Hens Stopped Laying Eggs

[gdana2]

I have (15) 20 Week old pullets. I know that at least five of them are laying eggs. I got eggs daily from a Rhode Island Red for five days, then nothing for 4 days in a row. I have an Araucana that laid everyother day for a week, then nothing. It has been over a week. It is normal for them to stop laying? Does heat play a factor? I am in MI and the last week the weather has been mid eighties. All chickens are in an enclosed run so they can't be hiding their eggs. Any feedback will be very helpful.

I also have three year and a half old Isa Browns that were purchase over 2 weeks ago. They laid the first three days then nothing. I know that big change in feed or location will bring on a molt but how long will it last?

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Were you guys hit by that really bad wind storm that came through last week (I think it was last week)? maybe it was a storm or something.

Mine get weird when a storm happens - and sometimes it takes a day or two after whatever bothered them for them to actually stop laying.

I was on the phone with a friend up in Sparta when that storm hit - took out his power and blew the door off his barn.

it was a short storm, but pretty intense from what he told me afterwards.

just a guess...

meri

 

[Ridgerunner]

These sites give reasons hens stop laying. You are on site looking at them and will see things we can't. I'd certainly suggest you look through these sites and see if you see something that would explain it. There are people on here better than me at guessing what might be going on, and I'd certainly give some weight to what they are saying, but you will see more than we will.

Virginia Tech – Stopped Laying
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1097/2902-1097.pdf

Florida – Stopped Laying
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS029

When something like this happens, my first guess is that they are hiding the eggs. I imagine you have really looked hard.

My second guess is that you may have an egg eater. That would explain why they suddenly all disappear. You might leave an egg in a nest and see if it disappears.

An egg predator is a possibility, but it sounds like you are missing four or five eggs every day. I'm not sure a daytime predator would be that consistent.

It could be a molt. This site gives information on molting that may help you determine if this is the problem. I know days are getting shorter. You might look at how much daylight you have lost to see if that might be enough to bring on a molt. A molt can last from 1 to 4 months, depending on the chicken. I'm not sure they stop laying the entire molt but they do cut back.

Mississippi State describes molting
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

Stress could be a problem, either heat, if they run out of water, or if they are frightened for some reason. Introducing the new chickens could cause egg production to drop or stop for a few days while they sort out the pecking order.

There are a lot of possible causes. Hope you can figure it out.

 

[gdana2]

Thanks for the replies. We were hit with over 4 inches of rain last week but no wind to speak of. I am thinking it is diet or disease. They are fed a 16% Layer pellet. They get table scrap treats as well as cracked corn. I was thinking of dusting the coop and the birds with Poultry dust just to eliminate lice or mites. The birds are handled alot by children but they are used to that. We do not have a snake problem or predator problem in our area.

 

[gdana2]

I would think that we would see signs of an egg eater. I picked up two eggs in the nesting boxes yesterday that had been there all day and not bothered. There is no other place for them to hide eggs.

 

[DDRanch]

I have noticed my hens will either stop laying or slow down considerably when:

it rains a lot
it's too cold
it's too hot
the flock changes (addition or subtraction)
harassment of predators (found a fox circling the pen one afternoon....didn't even know we had foxes)
someone is broody
someone wants to be broody
someone is thinking about being broody
they just don't want to

Ha.....surprising I get any eggs at all sometimes.

 

[Roni]

Hahaha - that last post has just totally summed up why my for Orpingtons have stopped laying!! It's given me a right old giggle!!

 

[Delta3013]

Heat plays a major factor, it's a 100* here in central Texas and I have not seen an egg in four days from my duck, two from my hens.