Help, My chicken stopped laying 3 months ago and I don't know why

[shilah]

I have an 11month old delaware hen, she has not laid a single egg in 3 months, she is not molting, is very healthy, talkative, spunky and is a great eater. I have her on non gmo layer mash, she free roams my yard most of the day so I thought maybe she was laying her eggs elsewhere, but I have inspected every nook and cranny of my yard and not a single egg. She squats when I go to pet her, has the waddle of an egg layer but no eggs. She even sings the egg song when my other chicken is laying an egg. Any ideas why my beautiful girl is not laying? Any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[sbhkma]

Have you tried keeping her cooped for a few days? Unless you have a small yard, it could be quite possible that she HAS found the "perfect super sekrut spot" to lay her eggs and keep the egg-stealing human away from her clutch.

I know someone who had my son bring his hunting dog over to try to find the eggs he couldn't (that dog can hunt anything!). The dog found a nest of over 20 eggs.

Other ideas.. you sure she's not molting? From my understanding, some birds have a pretty "quiet" molt and you many only notice a few feathers here and there. What color is her comb and lobes? red, pinkish or creamy pale? Does she have free choice oyster shell or other calcium source? It sure sounds like she's laying from your description of her actions.

 

[shilah]

Thanks for the response. On the molting, I think I have found maybe 3 feathers from her in the last month, so don't think it's molting. Her comb is bright red, she has free choice oyster shells in her mash. I just started to add a bit of cayenne to her treats (something I read somewhere mentioned cayenne to get your chicken laying). I may have to send my kids for an egg hunt of the yard and may try keeping her penned up for a day or two to see if she is laying. Thanks so much for the advice.

 

[sbhkma]

She's lovely! Let us know if you find a hidden cache of eggs! I'd try to pen her for a couple of days to see if she's laying and also to try to remind her it's ok to lay in the nest box.

 

[shilah]

Ok will do and I'll let you know in a couple days if she lays in the hen house. When chickens lay eggs in the backyard, do they tend to cover them with brush? My yard it pretty darn manicured and is mainly grass, not a lot of places she could hide eggs. I'll do another sweep with the kids.

 

[shilah]

Oh and even if she never lays an egg again, she's still a keeper, such a social loving girl. My kids named her Angel because she's snowy white with flecks of light yellow in her feathers.

 

[shilah]

So I cooped her up for a day, no egg and this morning I let her free range and sure enough she went in the coop and laid her first egg in the nesting box, I also left an egg in the nesting box from my other chicken to make it very clear where eggs are to be laid thanks for all the help. Yay

 

[sbhkma]

Awesome! Glad it worked itself out so easily for you.

 

[shilah]