Not laying

[Jsto]

For the past two days I've only gotten 1 egg (it's still early today, so I'm hoping there will be more!) and even for about a week before then, it had slowed down quite a bit. It's been surprising to me because my girls laid very regularly through the winter, which I hadn't been expecting. Why the sudden change when spring creeps up?

Is it normal for this kind of break? I have 5 girls and for the most part, get around 4 eggs a day. Surprisingly, my silkie has actually been one of my most consistent layers and now she hasn't laid anything in about 4 or 5 days. She's just coming off of a bad spell of broodiness (finally!). Would that affect her laying cycle at all? She was laying fairly normally whilst being stubbornly broody.

I've been keeping an eye on them and no one seems to be egg bound - all are acting/eating/pooping normally. My silkie's vent has been visible for about two weeks now (usually her fluff covers it) which worried me a bit, but it's neither red nor raw.

I have felt their little chicken butts and didn't feel anything protruding - all seems to be normal. I'm just a bit worried by the lack of laying and was wondering if anyone could enlighten me. Thanks in advance

 

[tazcat70]

Mine slowed down too. They are going through a mini molt. Could yours be doing this also?

 

[Jsto]

I was kinda thinking along those lines, but didn't have a clue. I always heard that the molt would occur in late summer, so I thought I was just grasping at straws. I thought that might be it, losing some of the heavier winter feathers now that it's warming up. Nothin else seems to be up, so that makes the most sense. Thanks