Help my chickens stopped laying!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BirdWhisperer28]

Hello there,

recently my bantam started laying on the eggs, then after that my chickens stopped laying and only my bantam (little mo) layed on that then about 5 days later i got no eggs its been about 3 days with no eggs. my farmer part of the family says that chickens lay less eggs in the winter buuut its only October maybee its stress I NEED HEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hello there,

recently my bantam started laying on the eggs, then after that my chickens stopped laying and only my bantam (little mo) layed on that then about 5 days later i got no eggs its been about 3 days with no eggs. my farmer part of the family says that chickens lay less eggs in the winter buuut its only October maybee its stress I NEED HEEELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi there - welcome to BYC!

The two issues are likely not as connected as they seem and more a matter of coincidence. There are several possible causes - knowing a bit more about your birds will help to narrow things.

How old is your flock?
What breed(s) do you have?
Do your birds free range for any part of the day or are they confined 24/7?

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Welcome to BYC!

As well as age and breed, could they be molting? And is there a chance they're trying to go broody? Also depending on where you live, it could just be that time for a slow down. Around here we're at about 1/2 the normal production. It was good, then they molted so there were none, and now with lack of light it's 1/2

 

[Peeps61]

Two of mine have stopped laying. One is obviously molting, and I think the other is about to start. Only my reliable RIR is still producing five to six eggs per week.

 

[BirdWhisperer28]

thanks for responding so fast my flock of 3 is 2 bantams (one rooster) and one Rhode island red we recently lost a grey bantam mix to a coyote. They have a big fenced area to roam around in and on the weekends we let then roam on a big backyard. They are about a year old

 

[BirdWhisperer28]

and they are not molting

 

[BayBay Peepers]

There is a chance the coyote stressed them out. Chickens are pretty sensitive to any kind of environment change and stress like attacks or even running out of food or water. Sorry for your loss

 

[BirdWhisperer28]

Thanks for your condolences, but my chickens stopped laying about a day or two before the coyote came and after i lost that chicken of whom was named thunderbolt,little mo the bantam henwas more active and they are not sick but thanks

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Ok, no coyote, no molting, not sick...I would say it's either because of the lack of daylight hours or they need a more balanced diet. You mentioned your bantam laying on the eggs...is she broody do you mean? She won't lay while she's trying to hatch out chicks.

 

[bhopkins224]

Okay, I read all the information that pertains to the production cycle. I also saw that some recommend adding artificial lighting and some don't. If I choose to allow them to go through a natural lighting schedule, what are the benefits of that? I understand that there will be a reduction in the number of eggs I get, but are there any health benefits for the chickens to follow a seasonal lighting cycle? Also, I have recently (about a week ago) added new hens to my backyard as three of my babies were killed by a racoon leaving our fourth lady alone. They came from a very healthy backyard flock of a friend's mom. They are about 2 1/2 to three years old. It seems to have upset my buff orpington quite a bit because she chose to try and sleep under the tree instead of in the chicken house. It also seems as if the three ladies I got are sticking together and Sweetie Pie is suddenly the odd girl out. Will things start to settle down, or will they not accept her as she is the baby of the group at around eight months old. Please let me know if I can do anything to help them along.