When Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

No, it's dark at night, you could use artificial lights, there are many threads on this website about that, which I have no experience with.

 

[adcockfarm]

Thanks for the responses i will check that.

 

[Teila]

When a hen hatches she has many ova [I think it is in the tens of thousands] which could potentially develop to ovulation but she does not replace these ova, what she is hatched with is all she has to work with.

I believe some hens can have no ova and never lay, others a lot less ova than is normal and stop laying earlier than is normal and some can have ova which never develop or stop developing while not affecting the chicken's overall health.

Obesity can cause a hen to stop laying along with lack of sunlight, mites/lice and possible disease.

I have a healthy, happy, non-obese, mite/lice free 3 year old Frizzle Pekin [bantam Cochin] hen who has not laid for over 12 months now and a 4 year old Bantam Langshan who has not laid for 4 months and we are in our summer [neither are moulting].

But I also have a 4 year old Pekin who has laid 5 eggs in the last 7 days. This little gal is regular as clockwork, 9-10 eggs > broody. Break from boody, 9-10 eggs > broody again. The two mentioned above have never been broody. Makes me wonder if the internal drive to have a hatch [hormones etc] is the reason she still lays as well as she did at 1 year old

She has been allowed to hatch 3 clutches over time.

I think a lot of it boils down to the individual chicken, especially if they are not production breed birds.

 

[rebrascora]

@Teila

That is interesting because I too find that my broody hens are reliable layers into their senior years and often lay sooner after moult and are amongst the first to start up again after their autumn/winter break. This is one of the reasons why I believe in accepting that my hens have a seasonal break and allowing their bodies to rejuvenate at their own pace rather than using supplemental lighting and higher protein feed to push them through it more quickly. I think that the natural cycle of egg laying, raising chicks, moulting and resting is a healthy balance. I love the fact that my broodies raise chicks through the summer when I have plenty of hens laying eggs and then get back to laying quicker in the winter when eggs are scarce. One of my older bantam pekins has a 15 eggs cycle and lays without missing a day for 15 days and then goes broody. They are funny creatures!

 

[Teila]

@Teila

That is interesting because I too find that my broody hens are reliable layers into their senior years and often lay sooner after moult and are amongst the first to start up again after their autumn/winter break. This is one of the reasons why I believe in accepting that my hens have a seasonal break and allowing their bodies to rejuvenate at their own pace rather than using supplemental lighting and higher protein feed to push them through it more quickly. I think that the natural cycle of egg laying, raising chicks, moulting and resting is a healthy balance. I love the fact that my broodies raise chicks through the summer when I have plenty of hens laying eggs and then get back to laying quicker in the winter when eggs are scarce. One of my older bantam pekins has a 15 eggs cycle and lays without missing a day for 15 days and then goes broody. They are funny creatures!

Cool, thank you .. as I said, I have often wondered but never vocalised that train of thought. It would be interesting to see if others have the same experience with their broodies verses non broodies.

 

[rodjac75]

Thanks all, I was starting to get worried. My girls slowed down and for the past 4 days nothing..... so I'll be patient.

 

[rebrascora]

@rodjac75

Where in the world are you and how old are your hens? (It really helps if you include your location in your profile so that we can all see at a glance each time you post)
If you are southern hemisphere, then they could be going into moult and may not start producing eggs again for several months.