LOOKATTHATSHINE
Chirping
- May 12, 2018
- 27
- 21
- 74
I'll make this as short as possible - I have 6 adult hens who laid regularly all last year. They laid regularly up until a little over 2 months ago when they all just stopped completely - my wife and I suspected a snake and eventually found one in the coop, but after putting some fake eggs out and them remaining untouched we disregarded that idea (and we never saw the snake again after the first time).
Their diet has remained the same for the last two years, and there are only two factors we think that can possibly be the cause of this:
- we brought in 5 new babies about 5 months ago, which are now fully integrated into the coop & with the adults
- we had to quit letting them free range back in the spring due to several hawk attacks (we now let them out and about in a chicken tractor, but no more free ranging)
Other than a light molt that several of them have gone through since the weather has changed they all appear to be perfectly healthy... so what gives? Neither of us have seen any of the girls in or around their lay boxes since they stopped, so we are absolutely clueless...
Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.
***edit: my wife informed it’s actually been 3 months since they went from laying 3-4 per day to zero***
Their diet has remained the same for the last two years, and there are only two factors we think that can possibly be the cause of this:
- we brought in 5 new babies about 5 months ago, which are now fully integrated into the coop & with the adults
- we had to quit letting them free range back in the spring due to several hawk attacks (we now let them out and about in a chicken tractor, but no more free ranging)
Other than a light molt that several of them have gone through since the weather has changed they all appear to be perfectly healthy... so what gives? Neither of us have seen any of the girls in or around their lay boxes since they stopped, so we are absolutely clueless...
Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.
***edit: my wife informed it’s actually been 3 months since they went from laying 3-4 per day to zero***
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