My hens aren't laying

[Jbug799]

Excellent questions. Where are you, north or south of the equator? That is important. Chickens can be hatched at any time of the year so you can't just go by age in trying to figure this out.

A chicken's natural cycle is to start laying in the spring when the days get longer and the weather is getting better. That's a good time to hatch chicks and raised them. Then, in the fall when days are getting shorter and bad weather is coming, they stop laying and molt. They stop laying because it is hard to raise chicks in the winter, but that is a good time to molt and replace their worn out feathers with new feathers to get them through the winter. They do this by instinct.

A pullet will start laying when they reach a certain age and some other conditions are met and usually continue laying until the days get shorter in the fall. Then they stop laying and molt. Some pullets will lay through their first winter and all of the way until the next fall, some molt their first fall. If yours have been laying until they are 2 years old it sounds like they may have skipped their first molt.

There are different things that can cause us to think a chicken has stopped laying. The days getting shorter in the fall is not the only thing that can cause a molt. If artificial lighting was extending their daylight hours and that light stops they may think the days are getting shorter. Maybe a street light or security light burned out. Going without water for a couple of days or stress from a predator attack can start one. Moving them to a new coop or major changes to their existing coop can stress them. Adding or removing chickens can change the pecking order. Are you seeing loose feathers flying around? If so, I'd suspect a molt.

If chickens lay straight without a break for a long period of time they can stop laying, usually with a partial molt. This is why the commercial egg laying operations have to replace or molt their flocks regularly.

A common cause of us thinking they have stopped laying is that they are hiding a nest. They can be really good at hiding a nest in a coop or run, even if they are not free ranging. People have found a lot of eggs laid in a small coop where they did not think it was possible to hide them. An egg hunt may help you.

Is something getting the eggs. Most critters that take the eggs eat them on the spot and leave clues, broken shells or wet spots. Snakes, canines, and humans don't leave clues. I don't know where you are located, maybe you have some other critter that does not leave clues. It does not sound like a snake. A snake eats some eggs then disappears for two or three days to digest them before coming back for more. This is too consistent. Many canines like a fox or coyote would probably be eating your hens, not your eggs, but does a dog have access? They will sometimes leave the hens alone but eat eggs. A human does not usually mean a stranger. It is often someone you know, maybe pulling a practical joke.

From what you describe it sounds like they have been laying a really long time and are having a molt. In spite of people telling you that a hen is washed up at 2 years old, a typical cycle is that they lay really well from when they start until their first adult molt. Often they are about 1-1/2 years old when they start that first adult molt. Then they molt and start laying really well again. After the second adult molt they typically don't lay as well as they had been. How much they reduce laying depends on the hen. If they had been laying five a week thy may drop back to 4 a week. If they had been laying three a week they may only lay 2. Some will drop more than that, some not so much.

Egg production is important to many of us, that is why we often rotate our laying hens. The rotation I use is to add 50% of the total number of hens I want every year, adding baby chicks in the spring. That is three since I want 6 laying hens in my flock. These pullets usually start laying in late summer or early fall and continue laying until the fall molt the next year. That fall I overwinter the three I added the year before. They will molt and start laying like gangbusters when they finish the molt. That fall, after they stop laying, I butcher the ones that had been overwintered the previous year so I usually have 6 laying from spring through fall.

We live in Oklahoma USA. We have had pretty mild weather lately. Well the last couple of years. The weather is bi-polar. One day it will be freezing and the next it will be in the in the ninetys! Welcome to Oklahoma
Winter is at 6 am Spring starts at 10 am Summer is at 2 pm And fall starts around 4:30ish Dress accordingly! Truth! Anyway, they have been laying non-stop since they started so they are probably due a molt. I so appreciate your answers! Not interested in putting them in a pot!

 

[Jbug799]

Excellent questions. Where are you, north or south of the equator? That is important. Chickens can be hatched at any time of the year so you can't just go by age in trying to figure this out.

A chicken's natural cycle is to start laying in the spring when the days get longer and the weather is getting better. That's a good time to hatch chicks and raised them. Then, in the fall when days are getting shorter and bad weather is coming, they stop laying and molt. They stop laying because it is hard to raise chicks in the winter, but that is a good time to molt and replace their worn out feathers with new feathers to get them through the winter. They do this by instinct.

A pullet will start laying when they reach a certain age and some other conditions are met and usually continue laying until the days get shorter in the fall. Then they stop laying and molt. Some pullets will lay through their first winter and all of the way until the next fall, some molt their first fall. If yours have been laying until they are 2 years old it sounds like they may have skipped their first molt.

There are different things that can cause us to think a chicken has stopped laying. The days getting shorter in the fall is not the only thing that can cause a molt. If artificial lighting was extending their daylight hours and that light stops they may think the days are getting shorter. Maybe a street light or security light burned out. Going without water for a couple of days or stress from a predator attack can start one. Moving them to a new coop or major changes to their existing coop can stress them. Adding or removing chickens can change the pecking order. Are you seeing loose feathers flying around? If so, I'd suspect a molt.

If chickens lay straight without a break for a long period of time they can stop laying, usually with a partial molt. This is why the commercial egg laying operations have to replace or molt their flocks regularly.

A common cause of us thinking they have stopped laying is that they are hiding a nest. They can be really good at hiding a nest in a coop or run, even if they are not free ranging. People have found a lot of eggs laid in a small coop where they did not think it was possible to hide them. An egg hunt may help you.

Is something getting the eggs. Most critters that take the eggs eat them on the spot and leave clues, broken shells or wet spots. Snakes, canines, and humans don't leave clues. I don't know where you are located, maybe you have some other critter that does not leave clues. It does not sound like a snake. A snake eats some eggs then disappears for two or three days to digest them before coming back for more. This is too consistent. Many canines like a fox or coyote would probably be eating your hens, not your eggs, but does a dog have access? They will sometimes leave the hens alone but eat eggs. A human does not usually mean a stranger. It is often someone you know, maybe pulling a practical joke.


From what you describe it sounds like they have been laying a really long time and are having a molt. In spite of people telling you that a hen is washed up at 2 years old, a typical cycle is that they lay really well from when they start until their first adult molt. Often they are about 1-1/2 years old when they start that first adult molt. Then they molt and start laying really well again. After the second adult molt they typically don't lay as well as they had been. How much they reduce laying depends on the hen. If they had been laying five a week thy may drop back to 4 a week. If they had been laying three a week they may only lay 2. Some will drop more than that, some not so much.

Egg production is important to many of us, that is why we often rotate our laying hens. The rotation I use is to add 50% of the total number of hens I want every year, adding baby chicks in the spring. That is three since I want 6 laying hens in my flock. These pullets usually start laying in late summer or early fall and continue laying until the fall molt the next year. That fall I overwinter the three I added the year before. They will molt and start laying like gangbusters when they finish the molt. That fall, after they stop laying, I butcher the ones that had been overwintered the previous year so I usually have 6 laying from spring through fall.

We got our first egg October 22, 2023! They have laid nonstop since then! They are definitely in need of a break!

 

[Jbug799]

maybe give them a higher protein feed. My guess is they are just taking a break, and will lay again.

I will look into that! Thanks!