Healthy Easter Egger Stopped Laying

[grcrockett]

Last year about September my husband brought home four hens that a work acquaintance gave to him. He was told they were 18 months old and that because of family illness he just couldn't keep them anymore. We figure they are at least two from conversations my husband had with the work acquaintance since we got the hens and conversations my husband remembers from before. They started laying within a week of arriving and laid 2 times a week for a few weeks. That was more than I expected with the stress of moving. The other hens started laying normal but my easter egger never did. Now my easter egger hen has only laid a few times since then and now it's been 2 months since her last egg. When she lays, her egg shells are very thin and tend to crack before I can get to them. They've had access to egg shells and oyster shells. I know production goes down at 2 but I didn't expect her to just stop. She looks healthy, eats well, and is now my retired free ranger as of 2 weeks ago. She gets into our wheel barrow that holds the hay for our rabbits and sits for a bit and then does her "egg song" as if she's laid but there's never an egg there. Is there a way I can help her to lay again? Or, is this normal for easter eggers?

 

[SueT]

Please tell us what you are feeding them.... and if they are free range.

 

[grcrockett]

I offer rumor layer pellets, once or twice a week cooked oats with wild bird feed. She's completely free range as I mentioned above and doesn't eat very much of the food offered but does eat some at times.

 

[SueT]

There is a possibility with free ranging....hidden nests.

 

[grcrockett]

She's only been free ranging for a couple of weeks. She wasn't laying for a few months before that when she was always in the coop. Now she goes to my wheel barrow that I keep hay in and lays for a few minutes and starts her "egg song" as if she has laid.

 

[aldarita]

I have read that EEs some times take breaks on laying. Mine have done that. I have one right now that is a little over a year old and does what yours do, she lays in the nest for a while, gets out, does the egg song but no egg in the nest. She also has oyster and egg shells available 24/7 eats layer feed and has a big yard to roam around.

 

[grcrockett]

I have read that EEs some times take breaks on laying. Mine have done that. I have one right now that is a little over a year old and does what yours do, she lays in the nest for a while, gets out, does the egg song but no egg in the nest. She also has oyster and egg shells available 24/7 eats layer feed and has a big yard to roam around.

Do the breaks tend to last? It would be nice if she started laying again. Right now she's my free loader, lol. The other hens I got from this guy still let.

 

[aldarita]

It varies, my very first EE took about 4 months break. She was very young when she did it. She was at the bottom of the pecking order and it took her a while to adapt to that. When she resumed laying she only stopped in the winter but went right back to lay early in the spring