Flock Up and Quits Laying...to a Hen

[TexasTurkeyMama]

Thank you for the sticky post and the links. Our flock was being aggressively hunted by the neighborhood bobcat, so we spent over a month confining the layers, the ducks, and the toy box bantams while we baited for the bobcat. When we never caught anything, and news of another neighbor catching a very clever and obviously well fed bobcat, we quit the confinement operation. It has been three weeks since, and we have not seen a single egg from the layers. They are ~20 cinnamon queens in their second laying season and 3 Easter Eggers in their 4th laying season. We haven't changed the feed or the manner of feeding, we have plenty of water and plenty of nest boxes . We feel like we broke the hens trying to keep them safe from the daylight raids!

 

[aart]

Were they laying while confined?
Stress from confinement coupled with shorter days could be the answer...
...or if they were laying while confined they may now be laying out in range area.

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

Hi and thank you for replying. We will beat the bushes and mow down the tall weeds tomorrow, as well as turn over the deep litter to look for a resident and very happy serpent of the rat snake variety. Prior to catching the bobcat, we kept everything closed until the last 90 minutes of daylight. When they came out many of my hens assumed the sunbathing position. That was my reminder that they were missing their sunshine. 25% are molting their feathers. We had a few eggs during the confinement weeks, but none now. We have added oyster shell and some higher protein to their dinner plates. Water is plentiful and we have had very hot and dry weather.

 

[aart]

So they were confined to a place with no light?
Heat can have an affect on laying too.
If heat makes them less active, with panting and wing lifting, I give electrolytes once a week.
Some of the others may have stopped laying but are not obviously molting.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll go through some generic stuff first.

I assume you are in Texas so north of the equator, plus some of them are molting. The most common reason for hens to stop laying this time of the year is the molt. You cannot always tell a hen is molting by looking at her. Some molt fast and look rough but others molt more slowly and it is just not obvious. At two and four years old I really think it is the molt.

Another common reason you think hens are not laying is that they are hiding a nest. As many as you have and assuming they were laying in the coop I would not expect this to be the sole solution, but it might explain a bit.

Another possible problem is that something is getting the eggs. Most critters will leave some evidence, either egg shells or wet spots in the nest. It's possible the hens can clean up some egg shells but usually not a lot of them. The critters that typically leave no trace are snakes, canines, or humans.

A snake will eat a few eggs, how many depends on its size, then stay away a few days to digest them before it comes back for more. I had a five feet black rat snake take four eggs at a time and visit every three days. If it is every egg every day it is not a snake.

If it were a fox or coyote I'd expect you to be missing chickens, not eggs. But sometimes a dog will eat eggs and not bother the chickens. Does a dog have access?

I'll leave you to think if it could be a human.

So what can you do? I'd lock them up in the coop/run for a couple of days. If you get eggs they are either hiding nests or you locked out an egg eater.

You can take an egg and mark it, then leave it down there. If it disappears them something is getting them.

That's all I can think of. Good luck!

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

There is filtered daylight from the corrugated panels in thecoop's roof.

So they were confined to a place with no light?
Heat can have an affect on laying too.
If heat makes them less active, with panting and wing lifting, I give electrolytes once a week.
Some of the others may have stopped laying but are not obviously molting.

 

[TexasTurkeyMama]

If it's the annual molt plus the heat plus the stress of predators then we have little to do except all the maintenance we need to do anyway, and give it another...week? Two weeks? Month?

 

[slordaz]

If it's the annual molt plus the heat plus the stress of predators then we have little to do except all the maintenance we need to do anyway, and give it another...week? Two weeks? Month?

Molt can take 3-6 weeks, one thing I do when chickens are molting is give them protein treats making sure they don't exceed the 10% of their feed during molt which they seem to love and helps em get through the molt faster and in better moods, they don't seem to mind they don't get em when not molting.

Second, is stress will sometimes cause them to stop laying, I had lost a hen that was brooding her 3 month old chicks still and lost her, one of her chicks and another hen. I had 2 of her best friends that had issues, one went perma broody while refusing to take in eggs or chicks , while the other 6 months later still hadn't laid an egg. Funny thing is had to give up a couple hens to re-home a couple extra heritage cockerel that were on threatened list, and told the guy about their issues, apparently moving location helped them they are laying fools he said 2 days later.

Last one would be there is still a predator or an egg thief about that is stressing them.
if issue continues after they are done molting or you choose, add a game cam. this time of year where I live is when we get the most predators with cold and snow getting ready to start here, but I have a night vision motion detector up for the 2 legged legged egg thieves as well as solar powered motion detected lighting on each side of the coop.

 

[aart]

There is filtered daylight from the corrugated panels in thecoop's roof.

I can't imagine a coop in Texas with no windows...how do you ventilate?

If it's the annual molt plus the heat plus the stress of predators then we have little to do except all the maintenance we need to do anyway, and give it another...week? Two weeks? Month?

Until what?
Molting birds might not lay again until after solstice.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some chickens are fast molters, some are slow molters. That is determined by genetics. It is a factor of how fast the feathers fall out, not how fast they grow back. They can't grow back until they fall out. A fast molter may be over the molt in a month. A slow molter may take five months. Most of our chickens are in between.

Your Cinnamon Queens should be a cross between a New Hampshire rooster and a Silver Laced Wyandotte hen. I don't know where either of those breeds fall on the fast or slow molting. The Easter Eggers could be anything so no help there either. If they are looking pretty ragged they are probably a fairly fast molter. It's the ones that don't look like they are molting that can drag on.

Some hens start laying again when they finish the molt, some may wait for spring. Basically they will start laying when they start, you can't predict it. But it is also usually not as bad as you think it might be.