my chickens have stopped laying eggs

[smileyru2]

We had to leave unexpectedly and were gone for 2 weeks. We had someone take care of my chickens while we were gone. but now they are not laying. and one chicken passed away today. I don't know what to do to help them be their old self. Are they sick? how can I tell? help!

 

[FarmerGirl101]

I'm sorry to hear that one of your chickens passed away. They are most likely not laying due to molting and the shorter days. They do this every year. Some breeds like leghorns will slow down and continue to lay throughout winter without additional light and some will stop and pick up again in the spring. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere then this is a completely different conversation that we need to have but if you are in the Northern Hemisphere this is normal

 

[Gray Farms]

Your being gone and new people and a new routine has likely stressed them out. Thus causing the break in laying.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Sorry for loss might nt be lauing due to time of year molt or stress xx

 

[ChickenGirl300]

We had to leave unexpectedly and were gone for 2 weeks. We had someone take care of my chickens while we were gone. but now they are not laying. and one chicken passed away today. I don't know what to do to help them be their old self. Are they sick? how can I tell? help!

Are there lots of feathers around on the ground? They could be molting. I can't tell you what sickness it might be, but I'm sorry about your chicken.

 

[smileyru2]

I'm sorry to hear that one of your chickens passed away. They are most likely not laying due to molting and the shorter days. They do this every year. Some breeds like leghorns will slow down and continue to lay throughout winter without additional light and some will stop and pick up again in the spring. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere then this is a completely different conversation that we need to have but if you are in the Northern Hemisphere this is normal

these chickens are between 4-6 mo old. the 6 mo have laid for about one month so far but have stopped. I had 2 chickens die yesterday. I think they may be sick or something. I usually give them rice as a treat but they are not even eating that. I'm sure it is not molting. I am in the northern hemisphere and it is starting to get cool at night

 

[smileyru2]

Your being gone and new people and a new routine has likely stressed them out. Thus causing the break in laying.

would the stress also cause them to get sick? 2 died yesterday. I have a small flock (now 20 total).

 

[sourland]

Perhaps age, time of year - or perhaps there were times that they were not adequately fed and watered while you were gone. The two losses concern me.

 

[swampfox440]

these chickens are between 4-6 mo old. the 6 mo have laid for about one month so far but have stopped. I had 2 chickens die yesterday. I think they may be sick or something. I usually give them rice as a treat but they are not even eating that. I'm sure it is not molting. I am in the northern hemisphere and it is starting to get cool at night

Not good!!! 2 dead?

 

[NatJ]

We had to leave unexpectedly and were gone for 2 weeks. We had someone take care of my chickens while we were gone. but now they are not laying. and one chicken passed away today. I don't know what to do to help them be their old self. Are they sick? how can I tell? help!

I don't know exactly what is wrong, but you can start with the obvious things.

--Make sure they have plenty of appropriate chicken food.
--Make sure they have plenty of water.
--If the coop needs cleaning, do that.
--Look for any parasites (mites, lice) that could be biting them.
--Look carefully to see if anything has been digging at the pen, or crawling through holes, or otherwise bothering them (mice, rats, dogs, raccoons, cats, etc.)
--Look at their droppings to see if anything looks odd (blood is definitely a problem, but even different-than-usual is worth noticing.)
--Be sure they are the right temperature (at this age, that mostly means access to shade from the sun and shelter from the wind.)
--Make sure they do not have a hidden nest somewhere (that could explain the lack of eggs, but not the deaths.)
--Are they generally acting normal? If they seem unusually tired, or scared, or otherwise different, that could also help figure it out.

My guess is that something was not right while you were gone--most likely not enough food or not enough water, or perhaps some predator scaring them repeatedly. If that is what happened, then proper care for a while should help at least most of them get back to normal within a few weeks.

these chickens are between 4-6 mo old. the 6 mo have laid for about one month so far but have stopped. I had 2 chickens die yesterday. I think they may be sick or something. I usually give them rice as a treat but they are not even eating that. I'm sure it is not molting. I am in the northern hemisphere and it is starting to get cool at night

You could try catching a few and feeling their crops--full crops in the evening are good, empty crops in the early morning before sunup are also good. (Means they ate in the day, and digested it all during the night.)

If they are really not eating, that is definitely concerning. You could try giving them a bit of wet chicken feed--many chickens like that, and it provides both food and water at once.

You could try to take a fecal (poop) sample to a vet to check for worms. Of course, call the vet first to see if they will do that--I've read that some will, even if they do not normally treat chickens, but of course some will not.

Have you talked to the person that took care of them? They might know what happened, or even if they do not know, they may be able to help you figure it out. If egglaying quit as soon as you left, then you know it was something that happened around then. Or if the chickens kept dumping their food or water, they might have spent a fair amount of time hungry or thirsty. (etc.)