HELP! My EE isn't laying anymore :(

[SoCal ChickaD]

Help... My EE isn't laying anymore. Laverne is 9 months old and laid about every 2-3 days or so. She did have some issues with rubber eggs in the beginning. She hasn't laid in over a month now. She looks and acts very healthy and isn't molting. Any suggestions would be great!!

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

How old was she when she started laying?

 

[SoCal ChickaD]

Thank you for your response! She was about 6 months old. I also have a Plymouth Barred Rock who is the same age. She started laying about 3-4 weeks before my EE. She is a daily layer with no issues...

 

[TaylorHobbyFarms]

If she laid for three months, it's possible that she has hit a rest in her laying cycle. In my experience, some hens can take a two month rest between cycles. Different breeds of chickens can vary with this, so I wouldn't be too concerned yet. Just make sure she is getting good feed and maybe step up the protein if she goes into a moult. This will speed the process along and help her get back to laying.

 

[sekeyslaks]

Maybe she ran out of calcium too?although that's rare,chickens can take calcium from their bones if they have to!I would give her some oyster shells.

 

[SoCal ChickaD]

Thank you both for the responses! I do give my girls a supplement in their feed. My other girl lays perfect eggs every day. Hopefully she'll start laying again soon. Other than that she's a great gal. Thanks again, much appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Yes, try not to worry! As long as your little girl seems healthy, she's probably just taking a sabbatical. I have a Cochin who lays for a couple months regularly, then takes three months off, then resumes laying. It's just her individual style, if you will.

It wouldn't hurt, though, to keep an eye on her poop to make sure she isn't succumbing to an infection. One of the signs of an infection would be scant, slightly greenish, watery poop and lack of appetite. As long as the poop is normal and her behavior is normal, then you could safely assume she's just taking, what I'm sure she believes is, a well-deserved vacation from her duties.

 

[SoCal ChickaD]

Thank you so much! Hopefully her little vacay is only temporary. I sure do miss her green eggs!

 

[Frozen]

Yes, try not to worry! As long as your little girl seems healthy, she's probably just taking a sabbatical. I have a Cochin who lays for a couple months regularly, then takes three months off, then resumes laying. It's just her individual style, if you will.

It wouldn't hurt, though, to keep an eye on her poop to make sure she isn't succumbing to an infection. One of the signs of an infection would be scant, slightly greenish, watery poop and lack of appetite. As long as the poop is normal and her behavior is normal, then you could safely assume she's just taking, what I'm sure she believes is, a well-deserved vacation from her duties.

One of mine is broody and the other one seems to be taking the sabbattical.

If they have an infection as you mentioned what do you do about it ? What is it called? I notice that sometimes the poop is watery and greenish. I sometimes put a drop of hydrogen peroxide in the water for infections.

 

[azygous]

If you see your hen has stopped laying, is moping around with her tail held down, and not eating much and losing weight, and has greenish, watery poop, she may have an infection. It can be caused by any number of things, but you treat them the same - a round of antibiotics for ten days. And pray.

Recently I had to treat a hen of mine with these exact symptoms, and she's slowly improving, but not out of the woods yet by any means. Sometimes a hen will develop egg peritonitis, and there really isn't much you can do. Trying to diagnose a chicken as to what illness they might have is not something most of us are capable of doing. Only a poultry vet could figure out the many things that can make a chicken sick. The rest of us can only make guesses.