Why are 3/10 hens not laying…

[CalicoChickenCo]

I have 3 hens not laying. All are 9 months old and previously laid. The rest of my flock is laying beautifully so I know their nutritional needs are being met. Why might these 3 not be laying? One is a Lavender Orphington who laid 3 eggs and then stopped, the second is a Cuckoo Maran who was my first layer and had previously laid well, and the last is a Steele Egger. I have a coop cam and can confirm they aren’t secretly laying. The Steele Egger has been sneezing and I’ve been treating her with VetRX but the other two have zero symptoms. I treated the whole flock for worms and coccidiosis but what could cause this?

 

[SourRoses]

Vet RX is not a medicine.
Does she have any other symptoms?

Not every chicken was bred for production. Near identical laying habits is only to be found in production breeds (Leghorn, RIR, etc.)
The "fun breeds" are less homogeneous when it comes to laying. Genetically, each bird is an individual.
It's only February, I'd wait till spring to assess laying.


One other factor that is often overlooked is stress.
Birds that are being picked on, overmated, stalked by predators, excessively handled, having trouble with the coop climate, running out of water, yada yada any of those things can cause a hen to stop laying.
It doesn't have to be a "big" stress to have a big impact.
Because eggs are originally about reproduction, the hens body does not want to bring chicks into a potentially dangerous situation, so the hormones involved are sensitive to stress hormones.

I have a hen that was laying through January but stopped as soon as another hen went broody and won't let her in the favorite nest box.
Can't possibly lay in another nest box, oh no, they're not the "safe" one...

 

[trdamsdel]

It's winter. Make sure they have light and GOOD feed, and they may be molting so just give it time

 

[CalicoChickenCo]

Vet RX is not a medicine.
Does she have any other symptoms?

Not every chicken was bred for production. Near identical laying habits is only to be found in production breeds (Leghorn, RIR, etc.)
The "fun breeds" are less homogeneous when it comes to laying. Genetically, each bird is an individual.
It's only February, I'd wait till spring to assess laying.


One other factor that is often overlooked is stress.
Birds that are being picked on, overmated, stalked by predators, excessively handled, having trouble with the coop climate, running out of water, yada yada any of those things can cause a hen to stop laying.
It doesn't have to be a "big" stress to have a big impact.
Because eggs are originally about reproduction, the hens body does not want to bring chicks into a potentially dangerous situation, so the hormones involved are sensitive to stress hormones.

I have a hen that was laying through January but stopped as soon as another hen went broody and won't let her in the favorite nest box.
Can't possibly lay in another nest box, oh no, they're not the "safe" one...

Oh goodness-thank you so much for your very helpful reply! I really appreciate it and so much of what you said makes so much sense.

The Steele Egger doesn't have any other symptoms so I guess I thought the VetRX might be helpful. Is there something else I should be using instead? She did get picked on a bit by the rooster so it makes sense to me why she wouldn't be laying.

Thanks for the encouragement to wait it out a bit. That's so interesting to hear about the breed laying habits and stress. I guess the phrase can't please them all makes sense? That's quite interesting about your hen and the nest box! They are such funny little creatures!

 

[SourRoses]

Some chickens sneeze more than others. I've heard of them having allergies, and dusty conditions can cause it. I have one rooster who sneezes loudly a lot when it's dusty.
As long as she doesn't show other symptoms she's probably just fine, but I'd keep an eye on her so if it gets worse you can respond quickly.
Also, it might be a good idea to check out their area / bedding to make sure no mold is growing anywhere. I don't know where you're located but it's so humid here we have to stay one step ahead of the stuff.

If it gets worse, the Emergencies and Diseases subforum is very helpful because our experienced experts hang out there and they're so generous with advice.

The VetRX is not going to hurt anything, probably, but it's not very helpful either.