Help! Chickens stopped laying!

[Charlotteandfriends]

Are you sure you don't have predators stealing your eggs? opossum, snake, rat? Can you get a trail camera on your nest boxes to be sure?

We have a lock on our egg hatch and I check for eggs right after they lay so I don't think that's the problem...

 

[Charlotteandfriends]

Chickens have been feeding themselves when free ranging for thousands of years, even before they were domesticated. They lay eggs and hatch and raise chicks. Dad had chickens like that, the only time he purposely fed them was in winter when snow was on the ground. We ate a lot of eggs and chicken meat too. The eggs may not have all been double extra huge but they were decent size and a fair amount of them. The chicks that hatched from those eggs were healthy.

To do that you need quality forage, which you find on a lot of small farms. A variety of grasses and other plants, plants going to seed, bugs, and other creepy crawlies. It can help if you are feeding other animals where they can get to their feed but it is not necessary. I grew up on one of those farms. If all you have is a manicured lawn with nothing but cut grass it will not work. I don't know what your forage looks like but what you are doing doesn't sound that unusual to me.

I don't see anything wrong with 16% Layer feed. As much as yours forage they are going to determine how much total protein they eat anyway. Lots of us feed 16% protein feed and do great.

You say they stopped laying. How well were they laying before they practically stopped?

It sounds like you are keeping them confined at least part of the week. Do you see any change in egg laying when they are confined? If they were hiding a nest (and it is not where they are confined) egg production should go up when they are confined. Sometimes critters can be eating the eggs. Most critters leave evidence behind when they eat eggs, eggshell or wet spots. Are you seeing those? Critters that don't leave evidence in Florida would be snakes, canines, and humans. Snakes tend to eat eggs one day and stay away two or three days while they digest them so if it is steady it isn't likely a snake. Most canines like fox or coyote would probably be more interested in your chickens than the eggs but a dog often will leave the chickens alone and eat eggs. Does a dog have access? A human does not necessarily mean a stranger or a thief. Sometimes it is a family member playing a practical joke.

Another possibility is that they are molting. Are you seeing feathers flying around? I know it is not the normal molting time in the fall but a drop in daylight hours can trigger a molt. That might mean a security light that went out or something like that. Stress like going without water for a couple of days or a predator attack might trigger a molt, either full or partial.

Another one is that some diseases can stop egg laying. If they are acting normal and not showing signs of disease this probably not the cause but I have to mention it.

Another cause of the stopping laying is that they go broody. I can't imagine ten or eleven of yours going broody and you not mentioning it.

I don't know why so many of yours stopped laying. There are a lot of possibilities. I sincerely do not think feed is the culprit. If you kept them confined where they cannot forage and they depend on you for all they eat it would be a different situation.

Thank you thank you thank you for all your time.

We have an acre Inn Florida and it's definitely not a manicured lawn. We have lots and lots of trees and bushy areas that are perfect for all kinds of things to live in. When they are out, they have plenty of places to forage around in and find yummy food.
I switched to 20% protein yesterday as well as some oyster shells for calcium just to see if increased protein helps a bit.
About a month or so ago, they were doing amazing with laying! We were getting 9-11 eggs per day! Before that they were not laying, and now they aren't laying again...
I don't see any difference to when they are out versus when they are in. I also don't think they have found a secret spot to lay because I have my eye on them all day and they aren't showing any signs of wanting to lay.
We have a lock on our egg hatch so it's a very low chance something is taking them. Definitely not a human LoL.
None of them are molting, broody, or sick. I'm pretty sure it has to do with nutrition. Thank you so so much for all your help and time!

 

[rautz]

Im interested to see if the diet/access to layer feed gave positive results, and how long it took before the laying began

 

[Charlotteandfriends]

Im interested to see if the diet/access to layer feed gave positive results, and how long it took before the laying began

Hey! Yes of course! We switched to 20% protein about 2 months ago and laying has improved significantly! We used to feed layer feed but they were not getting enough protein to lay persistently. They started to lay very well about 2 weeks after switching to 20% protein. They free range on my acre when I'm home but also always have access to feed all day. Hope this helped!

 

[Huntmaster]

Hey! Yes of course! We switched to 20% protein about 2 months ago and laying has improved significantly! We used to feed layer feed but they were not getting enough protein to lay persistently. They started to lay very well about 2 weeks after switching to 20% protein. They free range on my acre when I'm home but also always have access to feed all day. Hope this helped!

Glad to hear things picked up with your egg production.

 

[rautz]

Hey! Yes of course! We switched to 20% protein about 2 months ago and laying has improved significantly! We used to feed layer feed but they were not getting enough protein to lay persistently. They started to lay very well about 2 weeks after switching to 20% protein. They free range on my acre when I'm home but also always have access to feed all day. Hope this helped!

Thanks for the update, I'll see if I can increase our hens protein. We have a few 95g cans of tuna which I'll try them on while I try figure out how to make good feed ratio for the girls.

 

[PoppasGrill]

Hey! Yes of course! We switched to 20% protein about 2 months ago and laying has improved significantly! We used to feed layer feed but they were not getting enough protein to lay persistently. They started to lay very well about 2 weeks after switching to 20% protein. They free range on my acre when I'm home but also always have access to feed all day. Hope this helped!

Hey! Yes of course! We switched to 20% protein about 2 months ago and laying has improved significantly! We used to feed layer feed but they were not getting enough protein to lay persistently. They started to lay very well about 2 weeks after switching to 20% protein. They free range on my acre when I'm home but also always have access to feed all day. Hope this helped!

Glad they are being productive for you again.
We are also in N Florida and have noticed a drop in production, but believe it is stress from all the work going on around the coops ( we are enclosing the barn to make a big coop) and have been introducing a new feed pellet, slowly mixing it with their old food, which can effect them laying also.
And the freakin heat !!! We took last weekend off, we fed and watered as usual twice a day, but it was too hot to be out there working. We set their fans up to circulate the air and made sure they had fresh water. We won’t complain if they only layed when they had to, we wouldn’t want to set in those nests and try to squeeze one out in this heat.

 

[Charlotteandfriends]

Glad they are being productive for you again.
We are also in N Florida and have noticed a drop in production, but believe it is stress from all the work going on around the coops ( we are enclosing the barn to make a big coop) and have been introducing a new feed pellet, slowly mixing it with their old food, which can effect them laying also.
And the freakin heat !!! We took last weekend off, we fed and watered as usual twice a day, but it was too hot to be out there working. We set their fans up to circulate the air and made sure they had fresh water. We won’t complain if they only layed when they had to, we wouldn’t want to set in those nests and try to squeeze one out in this heat.

I know it!! The heat down here has been no joke! We had to set out fans for our flock as well.

 

[rautz]

Well we have more hours of sun here in new zealand and after a month of introducing canned tuna our mother hen is back to laying. Her skittish little sister isnt laying yet but hopefully that will change soon.