I adopted two 2-year old chickens in mid-July that laid eggs daily. At first, they continued to lay, almost daily. Now, one has stopped laying completely, and the other one lays one egg every five days. What did I do? I also have 3 teenager chicks growing rapidly, and a hen that is almost 6 months. The hens all get along pretty well. I am feeding them layer crumble, some scratch, veggie and fruit clippings (watermelon, green pepper, lettuce, etc., no citrus), and they eat lots of insects around the yard. I'm new to having hens, so is there anything I did to impact the egg-laying? Is there anything I should be doing differently - diet, "free range time," etc.? Many thanks.
not sure what it could be. if i remember right my 7 game hens stopped laying this time last year, and now they have stopped again, maybe they are season layers -- not sure, but a thought.
yes, I just noticed today a bunch of feathers from the hen who has stopped laying. Will she not lay at all during molting? how long does molting last? she is about 2 years. Will she start laying again? I noticed that she prefers to stay in the coop, rather than come out and free range in the yard. thank so much!
Sounds like she is mouting. Hens usually don't lay during their moults. Need that energy to grow new feathers. They usually take about two months to moult and some will start laying again. Others may wait till the Spring. If she is healthy, she should lay again.
Yes, she's molting. She needs all her energy to regrow feathers, so she won't lay until after all the feathers have grown back in and her body is ready. But on the plus side, if this is her first molt, the eggs may get bigger when she starts laying again. You can give her extra protein (cooked eggs, meat scraps, etc) to help her along.
