No eggs!

Ginmary

Crowing
7 Years
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I have 2 general age groups in a flock of 10 layers. One group is up there at 5 to 7 yrs old. The other group is from May 2024 so 1yr 4 mos. The older ones were still laying up to some mos back but few and far between but I was getting almost 2 to 4 eggs every day from the younger ones. Now for the past week: NO EGGS AT ALL! from any one. I'm stumped. Any ideas?
 
One reason chickens quit laying is the molt. A molt can happen any time of the year for various reasons but the main one is the days getting shorter in the fall. This time of the year in New Jersey I strongly suspect the molt is your issue. Are you seeing feathers flying around?

Another common reason is that one or more are hiding a nest on you. This happens a lot. Even if you have them confined to a coop and small run they can be pretty creative in hiding a nest.

Another possibility is something getting the eggs. Many things eat chicken eggs. Some leave evidence behind, mainly shell pieces or wet spots. Some leave no evidence like snakes, canines, or humans. Since it is every day it is probably not a snake. A snake eats eggs and then disappears for a few days to digest them. Your situation is too regular to be a snake. A fox or coyote would probably be more interested in your chickens so probably not them but does a dog have access? A dog might eat the eggs but leave the hens alone. A human is usually not a stranger, not if it is every day.

Some diseases could affect egg laying but if they are acting normal it is not likely to be a disease.

So what can you do? I don't know how you manage them. If they free range or have a large area to forage you might try locking them in the coop only or the coop and small run for a few days to see if you start getting eggs. That would mean you either locked them away from a hidden nest or locked a predator out.

You can discretely mark a couple of eggs and leave them down there and see if they disappear. That would mean something is getting the eggs.

This time of the year and with your location I strongly suspect the molt but it could be something else.
 

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