My two hens stopped laying. Please help

[Browning2013]

I have one blue sumatra rooster, one blue sumatra hen and one white rock hen. I have had the white hen since last summer, but just got the sumatras early this Spring. They all free ranged on the property, eating laying mash, bugs, flowers, whatever they could find and since I didn't have a coop, they rooster on the deck or slept in a plastic dog box on the deck.

Close to two months ago I caged them in an 8x4 run that also houses the dog box since they were used to it. All was well for a couple of weeks then the blue stopped laying. The white one just stopped in the last week. They still get laying mash, frozen tomatoes from last season, frozen blackberries, scrap veggies and fruits as well. They all seem to be healthy still, normal poop according to a site I found a few days ago, etc.

I have a thought that maybe since they went from a couple of acres, even though they stayed in the front yard and part of the side field, that they may be stressed out now. However, wouldn't their behavior change if so? Will stress cause hens to stop laying? I've read about egg bound but I don't think they are. They look and act as they did when they were free to roam.

To test this the last few days I have started letting them out in the afternoon and they hang out front until it starts to get dark then they go back in and I latch the coop. If you have any thoughts please let me know.

 

[SJ]

How long have your hens been in lay? You may be seeing the first signs of the onset of their molt cycle.
1.They stop laying
2.Combs change from soft red to dry pink
3.They loose feathers
4.They regrow feathers
5. Combs change back
6.They start laying again

From my understanding Sumatras aren't a prolific laying breed like the rock. My understanding is Sumatras lay well over a short laying cycle but are more of an ornamental breed than a utilitarian layer. Which is my guess to why the Sumatra stopped laying first.

Stress will cause laying to cease but if they laid for weeks in the run you had them in before they stopped laying I doubt the run is the issue. Having said that if your roo is overbreeding(stressing out) your hens because the hens can't escape him while locked in the run, separating the roo during the day may bring your girls back into lay.

Good luck

 

[Browning2013]

How long have your hens been in lay? You may be seeing the first signs of the onset of their molt cycle.
1.They stop laying
2.Combs change from soft red to dry pink
3.They loose feathers
4.They regrow feathers
5. Combs change back
6.They start laying again

From my understanding Sumatras aren't a prolific laying breed like the rock. My understanding is Sumatras lay well over a short laying cycle but are more of an ornamental breed than a utilitarian layer. Which is my guess to why the Sumatra stopped laying first.

Stress will cause laying to cease but if they laid for weeks in the run you had them in before they stopped laying I doubt the run is the issue. Having said that if your roo is overbreeding(stressing out) your hens because the hens can't escape him while locked in the run, separating the roo during the day may bring your girls back into lay.

Good luck

Thank you for the reply. They all just turned 1 in June. The blue was laying when I got here and I noticed the white laying around the same time. I found a couple of her nests accidentally on the side of the house right after I got the blues. She was laying every single day. The laid every day but skipped a day once a week.

It's dark now but I will check tomorrow on combs, but I do see a feather or two here and there every now and then but it's not an abundance. I hope she's not laying I am hoping to get some young off of her this year.