No Eggs !

[jan hatch]

Hi everyone , just been added ,
Ive had no eggs for weeks , my White Suffolk is usually a great layer , she has only just started getting her feathers back and was wondering if this could be the course of no eggs, my Bluebell hasn't laid for a couple of months now , any ideas out there ?

 

[LogCabinChicks]

Im no expert, but I read a lot of forums on BYC.

1. If they are over a year old they will take the winter off unless they have at least 12 hours of daylight, so just being outside in the winter is not enough daylight. If you want them to keep laying you need to turn on lights. Here in NY it doesn't get light until 7 am and the sun goes down at 5 pm. So I get up in the morning at 5 to go to work and I turn on a light in the chicken yard and open the pop door. From 25 chickens, I still get 12-14 eggs per day. Ten of my chicks are 3 years old.
2. If they are moulting they will stop laying due to the stress of getting new feathers. Provide feed with added protein and less calcium during moulting.
3. If the cats scare the chickens, then yes that could totally be the reason. It sounds like your chickens are free range, you could fence them for a bit to see if that will make them feel safer and begin to lay again. Remember cats jump well so it would have to have some type of netting on top as well.

good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[matt44644]

 

[jan hatch]

Hi thanks !

 

[jan hatch]

And yes , my surname is really HATCH !

 

[matt44644]

Are they getting supplemental light /

 

[jan hatch]

No , just on layer pellets in the morning and corn of a night also mealworms, it is getting quite cold here in UK so dont think that has helped , they have access to earth as well .

 

[emma p]

Hello! If they are molting or getting feathers back on they will probably not be laying. It also could be because they are not having enough light. Which makes their bodies feel like they need to lay eggs. So you would just have a light in for an hour or so in the evening. If it is cold and they have to be in the coop all day they could be stressed out.

 

[ChickyChickens]

Welcome to BYC!!! The members here are great and so are their chickens!!! This is the BEST CHICKEN KEEPING FORUM ON EARTH!!!!

Hope you have fun and if you need anything we are here to help!!

 

[jan hatch]

Hi , no they are out all day so plenty of light , the only other thing that i can think of is that there are a couple of cats that do try and bother them , another cat that comes over sits and eats with them so hes ok , so do you think it could be a stress thing then ?