no eggs for a long time now

[chattykathy306]

I have posted before on this and am wondering if someone else might see it and have some different advice. I was told previously that they might have worms. Would I just look at their poop to see if this is so? Also, it appears that lice/mites can cause them to stop laying. I guess this surprises me, since I would think that has nothing to do with their inner workings. This started last spring when they were free ranging, so I thought they might be laying in the woods adjacent to the yard. They have been in the coop now all winter and had supplemental light, good food, fresh water. Once in awhile we got one or two, but now are back to none. They will be 2 years old in July so age couldn't have been a factor. If it's lice or mites, I don't think I'm up to doing the dusting procedure. Any other way to treat this? I'm quite disappointed that I even started raising chickens now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[cukooformarans]

If you have never wormed them before you should probably try that. The worms may or may not show up in the poop, so checking it would only confirm the presence of a problem but could not rule it out...

 

[cukooformarans]

What breed are they?

 

[chattykathy306]

They were never wormed. I used to always put apple cider vinegar in their water, which I thought would prevent worms, but my husband took over and stopped adding the ACV. Is the worm medicine available at a place like Tractor Supply? I have 5 and they are all different kinds, as follows: Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, Easter Egger, Columbian Wyandotte and Silver Laced Wyandotte. I had one other, but she died from unknown cause. Can't remember the breed, but she was my favorite, dark coppery color, very friendly and vocal and laid chocolate brown eggs. My husband thought she looked like a pheasant. I really am so disappointed, thinking I was doing many of the right things for them. Whatever is causing this seems to be affecting all of them, since we rarely get an egg from anyone. My little grand-daughter Zoe likes to go out to check for eggs. She recently said "Those girls aren't doing their jobs!" Thanks so much for responsing to my "cry for help!"

 

[saraki]

Cathy...I have a laying flock of about twenty hens and I am getting about three eggs a day. Mine are all just a year old, and they laid over the winter with some extra lights (mostly for warmth, but the eggs were great too!), but something clicked this spring and they just stopped. I have tried deworming, vitamins, protein boosts, all to no avail. I spoke with a gentleman at the feed store the other day who said that his aren't hardly laying either. I don't think mine have any physical health problems that I can address, and all of my efforts have been largely unrewarded. I'm not sure if it's the weather or what, but I am also extremely frustrated.

Did your hens molt last fall? If not, maybe they are going through a very slow molt. Do you have extra light in their coop? If so, what sort of bulb are you using?

 

[saraki]

Just realized I misspelled your name-sorry Kathy!

So you do have supplemental lighting? Do you use a CFL bulb per chance?

 

[CalamanEggs]

We have rhode island reds and barred rocks who just turned a year. They laid faithfully all winter long (we are in Wisconsin and had a BRUTALLY cold and snowy winter) and suddenly stopped when the weather began to turn nicer and the days got longer. Ours did not molt in the fall and we noticed the hens were looking a bit ragged around their backs/wings. We thought it may have just been the rooster having easy access to them while locked up in the coop, but I believe they are molting now. It is not extremely noticeable as they're only loosing a few feathers and doesn't appear to be a "hard molt". Have you noticed feathers in the coop or around?

I have boosted their protein through feeding meal worms, plain Greek yogurt, etc. and that has seemed to help them recover. It has also helped now that they can get outside more and forage in the few snow-free spots we have in the yard. We are now up to 4 eggs a day but it took us probably 6 weeks to get there. It's hard not to be discouraged, but you are doing the right things for them! All birds molt and the protein needed to grow new feathers takes away their ability to develop eggs. The research I've done says that a molt can last anywhere from 4-12 weeks depending on breed.

Good luck!

 

[chattykathy306]

Thanks for sharing. It's encouraging to know that someone else is having this problem, with no definable reason. I live in WI as well and we put a heat lamp (red) in the coop when it was staying below zero night and day. Other than that, we put a regular old-fashioned bulb in the coop, set on a timer, so they would get 12-14 hours of light. Do either of you think I should get something to worm them even though they seem healthy? Also, how about something for external parasites? Or, should I just be patient. Like I mentioned before, this started last spring, so it's been a long time now. We were getting some eggs at that time, but few. Still possible that they were laying in the woods. Oh, to answer the question about molting; they had their first molt in the fall. They were 15-16 months old at the time, since they were hatched early in July. They seem very healthy and active. We were just watching them scratching around under the bird feeder yesterday. I think they must be so happy to be able to get out in the clear spots in the yard, now that winter is backing off a bit. (Yeah, until yesterday, when we got quite a bit of snow) We have given them some meal worms too. They love them, of course. I am thinking that we are wasting a lot of time when they should be laying. They will be 2 in about 3 months now and isn't that when they slow down or stop laying? I am buying eggs from the store. Good luck to you folks with your lazy girls!

 

[CalamanEggs]

They say chickens slow down at around two years of age, but you have some of the more prolific laying breeds so I don't know as if that is going to be the main reason they are slow. I know several people with older birds that still lay.

We've never wormed, but it wouldn't hurt to do so. It doesn't sound like they are showing symptoms of worms outside of the poor egg laying. I have read that minced garlic can help with worms as well.

As far as external parasites like lice and mites, have you noticed signs? Decreased activity, bald spots, weight loss, pale comb? We've never experienced them but it sounds like you should be able to see most parasites with the bare eye as long as you are able to pick up and inspect your girls. Our coops is raised so we luckily have a patch of exposed dirt/sand year round for the chickens to bathe in.

Or could just be some weird fluke. Like you said, you're in good company. Sure hope it picks up soon...

 

[Blane Chick]

My polish stopped laying she is 1 year old and going through a molt how long before i can start expecting eggs again