Help - hen hasn't laid eggs in 1 1/2 weeks?

[Pet Duck Boy]

It's my EE hen, meko, who is usually a great layer. Her behavior is normal, droppings normal, eating normal. Shes does have a touch of fowl pox, and several white raised spots on her feet, that are not bumblefoot and I think they are pox. Mosquitos have been bad this month, despite the cooler weather. Her abdomen feels like it did months ago, is it just the fowl pox that is holding her back?

 

[teach1rusl]

Could be. If she's a spring chicken she's probably not molting, so I would suspect the shorter days combined with her "illness." Do you supplement light?? Any kind of stress (physical or "emotional") can result in an egg boycott. But if she's a mature hen, it could be molting issues.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

She's a spring chick, born late Feb. Yeah, overall egg laying has been reduced thanks to the shorter day-light. I don't supplement light, yet, I'm still getting that set up.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

It's been almost 2-3 weeks now, not an egg from Meko. I have noticed an increase in feather loss from her, though. Mostly tail and wing feathers.

 

[sourland]

The molt, shorter day length, EE are not selected to produce like the production breeds. Sounds like nothing out of the norm.

 

[jjthink]

Her body may need the rest. I do not force egg laying via excess light - their bodies need a rest from this energy intensive activity during the 'shorter' days of the year. She'll likely lay some of the time over the winter but not daily, as she needs the rest. This way her body can get through the hard egg laying work of the longer days of the year. They also need a rest from egg laying during molting. My hen Ellie hasn't laid an egg in a month due to molting. It's normal and it's good (I wouldn't want her to have to endure both!).

JJ