Help. No eggs for weeks now

[Socalchef00]

Ok all, I have a very small flock of 4 hens. As of a month ago, I was getting between 2 and 3 eggs a day from them.

All of a sudden they all stopped. I havent gotten a single egg in almost a month.
I k ow egg production slows in the winter, but to completely stop all together?
Anyone else have this problem?

 

[ejcrist]

Ok all, I have a very small flock of 4 hens. As of a month ago, I was getting between 2 and 3 eggs a day from them.

All of a sudden they all stopped. I havent gotten a single egg in almost a month.
I k ow egg production slows in the winter, but to completely stop all together?
Anyone else have this problem?

What breed(s) do you have? Some breeds pretty much stop when the days get short (EE's) while others don't miss a beat (Leghorns). Are they molting? Has there been any stressors such as predators hanging around or parasites? Any stressor can result in stopping production temporarily.

 

[Socalchef00]

To be quite honest I'm not exactly sure.
I know 2 are :
Plymouth Rock
Road Island Red

And the other 2 not sure.
One is pure white
The other is a smaller multi color.

No predators have been around.
The road island and the white both molted, but well after the egg laying stopped.

 

[ejcrist]

To be quite honest I'm not exactly sure.
I know 2 are :
Plymouth Rock
Road Island Red

And the other 2 not sure.
One is pure white
The other is a smaller multi color.

No predators have been around.
The road island and the white both molted, but well after the egg laying stopped.

I'd check them over for parasites just to be sure, and as long as they aren't displaying any signs of illness I wouldn't worry about it. My egg production from my Barred Rocks is probably 20% of what I was getting during spring-summer-fall, and only my Leghorns are producing at capacity (7-9 eggs from 9 Leghorns daily). Personally I think it's good to let the hens rest during the down season - I believe they last longer that way. I've only had the Leghorns for a year and I plan to cull them as soon as production starts dropping because it's all downhill after that. I have SOP dual purpose birds (Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds) that lay a little less than my hatchery Barred Rocks but they're known to live productive lives for many years. Just my opinion, but I think a chicken has only so many eggs they can lay in a lifetime before they retire. I'm sure yours will start producing again as soon as the days begin to get longer. Going forward, if you want eggs during the short days of winter you might want to consider one of the Mediterranean breeds like Leghorns, Andalusian's, or Minorca's for white eggs or Sex Links or Production Reds for brown eggs.Otherwise you could always just get more chickens - that's been my policy.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

another factor can be their age. I had a flock that was 3 yr old and when winter came the eggs shutdown for months when they started to molt. I had not had this problem when they were younger. The flock was Wyandottes which I"ve heard are good winter layers, which they were until that year. I just assumed it was their age.

So I've changed my flock rotation so that my birds are culled after their 2nd full summer of laying. I'm getting new chicks each spring now so I have the pullets keep laying lightly through the winter while the older adults shutdown for molting. So far the new system seems to be working ok.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

They would stop laying eggs before going into molt or as you put it molter after they quit laying. Most won't start again until the daylight gets longer if they aren't first year pullets (which shouldn't molt)

What do you feed? Provide extra light?

Predators can be around with out you seeing them.

During molt, I would switch from layer to something with more protein and less calcium. Because feathers are 90% protein it will help them to recover faster. And they don't need all the extra calcium, it could even cause kidney issues long term.

 

[aart]

Ok all, I have a very small flock of 4 hens. As of a month ago, I was getting between 2 and 3 eggs a day from them.

All of a sudden they all stopped. I havent gotten a single egg in almost a month.
I k ow egg production slows in the winter, but to completely stop all together?
Anyone else have this problem?

Do they free range?

Age, feed, and light are good questions too.

And water, do you monitor their water consumption?