It could yet be that their egg laying hiatus is related to completely harmless factors.

 

[Hooligans7]

Barring any diseases or parasites, if they're all the same age, then they could be in a major molt. Do they have feathers missing? If so, then they're molting, which is necessary to rejuvenate the egg-laying apparatus every 18-24 months. The length of time for a molt varies with breed, as well as the amount of time it takes to resume laying eggs. Ensure they have high-quality layer feed in addition to whatever they find in the yard and woods, and also look for evidence of egg eating (broken, empty shells).

 

[donrae]

I'm thinking molt or just decrease due to winter. I'd think things will pick up here in the next month or so as the days get longer.