Please help me troubleshoot almost 3 months without eggs

[jjymey]

We have had chickens for about 5 years so I know they go through periods of time when they don’t lay much (weather/moulting etc.) but we have not had a single egg in about 3 months. We have two sets of chickens - 3 who are 1.5 years old and 6 who are 8 months old. The ones that are older had been laying, the younger ones hadn't started. A month or so ago we gave away one older and one younger one to a friend of mine. She says they both are laying at her house.

- Have clean bedding

- Plenty of food +scraps from the house. They had been getting layer feed but recently I bought the feather fixer to increase the protein in their diets with no change

- I have started giving meal worms frequently

- Plenty of clean water

- I don’t see any holes in their coop where any large animals could get in and we haven’t seen any snakes out there. We do have packrats around but I don't see anywhere where they could get an egg in or out and no shells to suggest they're eating them inside

- I have put fake eggs in the nesting boxes in case that would work

Nada. I am at a loss. Any more ideas? My friend might inherit the whole lot since the others are laying for her....

 

[NoFlyBackFarm]

Do you have a lot of light in there? That will affect, you could try putting in a light bulb.

 

[snow5164]

You should stop all treats/scraps, just layer feed and clean water .
As @NoFlyBackFarm says 12-14 hours of day light are required for consistent laying ....molting stops eggs for weeks

No mites or lice on them?
Oyster shell offered to them?
Any changes to coop or yard that’s scaring them?
Pictures of them would help , are combs bright red?

Very confusing for sure...

 

[Pyxis]

Are you in the northern hemisphere? We're entering into winter now and our daylight hours are decreasing, which means that hens aren't getting enough light to trigger them to lay. It could be that your birds went into molt, during which time they stop laying, and they're just not getting enough light to trigger them to start laying again. Your friend that you gave two away to might have added a light in her coop to increase the amount of light her birds are getting, and that's keeping them laying for her.

Also, do you let them out to free range? Is it possible they have a hidden nest somewhere? Have you checked them over for lice and mites? Have you wormed them recently?

 

[jjymey]

We don't. But there is still a lot of daylight hours and they stopped so suddenly I didn't think that would be an issue. Will try it though and see!

Do you have a lot of light in there? That will affect, you could try putting in a light bulb.

 

[NoFlyBackFarm]

Okay

 

[jjymey]

Are you in the northern hemisphere? We're entering into winter now and our daylight hours are decreasing, which means that hens aren't getting enough light to trigger them to lay. It could be that your birds went into molt, during which time they stop laying, and they're just not getting enough light to trigger them to start laying again. Your friend that you gave two away to might have added a light in her coop to increase the amount of light her birds are getting, and that's keeping them laying for her.

Also, do you let them out to free range? Is it possible they have a hidden nest somewhere? Have you checked them over for lice and mites? Have you wormed them recently?

We live in Arizona so it is still pretty light here. They don't free range (we are in a desert and there are so many predators).

Have not checked them for lice or mites or wormed them recently. Will check. Thanks!

 

[jjymey]

You should stop all treats/scraps, just layer feed and clean water .
As @NoFlyBackFarm says 12-14 hours of day light are required for consistent laying ....molting stops eggs for weeks

No mites or lice on them?
Oyster shell offered to them?
Any changes to coop or yard that’s scaring them?
Pictures of them would help , are combs bright red?

Very confusing for sure...

I will post pictures tomorrow. Haven't offered oyster shells, but will. Why stop the scraps? It is worth a try for sure. Is it just so they eat more feed/balanced diet?

We live in the desert and there are a lot of predators -bobcats/coyotes etc. Initially I thought they might have been scared, wondering if something was stalking them. But it has been so long I thought if something had traumatized them, they would have recovered by now. That is a possibility I have considered.

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

They might be laying somewhere else and you just don't know about it

 

[snow5164]

They might be laying somewhere else and you just don't know about it

Read the entire post .. they aren’t free ranging with the bobcats and coyotes