Light Brahma Stopped Laying

[pibblesNchicks]

I'm new to hens (around 7 weeks in). I have an older black sex link that lays around 5-6 eggs per week. I also have a barred rock that just started singing the song a couple of days ago, but is not yet laying.

My worries are with my light brahma, she's around 7-8 months old and was laying about 3-4 smaller sized eggs for the first two weeks after I brought her home but now she hasn't layed for almost 2 weeks. Although I'm finding white fluffy feathers around the yard, there's no signs of any type of moulting or new feather tubes going on. Her droppings look normal. And She's acting normal (she's quite playful), and her appetite is good (I call her the pig of the flock). I live in northern Utah and days are getting shorter - doesn't get too bright until around 8am and the hens start making their way back to the coop before 7pm. It's been getting down into the 40s at night but in the 60s & 70s during the day.

They get organic feed with oyster shell mixed, green veggie, cottage cheese, yogurt, cauliflower as snacks. I just started mixing in some eggshell too.

I know egg production can slow with reduced daylight, but to completely stop? Is this normal?

She's my favorite furry foot chick and I'm scared I may loose her to something I didn't detect in time

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated. I hope I'm just an anxious new-to-chicks mom!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Seeing feathers lying around is an indication of molting (as well as a pale comb). They cannot lay eggs while molting, as all of their energy needs to go into growing in new feathers. Molting can be very hard on a bird and they drop a lot of weight. Once their feathers grow back in, they need to get their weight back up before they can start laying again.

Yes, it's normal for a complete stop this time of year. This is why many of us hatch, so we have new pullets laying when the older ones quit for molting. You can help them along with their molt by feeding high protein treats: diced meat scraps, mealworms, fish (in moderation), Black oil sunflower seeds, higher protein feed, etc. Your pullet is young, so her molt will likely be very minor.

Here is a picture of one of my hens, showing how hard a molt can be on them. She has dropped a considerable amount of weight.

 

[pibblesNchicks]

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. It does make sense that she's molting because it seems like her feet exploded with new fluffy thick feathers within a matter of days.

 

[jenes25]

We have 2 light brahmas. They both have stopped laying as well. They are about a year and a half. One is definitely molting but the other it is not really noticable but neither have laid an egg in over 3 weeks.