Flock hasn't laid in 6 months

[csolomon]

Hi - I'm stumped and hoping you smart people can help. I'm a first-time chicken owner. I live in rural place. 4 hens and a rooster roam the big open yard area. They're all 2.5 years old. About 6 months ago, they essentially stopped laying. For past 6 months I get about 1 egg a week -- from ALL of them. Who lays it seems to vary (I can tell based on the color.) Some of the hens seem to have shut off entirely. But the chickens look great. They get a variety of food, and I've mixed it up even for them even more, recently. They are not hiding eggs, nor eating them. (I kept them in the fenced coop area for several days to see if they would 'reset' but it resulted in NO eggs.) This isn't a molting issue. One strange thing: When they are outside, they spend about 90% of their day beneath bushes, as if hiding, no matter the temperature or weather. I wondered if this was a predator issue; there are hawks in the area. But it seems odd that this could shut them off for SO long. Also perhaps only coincidence: This all seemed to begin about the time the rooster arrived. But I don't know what to do with that information. He does seem to keep them under cover, though. Any advice? I'm not particularly attached to these birds, and their charm -- without eggs -- is rapidly wearing thin.

 

[nuthatched]

What is their breeds and diet? When's the last time you got an egg?
2.5 years is about when production slacks off for henapause.

 

[csolomon]

One egg every several days, as I mentioned. Mix of birds: 2 Easter Eggers. One Buff Orpington. I don't know what the 4th is.... I recently opened the coop to find 2 birds sitting in boxes. Yet later found I didn't get eggs from either of them. (New hay and no evidence eggs had been eaten.) Really stumped.

 

[csolomon]

They weren't even 2.5 years old, though. Only 2yo when this began. And it happened to all of them, all at once. Diet is a mix of lots of things: oyster shell. Chicken wheat. Scratch corn. Layer. Black sunflower seed. Kitchen scraps. Some other 3-item feed. Tons of bugs etc in the yard in summer. Their eggs when I do get them seem very healthy.

 

[NatJ]

About 6 months ago, they essentially stopped laying.

What season of the year was that? (USA and Europe were having spring 6 months ago, but Australia was having fall.)

For past 6 months I get about 1 egg a week -- from ALL of them. Who lays it seems to vary (I can tell based on the color.)

I wonder if something is eating the eggs (the chickens, or some other kind of animal.)

One egg in a week, and the next week one egg from a different hen, is definitely not a normal laying pattern.

They are not hiding eggs, nor eating them. (I kept them in the fenced coop area for several days to see if they would 'reset' but it resulted in NO eggs.)

That was a sensible thing to try (and I was going to suggest it, if you had not already tried it.)

Is there any chance of some other person taking the eggs?

Also perhaps only coincidence: This all seemed to begin about the time the rooster arrived. But I don't know what to do with that information. He does seem to keep them under cover, though. Any advice?

Since you say this started around the time you got the rooster, you could try penning up the rooster for a few days, to see if anything changes with the hens (egglaying, or even just changes in behavior.)

If they are always hiding, maybe they are not getting enough to eat? (I'm grasping as straws here, because I can't think of any other good explanations.)

I'm not particularly attached to these birds, and their charm -- without eggs -- is rapidly wearing thin.

Other than checking the time of year, and penning up the rooster or getting rid of him to see what happens next, I can't really think of anything else to try.

They weren't even 2.5 years old, though. Only 2yo when this began. And it happened to all of them, all at once. Diet is a mix of lots of things: oyster shell. Chicken wheat. Scratch corn. Layer. Black sunflower seed. Kitchen scraps. Some other 3-item feed. Tons of bugs etc in the yard in summer. Their eggs when I do get them seem very healthy.

Lack of protein can cause laying issues. One way to check for that would be to get a bag of chick starter or all-flock feed (higher protein than layer), and providing that feed plus water and oyster shell, and nothing else. If that is the problem, it may take a month or more to show much result.

From what else you have said, I can't say whether it would be worth trying a feed change or not. You might be happier if you just get rid of the chickens at this point.

 

[csolomon]

Thank you for these suggestions. This started in the US in Spring, and has gone through the autumn here, now.
I will try penning the rooster.
I believe they have a lot to eat, but again, I'm new at this. There is food lying around for them in a few places.
I have very recently increased the protein in their feed -- adding some cat food, adding soldier meal worms -- in hopes it will help. But I will look into the other suggestion.
Nobody else is taking the eggs.

 

[NatJ]

I have very recently increased the protein in their feed -- adding some cat food, adding soldier meal worms -- in hopes it will help. But I will look into the other suggestion.

Cat food tends to cost more than chicken feed, and mealworms or soldier fly larvae cost a LOT more than chicken feed while also containing a lot of fat.

Chick starter or all-flock feed usually costs a little bit more than layer feed, but it usually has quite a bit more protein (16% protein for layer and 20% protein for chick starter or all flock: but read the label to be sure, because different brands have slightly different numbers.)

So if chickens need more protein, it is usually cheaper and easier to just buy a higher-protein chicken food, rather than trying to buy something different to add protein. (If you have leftovers of something, that can change the matter. For example, if you have leftover food after a cat dies or when a cat develops an allergy, it is cheaper to give that to the chickens rather than buying anything different for the chickens.)

This started in the US in Spring, and has gone through the autumn here, now.

It is fairly common for chickens to stop laying in the autumn, but stopping in the spring is definitely unusual. At this point, even if you figure out the original cause, they may not resume laying until the days get longer (sometime between January and April.)

I will try penning the rooster.

I will be curious to know if anything changes when you do. This is definitely a puzzling situation.

I believe they have a lot to eat, but again, I'm new at this. There is food lying around for them in a few places.

If there is a commmercially-produced complete chicken feed lying around, they probably are getting enough to eat. If the "food" lying around is something like corn and sunflower seeds and table scraps, the chickens might not be getting all the nutrients they need, even if they think their crops are full.

Nobody else is taking the eggs.

That's good. I'm trying to think of all the oddball explanations and check just in case.

I once read of someone who was not getting eggs-- and finally found a very well-fed snake living in the nestboxes of their coop! Once that person removed the snake, they started getting normal numbers of eggs again.