How long until you worry about no eggs?

[suzyQlou]

Suppose you have a couple one-year-old hens who have stopped laying. They seem healthy, and not much has changed in the lives of your chicken. How long to you relax and let nature take its course before you start worrying about them?

 

[HEChicken]

Any possibility they are laying in a hidden nest? Molting?

 

[suzyQlou]

I don't think they have enough space for a hidden nest. They free range some afternoons when I'm out gardening, but that's not every day. I only have 4 hens, so the coop is small. Their "run" right now is my empty vegetable garden. It's a pretty boring, open space.

Molting? They seem like the right age for it, but their feathers don't look any different. This is my first batch of chickens, so It's possible I don't recognize it.

I was surprised that there was no slow-down in laying over the winter. Now that it's Spring, I figured maybe they're just catching a break since they didn't take one over the winter? I thought I'd ride it out for a while. Now I'm not sure if being relaxed is the right choice

I used to gather four eggs almost every day from my four hens. I've been missing a white egg for over a month and a cream-colored egg for three weeks. I know exactly which hen lays the cream-colored egg, but two hens lay white.

In the interest of full disclosure, the cream-colored egg had developed a soft spot before it stopped altogether. Some mornings, I had found it dropped from the roost. This had happened to me in the fall after a stressful incident, so it didn't phase me too much. I began mixing some oyster shell into their layer crumbles instead of just offering it on the side. I did catch the cream-colored egg hen with a yolk-y head one day, so I know she was eating the soft-spot eggs. But she always left a mess for me to clean up. Now there's no mess. Just no cream-colored egg.

I guess this question comes up all the time. I probably just need more patience.

 

[HEChicken]

Egg eating certainly is another option - perhaps they've just got better at it and don't leave evidence any more. An easy way to check for this is to put an egg (store bought if necessary) in the nest and leave it for a day. If it disappears....

(unless there is another predator eating the eggs - some snakes eat them).

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

There are several reasons for no eggs that just amount to no eggs that you can find. I have a Sebright who has changed her laying spot on me 3 times in less than that many months. I haven't seen a white egg for over 2 weeks but I've caught her singing her 'egg song' so I know she's just hiding them. Or my barn cats are stealing them, or another chicken is eating them. The Americaunas are still producing 1/day so I'm pretty sure she's hiding her eggs and I just need to follow her around for a little while to figure it out. Could be a sneaky snake, dog, cat, other chicken, or she's hiding.

Frustrating sometimes aren't they? LOL!