One hen has stopped laying. Help!

[LeahOregon]

We finally narrowed it down to Rudy, our Plymouth White Rock. Of all 4 of our hens, she's been the most consistent layer up until about 3 weeks ago. She was the first to lay, and the one who laid almost every day.

We've been watching her closely, but she's not behaving any differently.

We did start keeping the girls in their own 200 sq. ft. run recently (about the time she stopped laying), because we didn't want them eating our new veggie garden. Before that they free-ranged in our yard every day. We do put them in a porta-run for about an hour each evening, so they're still getting fresh grass and bugs.

I'm guessing the change has thrown her off, but how long can we expect this strike to continue? We got the girls for eggs, and don't want to keep one just for looks.

Thanks for your input.

Leah

 

[canada-goose]

How many eggs are you getting a day? Most hens don't lay daily.

 

[jodief100]

How old are they? She may be starting her molt. Most chickens do it about once a year and will not lay when they are molting. She may also be going broody. Is she hanging out in the nest box a lot?

 

[LeahOregon]

We're getting a pretty consistent 3 eggs/day, but used to get 4 most days. I watched them closely today and the other 3 laid, but not her.

She doesn't seem broody at all, and doesn't look like she's losing any feathers.

I feed them a high-quality organic feed, plus oyster shell, scratch grains for treats, and occasional kitchen scraps. Plus what they get from the yard during their nightly porta-run visit.