My 2 year old chicken stopped laying eggs

[lentochka]

Hi,

I have three 2-year old chickens, who were laying for me for 1.5 years just fine. I witness one malt last year, they stopped laying, lost feathers, recovered just fine. Turnaround was about 2 months.
Now we definitely had a malt, lost feathers, grew feathers back, three months passed, no eggs! Where are the eggs? What do I do?
They eat, poop (not watery), function just fine.

I had one chicken die on me about 1 month ago, short after the malt. It gotten all fat (swollen body), slow, stand on one leg for three days, then died. Could it be some kind of disease? My other three chickens look normal right now, just stopped laying.

Thank you!!

 

[Muffinburgler]

It's winter, and a lot of chicken breeds stop laying eggs completely during the winter months. You can either give them extra light to encourage them to lay again, or just wait it out until sprint time. There is a chance they're all sick, but considering the time of year, I'm pretty sure it's just the season.

 

[lentochka]

It's winter, and a lot of chicken breeds stop laying eggs completely during the winter months. You can either give them extra light to encourage them to lay again, or just wait it out until sprint time. There is a chance they're all sick, but considering the time of year, I'm pretty sure it's just the season.

Thank you. But last year they laid eggs during the winter time...

 

[katbriar]

That's because they were new layers. As they *age* they will lay fewer eggs each year and winter (short days) will affect them more.

Birds often lay fine through their first winter because their bodies are just settling into production. The let up in winter is normal, especially if they're coping with a molt.

Edited to correct typi

 

[Wyandottes7]

That's because they were new layers. As they *age* they will lay fewer eggs each year and winter (short days) will affect them more.

Birds often lay fine through their first winter because their bodies are just settling into production. The let up in winter is normal, especially if they're coping with a molt.

Edited to correct typi

X2

My birds laid straight through their first winter, but now stop laying around October or so, and don't lay well (or sometimes at all) until February.