What is going on... she just quit laying!!!

[jeffery93]

I have 6 hens, 1 Americauna, 1 - Campine, 1 Delaware, a black hen (don't know what she is), and 2 Barred Rocks. But the problem is, my Americauna has quit laying. The rest of them haven't, they keep up their regular schedule. It has slowed a little since summer but, why would one just quit and the rest keep laying? Could this be the problem. She was getting pecked really bad so I put a saddle on her. Problem solved. And when her feathers grew back we took it off. But about 2 weeks after we took it off, she quit laying. Would that matter?

 

[Bec]

Join the club! She could have gone into a molt or the shorter days now. Mine haven't layed in about 3-4 weeks....NONE of them!

Maybe she is just taking a break!

 

[jeffery93]

She is only about 36 weeks old. Do you think it is normal for chickens to take a break?

 

[Bec]

Mine didn't take a break in their first year. This year I have 9 that aren't laying yet and my 7 orps that have quit. But from what I have read on here, it is normal for them to take a break from laying. I am sure someone with more chicken knowledge will give you some ideas on what is going on.

 

[thechickenchick]

I am glad to see this post. My EEs stopped about 5 or 6 weeks ago. They will be a year in FEB. They were very consistent and laid evry day. They both stopped within days of each other. I miss my green eggs.

The weather is getting colder and the days shorter here in MT. However this behavior started just before these changes. I hope everything is ok with them, and your birds as well.

 

[what was i thinking]

i haven't got a green egg in two weeks. i thought she might be playing hide and seek. then my husband didn't let them out for three days. no green. this stinks.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Very normal and occurs because of the decrease in daylight that winter brings. Depending on the breed (and the individual chicken) some chickens will slow down, some will quit altogether and some will keep right on laying as if nothing's changed.

 

[kristenm1975]

I have three or four EE's and they all quit laying more than a month ago, while a few of the other brown and white layers kept it up. My hens were recently attacked by a coyote though (lost one

) and have since dropped egg production down from two or three a day to one or none. But on top of the weather, the shorter days and the coyote, I also had my hen house light get unplugged and for one day they didn't have their supplemental light so they're totally off schedule. Sigh. Just hoping they'll settle back down to a nice routine now that I've fixed the problem with the coyotes (no more free roaming EVER again) and taped the light into the socket with electrical tape to prevent unplugging.

Good luck with your girls.

 

[kodiakchicken]

It must just be break time for all those green egg layers because my EE, who's been the most dependable layer of the bunch, quit about 4 days ago. I've wondered if she's in molt, but I can't see any feathers missing. The others are sporadic now, but we still get 2-3 eggs/day - just no green ones!!!

 

[thechickenchick]

So what I am getting from these posts is....

Our green egg layers have a secret little club that we are not aware of. They all got together and decided to take a hiatus!

So...We need to stop worrying and wait for them to get their rest. Thay will lay when the are darn good and ready! Right???????????