I'm having an identical problem, and ask for ideas... Here's my situation:
I have three young hens, all light Brahmas that were born March, 2018. They began laying in late August, and have been laying fine until about 1.5 weeks ago. We live in SE Wisconsin, so I have a light in their coop that increases the amount of light/day.
We made some minor changes recently. I have their small coop inside a 12'x12' kennel, and I added 1/2" hardware cloth to ensure predators didn't have access. Before adding the hardware cloth, we would have to manually move the hens into the coop at night and close the door. After securing the kennel, we just allow them to roam day/night since it's secure. It was shortly after that, they stopped laying!
We feed them standard layer feed from our local farm supply store, and they always have heated, fresh water, so it doesn't freeze. They get a couple handfuls of unsalted popcorn each day, but have gotten that for months.
After a week of no eggs, we resumed moving them into their closed coop at night. We've been doing that for nearly a week now, and still no eggs! It's been about two weeks since their last egg.
The ladies look healthy, and I haven't noticed any symptoms of sickness or anything. They are too young for molting, and everything I've read about the breed says they should lay fine over the winter, especially with extra light.
If I don't see anything in another week, I'll try and contact our (dog's) vet, since I'll have vacation to use up at the end of the year.
Does anyone have any ideas? This is my first flock ever, and the fresh eggs have been fantastic for Christmas cookies, but I'm going to run out soon if they don't resume .
Please let me know if you have any questions for me, or any ideas. It has been colder than normal here this year, but the coop is lined with shavings, and I have a full bale of hay on the kennel floor.
Thanks in advance.
Shelly
