Wheather? Stress? Why aren't they laying?

[Hummingbird Hollow]

2 tsp of cayenne this morning, only one egg all day and that from one of the older hens. The young hens are healthy and shiney feathered and forraging enthusiastically but no eggs. Darn.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

No eggs at all today. I'm going to give up on the cayennne pepper and just hope for the best. I've explained calmly and rationally to the girls that there are two types of chickens on this property, the kind we keep for eggs and the kind we raise for meat and perhaps they need to think hard on what type of chicken they'd rather be.

 

[Loghousemom]

I have noticed after laying reliably all winter that some of my hens do the same thing. No molt, just take a break. This year I have 16 layers and am only getting 7-10 eggs a day. Granted, some of my birds are 3-5 years old, I have plenty of young ones to pick up the slack. So sometimes I think they just take a small break.

Maybe try upping their protien. I sometimes do that and it sparks laying again.

I am hoping it all has to do with our weather and all the commotion from this past week. I removed a 60 ft tree from their yard and have had to put up temporary fencing to be able to clear their regular range space of all the debris. Our weather went from 40 just a couple weeks ago to 85 and into 90 this week.

Best of luck.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thanks Loghousemom.. I have a trip to the feed store planned for tomorrow. I know they have a higher protien organic layer available. It can't hurt to try.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

So two weeks plus since I started this thread and getting maybe an egg a day from 11 hens. Actually no more than 4 hens are actually laying, since I either get one Wellsummer egg on day 1 and a EasterEgger egg on day 2 or both on one day and nothing on the next. I saw this today on Facebook and thought it was fitting: