Hens stop laying! Whats up??

[pagermo60]

I have 6 English Batams,they are just 3 years old this summer and if i'm lucky i get 1 egg a day! For the past 2 days i have gotten NOTHING!!! I live in MO. and it's not really to hot for the past week or so. I have had them since they were babies and can't figure out what is going on! I also have 2 roosters with them,can anyone help me please?? Thanks

 

[Enslaved-by-Ducks]

Could be snakes getting the eggs. I had a 4ft. snake in my coop the other day who had swallowed three large duck eggs. I didn't kill him, just captured him and in the river he went. I think the heat also plays a part in laying and I believe the chickens will preserve their energy to stay cool rather than lay. I have 8 hens and get 1-2 eggs a day as well. My hens are about 5 years old and they do stop laying the older they get....I may have no eggs very soon I'm afraid. Could also be the chickens are eating them. Mine love their eggs and will eat them sometimes. The thing is that they don't leave a trace........silly buggers...

 

[Karen09]

It could be that because they are 3 years old, their laying has slowed down. I have had 2 days of very few eggs and I have more chickens plus ducks. Mine are between 1 to 2 years old so maybe it was just the past few days. I got 6 today and I have 6 one year olds and some just starting to lay.

 

[Judy]

If it's relatively sudden, I'd guess snake, or perhaps skunk or other critter that likes eggs.

 

[pagermo60]

Thanks all...........i did find a big garder snake by there pen a couple of days ago,caught him and took him to the woods and let him go. Do garder snake eat eggs? I know black snakes do. My pen is built like fort knox no critter is getting in there,except maybe a snake! i sure hope one is not eating the eggs,chicken i mean. How can u tell if one of them is eating there eggs (chicken)?

 

[poseygrace]

I was suspicious of a snake eating the eggs, so I went and bought some at the store and put them in the box, so I would know how many I had. I left them three days and nothing ate them, which leads me to the conclusion that either:

1) There was no snake problem; or
2) Snakes don't like store-bought eggs.

 

[Enslaved-by-Ducks]

You just answered your own question and I'm 110 % sure your gardner snake is eating your eggs. Yes they do eat eggs and once they know where to get them, they will return time and time again...snakes can squeeze through the smallest holes. If you caught a snake in your pen, regardless of what kind it was, they are eating your eggs, not your chickens...they could care less about chickens and wont attack them.... and they could care less if the eggs are store bought or not......I don't kill my snakes because they hunt for mice and the mice like to eat the chicken food and build nests in the straw....Hooray for snakes but a bummer for the eggs........sorry, I hope others will agree.

And-snakes don't return the same time each visit. you may go weeks without seeing one. FYI