HELP!!!!!!!!!!! ALL of my hens have stopped laying eggs!

[mayberrymom]

My hens are 2 1/2 years old and laid eggs really good the first year. Last December they all stopped laying eggs and didn't lay a single egg until March. Ever since then, we have been lucky to get even 2 eggs a day from a total of 7 hens and the past week, we have not had one single egg. My husband is ready to invite all of them for dinner. One appears to be molting, but the rest look just like they always did. They have free range of the back yard and their coop is cleaned every other week, just like it always has been. There have been no changes in their lifestyle

or feed. Help!

 

[rosam9899]

Hi there,,,, we are having the same problem, we have 30 hens all around under a year old still Pullets and they have been laying well we get about 25 eggs on average a day. The last three days 27 eggs then 5 eggs and today 1 egg. We use artificial lighting which was working as we are in BC and have used it for at least the last 6 weeks. No sign of them laying anywhere else or eating them. This is a first for us,,, any help is appreciated. This is frustrating as we sell 5 to 10 dozen eggs a week to help with the feed.

 

[hardychant]

Maybe all of these laying issues are related to this virus and the increased price of eggs!
My chicken used to lay huge double yoke eggs, now that she is alone (other clucks have been vics of predators) her eggs are rare and tiny, like quail eggs. Too strange.

 

[rlolivarez]

Hi, I have a small flock of polish. Almost all were juveniles and the gender was not known. They now have been together for almost a year. They consist of 4 roosters and 5 hens at this point. During the summer, I would usually collect anywhere to 2 - 4 eggs a day. In the last 3-4 weeks the egg production dropped off and now I'm not getting any eggs. We live in Central Texas so it has been cold a few days, but not for any extended time. Could it be just because of the shorter days and less daylight? The coop and enclosure also has more shade than sun during this time of year. They are eating well, so looking for any feedback from y'all that are more experienced with chickens!

 

[hytop3]

The short days this time of year causes birds to wait until spring to lay, Dec 21 is the shortest day of the year. This causes the hens to not lay very often it is natural for all birds. If you want to get them back into production put a light on a timer and feed them laying pellets or crumbles. Time lights on at 4AM until 1 hour after daylight. I don't know what to say about the one from Nova Scotia, Canada unless they have more hours of day light during the winter.

I have been around chickens since a child on the farm, I am now 58.
Just wanted to say I have experience.

 

[dolfi]

The short days this time of year causes birds to wait until spring to lay, Dec 21 is the shortest day of the year.  This causes the hens to not lay very often it is natural for all birds.  If you want to get them back into production put a light on a timer and feed them laying pellets or crumbles.  Time lights on at 4AM until 1 hour after daylight.   I don't know what to say about the one from Nova Scotia, Canada unless they have more hours of day light during the winter.

I have been around chickens since a child on the farm, I am now 58.
Just wanted to say I have experience.

Hi hytop3. I don't have the $to get a timer and I know I won't get up so early, can I give them light in the afternoon towards the night? And if so till what time should I do leave the light on. Thank you

 

[hytop3]

Yes you can reverse the process, turn the light on 1 hour before dark and turn off at at a time so chickens can get 8 to 10 hours sleep before daylight. Thank you for the question.
Oh, by the way a timer only cost around 7 dollars to your front door.

here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IKEA-Wa...470917?hash=item3cf41b59c5:g:zosAAOSwD0lUkwHI

You might find it cheaper in other places, who knows, check and see.

 

[gootziecat]

One thing that is often overlooked is pullets are the best layers during the winter. After the first year of laying, you can expect fewer eggs, if any during the shortest daylight months. Of course, there are individuals that are exceptions to this, and some breeds are more prone to lay during the winter than other. I doubt AI has anything to do with the rate of lay this year. Having said that, I have pullet, lights on 14 hrs a day and still most quit laying. Beats me.

 

[hytop3]

Hi hytop3. I don't have the $to get a timer and I know I won't get up so early, can I give them light in the afternoon towards the night? And if so till what time should I do leave the light on. Thank you

Yes you can reverse the process, turn the light on 1 hour before dark and turn off at at a time so chickens can get 8 to 10 hours sleep before daylight. Thank you for the question.
Oh, by the way a timer only cost around 7 dollars to your front door.

here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IKEA-Wa...470917?hash=item3cf41b59c5:g:zosAAOSwD0lUkwHI

You might find it cheaper in other places, who knows, check and see.

Edited by hytop3 - Today at 4:52 pm

 

[hytop3]

Gootz, that's interesting, never had that problem. Only one other time did I hear of it. Years ago when we only had incandecent light bulbs (yes, ok, I'm a dinasour) a neighbor of mine used a 60 watt light to try and keep his hens laying and it wasn't bright enough for the chickens. I suggested he use a 100 watt bulb, he did and it worked, his hens went back to laying.
Today my favorite is the pigtail looking light made to fit into a regular light socket, but only buy the ones that has the word (daylight) on the package, now they are bright.
I don't know how else to help you because other things can cause them to stop laying, age, like more than 2 years, diet change, and a range of other things.