Where'd the eggs go????

[mbq]

I have two 19 week-old hens, pullets, hens??? They each laid about 3-4 eggs and then stopped (about two weeks ago). Could they have reverted back to "too young to lay"? Will they ever make another egg??

Panicking in the Coop,

 

[Jen4]

Are they free ranging?

 

[Ridgerunner]

This University of Minnesota site gives info on how to tell if a hen is laying. Depending on your breeds, the pigment depletion could be a great clue. This way you should be able to tell if your problem is that they are laying and you are not getting the eggs or if they have actually stopped laying.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI1182.html

This site will give you clues as to why you may not be getting eggs. You are there looking at them so you might see things we would not know about. My first guesses are that they are hiding the eggs from you or you have an egg eater. It could easily be something else.

Florida – Stopped Laying
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS029

Good luck. This is not always an especially easy case to solve.

 

[ella]

They are still very young and have to find their rhythm. They will never lay an egg a day for a very long stretch. It takes a minimum of 26 hours for a hen to produce an egg. Many things will cause them to skip a day, or several days.

This time of year depending on where you live they may be molting.

You can check for illness by looking for mites and lice in the fluff on their behinds. Check their weight by feeling the muscle on either side of their keel. Check the poo daily for weirdness and have it tested if you suspect internal parasites.

Otherwise just be patient and understand they are not machines, they will lay when they can, that's never every single day. I guarantee they will lay again.