No eggs from 25 chickens, why!!!????

[Thebossbaby]

About a week ago my hens were laying around a dozen a day and now they have stopped, the food price is running my earnings way down and I'm afraid something's wrong with my girls. Also, 2 buff hens disappears yesterday and there were no feathers, just a hole in the fence. I'm guessing a fox but would a fox eat eggs? I need to fix this problem and fast. Thanks for any advice!

 

[chicks are life]

What do you feed?
Predator stress could be another option.

 

[Folly's place]

It sounds like you have a predator taking birds and eggs both, and your hens are scared and not laying as well. Set live traps, fix your coop and run to prevent predation, and maybe add a game cam. Good luck! Mary

 

[chicks are life]

I agree

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Sometime within the next 3 or 4 weeks so called "HERITAGE" breed chickens will begin displaying their heritages and stop or back off laying until the annual molt is completed. Couple that with the fact that your hens are getting chased around inside their happy home by some furry varmint intent on ripping the flesh off of their bones or else flaying them alive and I would be surprised that any of your birds are still hanging around.

A fox will certainly eat hens and BTW foxes, like all K9s of my acquaintance will suck eggs.

 

[Sublight]

If they are free range, you may look around to see if they have started laying somewhere else. After mine stopped laying for a couple weeks, I looked around and found a LOOOT of eggs under a bush.
Whats strange, is they ALL stopped laying in the pen, and started laying under the bush at the same time.

 

[Sublight]

Also, my understanding is that Possums will mainly eat eggs, and occasionally eat a chicken.

 

[chicks are life]

So in shorter terms you have got to go on an easter egg hunt!!!!!

 

[Thebossbaby]

It sounds like you have a predator taking birds and eggs both, and your hens are scared and not laying as well. Set live traps, fix your coop and run to prevent predation, and maybe add a game cam. Good luck! Mary

I have raccoon traps and snake traps out. I also have a game camera on the coop

 

[Thebossbaby]

Also, my understanding is that Possums will mainly eat eggs, and occasionally eat a chicken.

I also have possum traps set but I catch them all the time. When 1 got into my coop last year he took my only ee at the time and I went to trapping and caught him, but he toar there body up, and left some for me, this time they just disappeared, with only a little hole as a clue. Thanks for all the advice. And, btw, do foxes eat eggs?