Stopped laying, it's been 7 months, something isnt right. PLEASE HELP!

[mullers3acers]

Quote:
I feel your pain I have 69 hens and one roo and have been getting 3 to 6 eggs a day for about two months now.

Boy I thought I had it bad, I have 26 hens and I'm getting about 3 to 4 eggs a day.

I feel like the fly saying" Heeeeeelp Me!" Something has to give soon!

 

[jmetzger]

I am in the same boat. I got my girls in March. All seems to doing well. I keep them in a coop due to the neighbor dogs.
They have not laid an egg in three or four weeks. I keep talking to them asking...why....they just keep eating. Do I play music??
Dont know what to do. They all look really healthy.

 

[aqhaktberry3]

They have been locked in the coop/ run for a few days now. I'm going to continue till its been at lease a week. I think I might try putting some eggs in there and see if they disappear. Some of them do go in the nests, and some of them do "sing". I just feel that 7 MONTHS is plenty of time for a "break".

 

[AHappychick]

did you get any eggs at all so far? yes please mark some and lets see if they are getting eaten.... Good Luck this is so strange.... 7 months is more than enough time

 

[walbarbsa]

Now I don't feel so bad. I have about 30 hens; some are three years old with pale combs, but others are young and I'm getting about 2-4 eggs a day. Yes, they're in various states of the moult. I'm sure it's a combination of both but chicken stew is sounding good (just kidding!)......I don't even think of my cost per egg these days

 

[ginbart]

There's a person down the road that sells eggs. I'm thinking of going and buying some from her. I have eggs ordered and no eggs to give them. She sells her's for $1.50 and I get $2.50 a dozen. She has a sign up and I don't. I don't understand that but she still has eggs. I need to go take a peek and see how many chickens she has.

I never see any and mine are always running around the yard and road. I got 2 eggs today.

 

[Billouteast]

This is such an interesting thread aqhaktberry3 but i suspect your eggs are being eaten. I mean if they do the song then that usually means just laid an egg.

Do keep us posted on what you have discovered.

 

[gsim]

Gadzooks ! These posts are scary. I have 24 hens, 22 weeks old. They started laying at 16 weeks and at 22 weeks are laying 8 - 10 eggs a day now. They were not at the laying age when molting season came here in E Tenn. I have had three occurrences of an egg being laid from a roost pole and broke on the poop plank. Each time I was out there at daylight doing cleanup and shooed the curious chooks away so as not to have them get a taste for eggs. Soon enough the offender seemed to figure out what those 12 x 12 gray plastic boxes with the golf balls in them were for. Each incident was over a week or two apart.

If they are eating eggs, they have to be destroyed as they are likely not to ever change. Here is the thing though: It could be a fraction of the flock offending. They may have to be segregated some way, or a game cam set up in coop. They have to be contained in run so as to eliminate preds from the solution. Skunks and weasels suck eggs but may leave full sized chickens alone. I am perplexed by this and am so sorry that it is happening to you. It could happen to any of us.

 

[chookchick]

Before you panic about egg eaters--first of all, it's not the end of the world, happens a lot when the pullets are young and don't lay firm eggs, and it can be stopped. After all, if chickens ate their eggs, they wouldn't reproduce! Do a search on "egg eating" if you believe this is the problem.

Make sure your hens are laying in the first place before accusing them of egg eating. If they are laying, they will have red, not pink, combs, they will squat for you if they have before, they'll make noise, and they will be eating oyster shell. They will have interest in the nest box. If they don't have these signs, they are taking a break.

 

[ginbart]

aqhaktberry3, did you try putting eggs in the boxes yet?