No eggs???

[Amagou81]

Earlier this summer our girls were all laying well. But I have not gotten an egg in weeks. We're in Ohio but it's still getting around 85 in the day and 60 at night. I did change over to Rural King layer but give them calcium, forage, etc. What could be going on? They are all 2 years old or less. We're in the process of expanding their area but I wouldn't think that would be enough stress to stop them all from laying??

 

[aart]

At that age and in your climate, they are getting ready to molt so they stop laying before that. 'Tis the season.
They'll start lying again after the winter solstice when the days start getting longer again, it's about length of day, not temperature.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Chickens are not focusing on laying right now, they are focused on conserving their energy to survive during the winter, and they need to save a lot of nutrients due to their molt.

I did change over to Rural King layer but give them calcium, forage, etc.

Did you change their feed suddenly or slowly? Slowly changing the feed of chickens is always the way to go, because suddenly can cause health issues, and yes, decreased laying. Not saying that is the reason for your lowered egg production, I am just saying if you suddenly switched over that could be one of the lesser reasons.

 

[Amagou81]

At that age and in your climate, they are getting ready to molt so they stop laying before that. 'Tis the season.
They'll start lying again after the winter solstice when the days start getting longer again, it's about length of day, not temperature.

Ok, thanks. This is the second fall we've had chickens. Growing up, my dad raised them but I didn't pay much attention back then. When they stopped laying last fall, I thought it was just because they had only been old enough to lay for maybe a month before the colder temps hit. They were just too young to lay year round. And I was also under the impression that "hardy" hens would lay year round. But this makes sense, thanks!

 

[Amagou81]

Chickens are not focusing on laying right now, they are focused on conserving their energy to survive during the winter, and they need to save a lot of nutrients due to their molt.


Did you change their feed suddenly or slowly? Slowly changing the feed of chickens is always the way to go, because suddenly can cause health issues, and yes, decreased laying. Not saying that is the reason for your lowered egg production, I am just saying if you suddenly switched over that could be one of the lesser reasons.

The scratch, calcium, forage, and all their treats were left the same. The layer was the only thing I changed and I did it at about 50/50 and increased from there. Hopefully that wasn't too fast. Both the change in the feed and it getting dark earlier has happened so close to each other so it's really hard to say which is the culprit. The change didn't affect our ducks, though. So that is a positive.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

The scratch, calcium, forage, and all their treats were left the same. The layer was the only thing I changed and I did it at about 50/50 and increased from there. Hopefully that wasn't too fast. Both the change in the feed and it getting dark earlier has happened so close to each other so it's really hard to say which is the culprit. The change didn't affect our ducks, though. So that is a positive.

The culprit is definitely the time of the year, no doubt. I was just saying that a sudden change of feed can further influence a decrease in production. For future reference, it is better to switch feed more slowly than that, in order to not shock their body.