My chickens stopped laying :/

[Chickenmom283]

Hi! I'm Chicken Mom, and I have a few questions about my chickens behavior. First of all, they've stopped laying. I don't know if it could be moulting or mites?? This is only their second time moulting, their first being in summer when they grew feathers. I have two Buff orpingtons, one a rooster, one a layer. I have 5 Australorps who are laying, and some 3/4 month old Wyandottes who don't lay. 2, their feathers are a little dirty, probably because of their coop, which has poop frozen on the floor that we cannot get off. I'm thinking moulting since it's spring, but... Can you help??

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

What State are you in? Oftentimes hens will stop laying due to cold weather. How old is your layers? About 2-3 years old is when it's retirement for them. Also, are they dealing with a lot of stress (weather change, new additions, changing of the pecking order, new predators {there's a sudden hawk issue in my State}, new coop, etc.)?
If it's mites, check the shafts under their wings, around thighs, fluffy bum-bum feathers, and under the hackles (basically anywhere where there's warmth). Look for tiny bugs at the shafts and skin. If you have a bad mite problem, you might even see them crawling on your chickens faces. Now do you know if you have a mite problem, or are you just wondering if this is an issue?

 

[Chickenmom283]

Ha, you may be right about weather. Our chicks may be cold weather, but we do live in Alaska. It's only cold in the winter, but they got over that I think. The most recent new editions were 3/4 months ago, and we've been thinking about building a better coop, but they've lived in that coop since brooded. I will try checking for mites. Our chicks were born in the Summer of 2020 so I'm not worried about old age. I am just wondering if I might have mites, I am not positive about anything.

What State are you in? Oftentimes hens will stop laying due to cold weather. How old is your layers? About 2-3 years old is when it's retirement for them. Also, are they dealing with a lot of stress (weather change, new additions, changing of the pecking order, new predators {there's a sudden hawk issue in my State}, new coop, etc.)?
If it's mites, check the shafts under their wings, around thighs, fluffy bum-bum feathers, and under the hackles (basically anywhere where there's warmth). Look for tiny bugs at the shafts and skin. If you have a bad mite problem, you might even see them crawling on your chickens faces. Now do you know if you have a mite problem, or are you just wondering if this is an issue?

 

[coach723]

3-4 months is still young for some breeds. Different breeds mature at different rates, and there can be variation bird to bird in the same breed even. So they may just still be developing and are not quite ready. It's early for molt, but not impossible. After they have done their juvenile molts and they have a first set of adult feathers, then they usually won't molt again until they are about 18 months old. That can vary some, and still be normal. Often the biggest sign of molt is a lot of feathers in and around the coop, and visible pin feathers coming in on birds. Any kind of stress can put birds off laying, even a predator hanging around at night. Older birds may stop laying when daylight hours shorten in the winter. As days get longer, they will start to lay again. The amount of time off during short winter days depends on age, breed, individual genetics, and can become longer as they get older, until they stop laying completely if they live long enough.
This link has lots of pictures for lice/mite identification:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/