It's June and the chickens are not laying

[Deirdrejd]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to owning chickens. Recently our two Marans once again went broody. This time we decided to get some fertile eggs. They are now in a separate coop with the eggs. Meanwhile the other 5 chickens have dramatically decreased their egg production. Here we are in June and barely getting any eggs. I don't get it! Is there anything we can do to get them to start laying again? Does it have something to do with the broody hens?

 

[chickenlittle21]

You can feed your hens red pepper flakes and see if that helps. It's an old farmers trick to get hens laying again or to increase egg production.

 

[aart]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to owning chickens. Recently our two Marans once again went broody. This time we decided to get some fertile eggs. They are now in a separate coop with the eggs. Meanwhile the other 5 chickens have dramatically decreased their egg production. Here we are in June and barely getting any eggs. I don't get it! Is there anything we can do to get them to start laying again? Does it have something to do with the broody hens?

Probably nothing to do with the broodies, but maybe, 2 of their flock have disappeared!
Do you free range?
How old are these birds that are not laying?

 

[Deirdrejd]

You can feed your hens red pepper flakes and see if that helps. It's an old farmers trick to get hens laying again or to increase egg production.

Really? They don't mind hot peppers?

 

[Deirdrejd]

Probably nothing to do with the broodies, but maybe, 2 of their flock have disappeared!
Do you free range?
How old are these birds that are not laying?

Two of the chickens are broody and sitting on eggs. So that leaves the 5 others. They are not very old. Two are 1.5 years and 3 are probably 3 years old. We do free range. They stay in the coop overnight but are free to roam during the day.

 

[chickenlittle21]

Really? They don't mind hot peppers?

You sprinkle the hot pepper flakes on their food or treats. They don't seen to notice or care.

 

[aart]

Really? They don't mind hot peppers?

Birds do not have 'hot' receptors, why red pepper can be added to wild bird feeders to keep squirrels away from it.
Kind of an old wives tale that it can get chickens laying again,
first best to find out other causes for 'no eggs'.

We do free range.

They may be laying out in range area.
Confining them to the coop and run for a week can 'retrain' them to lay in the coop nests.
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm guessing you are in the northern hemisphere so you are in the middle of summer, not the middle of winter. Most hens don't go broody in winter, though a few will.

The most common cause of a drop in egg laying is the molt. I know fall is the typical time for molts as the days get shorter but there can be other causes for a molt out of season. It usually involves stress. A change in lighting, running out of water, a change in housing, a change in the pecking order, a predator scare, many possible causes. Are you seeing a lot of feather s flying around?

Sometimes hens cut back production in severe weather, either extreme hot or cold.

A very common cause of you not getting eggs is that they are hiding a nest.

It's possible something is getting the eggs. Many critters would leave a sign behind like egg shells or a wet soggy mess. Not sure where you are located so I don't know what predators might be of concern for you. In the US the critters that typically don't leave evidence behind are snakes, canines, and humans.

A snake will visit, eat however many eggs it can find and depending on size, then go away for a few days to digest them before it comes back for more. If your loss is regular, it's probably not a snake.

In the US most canines like foxes or coyotes would probably be more interested in your chickens than the eggs, but many dogs will eat eggs and not bother the chickens. Does a dog have access.

I'll let you think about the possibility of a human.

So what can you do? If you can lock them in the coop or coop/run for a few days see if your production goes up. That would mean they are hiding a nest or you locked out something that was getting eggs.

You can put some real eggs down but mark them. If they disappear something is getting them.

This can be frustrating, it's not always easy to figure out what is going on. Good luck!

 

[Deirdrejd]

I'm guessing you are in the northern hemisphere so you are in the middle of summer, not the middle of winter. Most hens don't go broody in winter, though a few will.

The most common cause of a drop in egg laying is the molt. I know fall is the typical time for molts as the days get shorter but there can be other causes for a molt out of season. It usually involves stress. A change in lighting, running out of water, a change in housing, a change in the pecking order, a predator scare, many possible causes. Are you seeing a lot of feather s flying around?

Sometimes hens cut back production in severe weather, either extreme hot or cold.

A very common cause of you not getting eggs is that they are hiding a nest.

It's possible something is getting the eggs. Many critters would leave a sign behind like egg shells or a wet soggy mess. Not sure where you are located so I don't know what predators might be of concern for you. In the US the critters that typically don't leave evidence behind are snakes, canines, and humans.

A snake will visit, eat however many eggs it can find and depending on size, then go away for a few days to digest them before it comes back for more. If your loss is regular, it's probably not a snake.

In the US most canines like foxes or coyotes would probably be more interested in your chickens than the eggs, but many dogs will eat eggs and not bother the chickens. Does a dog have access.

I'll let you think about the possibility of a human.

So what can you do? If you can lock them in the coop or coop/run for a few days see if your production goes up. That would mean they are hiding a nest or you locked out something that was getting eggs.

You can put some real eggs down but mark them. If they disappear something is getting them.

This can be frustrating, it's not always easy to figure out what is going on. Good luck!

Hi, Sorry I didn't respond but I am just now seeing this. I have to figure out how to get notification when I receive a response.
We are in California and for the whole summer, we got very few eggs. There are no coyotes, snakes, dogs, strange humans , or raccoons in the area. We do have skunks, mostly at night and they have been an issue in the past- mostly at night. We had seen the remains of eggs, etc. but haven't for a while. I mostly work from home and am often outside near the coops. I have not seen any skunk activity during the day. They are free range but it is all fenced in. We have looked around and have never seen another nest anywhere.
They didn't molt during most the summer. There was some molting towards the end of the summer but not all of them- just a couple at a time as we have a few different breeds. The youngest are the 2 Welsummers and 2 Marans. Last summer was their first summer and they did some good laying. This year, very little.
I do notice that they don't care much for their pellet food. I mix it with some scratch, sunflower seeds and a few mealworms. They seem to eat all but the pellets. Any ideas on better feeding options? We give them vegetable scraps as well.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[Deirdrejd]

Really? They don't mind hot peppers?

Does the red pepper flakes really work?