Need help. Hens stopped laying entirely!

[BatTikvah]

Hi, my four ladies have not given me a single egg for a month. For the month of November, I would get an average of 1 to 2 eggs per day for the first couple of weeks and then tapering down to only 2 eggs the whole last week and now nothing since 11/30.

Is this normal? Was I just blessed last winter? Or maybe I'm remembering incorrectly? I didn't start logging until mid July.

I know there was a problem with feed being doctored that caused hens to stop laying, but I never used that feed. I get it from Modesto Milling and use organic feed. I also use whole oats and whole wheat, occasional dried grubs and they get plenty of calcium.

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

Abigail

 

[Debbie292d]

There was never anything wrong with feed, but we blame Mother Nature. The middle of winter was last week so the days are getting longer now. They should pick up in a month or two. Most chickens rest up during the winter. The vast majority of us get half the eggs, or none. It's normal, but doesn't last forever.

 

[aart]

Pullets often lay thru their first fall/winter, second fall/winter they will stop laying to molt.
They will start laying again after the days begin to get longer.
So how old are your birds, in months?
and.....
Welcome to BYC! @BatTikvah
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[puddle_drinker]

Hi, my four ladies have not given me a single egg for a month. For the month of November, I would get an average of 1 to 2 eggs per day for the first couple of weeks and then tapering down to only 2 eggs the whole last week and now nothing since 11/30.

Is this normal? Was I just blessed last winter? Or maybe I'm remembering incorrectly? I didn't start logging until mid July.

I know there was a problem with feed being doctored that caused hens to stop laying, but I never used that feed. I get it from Modesto Milling and use organic feed. I also use whole oats and whole wheat, occasional dried grubs and they get plenty of calcium.

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

Abigail

It's normal to have less eggs in the winter, the length of daylight is what generally drives that. In my experience the first winter for layers is close to summer laying egg numbers, but the following winters are much less. With 20+ laying hens I'm getting 4-6 a day in their second winter. In summer it will be 12-18.

You can artificially force them to lay more in the winter by putting lights with timers in their coop, but I like to give my hens their natural rest in the winter months.

Seems like you need more chickens.

 

[BatTikvah]

Pullets often lay thru their first fall/winter, second fall/winter they will stop laying to molt.
They will start laying again after the days begin to get longer.
So how old are your birds, in months?
and.....
Welcome to BYC! @BatTikvah
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3714074

I added my location. We live in Indiana in the tristate area of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

The Buffs are about 8 months old and the four Easter eggers 1 year older.

 

[BatTikvah]

There was never anything wrong with feed, but we blame Mother Nature. The middle of winter was last week so the days are getting longer now. They should pick up in a month or two. Most chickens rest up during the winter. The vast majority of us get half the eggs, or none. It's normal, but doesn't last forever.

Thank you. When they start again, I am going to start putting some in lime to preserve them for the winter.

 

[BatTikvah]

It's normal to have less eggs in the winter, the length of daylight is what generally drives that. In my experience the first winter for layers is close to summer laying egg numbers, but the following winters are much less. With 20+ laying hens I'm getting 4-6 a day in their second winter. In summer it will be 12-18.

You can artificially force them to lay more in the winter by putting lights with timers in their coop, but I like to give my hens their natural rest in the winter months.

Seems like you need more chickens.

I want them to have their natural rest. My coop is small with no real room for expansion.

 

[TooCheep]

Thank you. When they start again, I am going to start putting some in lime to preserve them for the winter.

Sounds good. I only had one pullet lay in my first winter. After that, I decided to research preservation methods and have been doing water-glassing (lime) for 5-6 years now. There is an excellent master thread on the topic here. You can watch the video in the first post to get the idea. The rest of the thread has plenty of Q&A.

 

[BatTikvah]

Sounds good. I only had one pullet lay in my first winter. After that, I decided to research preservation methods and have been doing water-glassing (lime) for 5-6 years now. There is an excellent master thread on the topic here. You can watch the video in the first post to get the idea. The rest of the thread has plenty of Q&A.

Thank you! I will bookmark it.