Help, Chickens stopped laying

[wag1964]

I have read every post on chickens not laying and I do not see my situation.

We have 11 hens and 1 rooster.
2 hens and the rooster are at about 8 months so I count them out.
1 hen is 2 years and the rest are between 14 and 20 months.
1 Americuana, 2 white (not sure the type), 1 RIR, 1 wyndotte, rest are buffs or half-buff.

30 days ago, they ALL stopped laying. I did notice that some molting was happening, but not to all of them and it has been over for more than 2 weeks.
My neighbor has 6 chickens and he is getting 4-5 eggs per day.
They aren't even going into the laying boxes.
I cleaned and changed the coop hay.
Cleaned and changed the laying box hay.

No signs of any mites or other.

Any help out there?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Most adult birds will stop laying to molt, which can take months. Most of mine stopped by October last year and most haven't resumed yet. So you haven't seen a molt before now?

Production drops off yearly. Your best production will be seen during the first and second season. Each year they will lay less.

 

[aart]

Do you free range?

 

[wag1964]

Here is more information than you asked for but more is better, right?

Yes, the 12 have three spaces that sort of cycle through. During the winter months, they have access to all three. The main area they are in all the time (60x40). The other two we close off and swap out about once a month or so. They are 20x20 with lots of edible foliage. We plant things for them here. The other is roughly 20x100. It is the alley behind our house. It only has trees and shrubs growing along the edge. But has plenty of spaces for them to scratch and find various things to eat. All three yards are shaded, so they don't get a lot of direct sun. All 12 huddle in one corner of the main yard most of the day. Lounging about, sun and dust bathing.

Food - We provide them pellets 24x7 and boy have they been eating. If I was to guess, about 25lbs in the last 3 or 4 weeks. Maybe more. We don't normally keep track. But it has been enough that we noticed. We throw out a handful of scratch a day. We take out our scraps and put in a compost bin daily. They have access to the compost bins as well.

I am in Fort Worth, and it has been especially cold this year. We had a couple of days dropped down into the teens. Not something we see that often and certainly the coldest these birds have ever seen.

We were getting 7-9 eggs daily during the end of the summer months, so I know all but the two younger hens were laying regularly.

Our chickens and our neighbors share a fence. If there were any parasites causing it, I would think they would be infected as well. His 6 give him 4-5 eggs a day even now, during the winter. We thought we would get "some" eggs from at least one hen. But they aren't even going into the laying boxes at all. I locked them in the coop one day for 6-8 hours, 2 weeks ago, to see if maybe they were laying elsewhere and we hadn't found the nest. No eggs in the coop.

We have one hen that has a broken beak. We think she can't groom herself well and the scales on her feet stand up. We have covered her with DE multiple times and no change in her scales. She has been this way for as long as we have had her. None of the other birds have scales standing up on their legs. We have covered the coop in DE every three or four days over a 14 day period to be sure nothing in there was causing it.

I am hoping this is molting. Please tell me this is molting.

 

[aart]

What is the protein percentage of the pellets?
Should be on tag sewn into bottom of bag.

The ones between 14-20 months could be molting as well as the older hen.
You'd have to observe and examine them for new pin feathers growing in to know for sure, they could be done molting but not ready to start laying again yet.

How big is coop, in feet by feet?
The scaly legs is probably scaly leg mites,
DE will do nothing to get rid of them...or much else.

If they range in large spaces they could be laying out in those areas too.
Here's away to tell:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

If they do appear to be laying after the exam in link above, then:
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If it seems like your birds are suddenly consuming more feed than normal, than generally it means you have vermin of some type. Rats will clean out my feeders pretty quick, it's one way I know it's time to put out more poison.

 

[wag1964]

aart - I know several of the hens had new feathers coming in 2 or 3 months ago (could have been 1 month ago, not sure). But we were getting eggs then.
Of the 11 hens, 9 were laying all summer and into the winter months. We were getting 7-9 eggs per day. I know they are all of laying age.
The coop is next to a shed. It is 3' wide and 12' long. They are only in here to roost. Once the door is open, they only return to feed on the Purina Layena pellets (16% protein). We lock them up and let them out everyday. The main yard is 60x40 or so.
If the one hen had scaly leg mites, wouldn't the others as well? We did try a pesticide on her feet once, more than 3 months ago. We didn't see any difference. We haven't tried again, other than DE, we don't like to use chemicals unless we have to.
They aren't laying elsewhere. We know this. We kept them in the main yard for 5 days or more, no eggs. We also checked all the nooks and cranny's in both other places they can range. By now, we would be smelling them! Or see signs of egg shells. Or see the hens sitting somewhere. I am home and frequent the area counting birds each time I pass by (up to 10 times a day or more). All 12 are insight everytime I go by.
They all were looking pretty shabby before this all started. And they all look very sharp, fat, and healthy at this time.
If there is anything I could specifically look for, I would appreciate any suggestions. After a month of ZERO eggs, I am worried.

 

[wag1964]

oldhenlikesdogs - I am going to put a wifi camera in the coop to check for rats eating the food, this seems to be the easiest method to prove or disprove this theory. Might tell me if something else is around that could be stressing them out.

 

[aart]

I think they are just recovering from molting and/or winter break.
Might help to up their protein.
No one gets many eggs over the winter from birds older than a year.
It's just part of keeping chickens...as @Blooie sez: "they ain't pez dispensers!"