Why are my hens not laying? I have a theory. ><

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I'm sorry, but can we please get off this topic. I am trying to be as polite as I can but I am looking for answers not arguments. I now realize temp does not matter and I should have reworded and said it was still 70-80 in day was probably colder at night. I see what you are saying, but please, if what you have to say is not nice or helpful, it does not have to be said.

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

Quite a lot of my theory was my own thoughts that I wrote down. That is all I am going to say.

 

[raingarden]

If they were eating the eggs you would see the mess they make.

I doubt anyone intended to pick on you. A simple "thank you" would have sufficed.

 

[21hens-incharge]

OMG!! I did not mention breed either! (Though you can probably tell from my sig.) They are all Cochin bantam. I never had a decrease in eggs last year. Chickens are funny. funny, funny, funny.

I love the little cochins!

Yes molting, short days and being bantam cochins means no or very few eggs.

It's good they are beloved pets and I wish you many many years enjoying their silly antics.

 

[dawncpierce]

So I have a flock of three hens and a rooster. I have not got any eggs for 2 weeks. Part of it is probably because our temperature changed so fast, it went from the 80s to the 40s in a matter of 2-3 days. However they quit when it was still warm. First let me give you the recent backstory of each hen.

1. Plum - Recently recovered from being broody, then was picked on by flock and separated. Layed 1 egg. Still has small comb but again has layed 1 egg in the past 3-4 months. Why did she lay an egg and quit?

2. Bubblegum - Molting, I do not expect her to lay eggs as she is quite scraggly. Her comb has gotten a lot smaller and is now pink instead of red.

3. Sky - Perfect health, big comb, she is the main question as to why I have got no eggs at all. none.

I have been supplement with oyster shells and they have layer feed. Two nesting boxes and I have a golf ball in one. Now, here are my theories.

1. Eating the eggs?

2. Cold weather?

3. 2 hens not expected to lay and 1 lazy hen?

So is the one hen not laying because the other two are not, and the 2 have reason. However the third does not. Why did Plum lay one egg and no more? Should I be doing some thing different? I have had them eat eggs before and fixed it with mustard, vinegar, and a dot of dish soap in a blown egg. I can put this in there and see. I live in Conway County, AR but I do not want to give any more location than that for safety reasons. It was 29 degrees farenheit this morning when I came to school at roughly 7:50 so that kind of tells you how cold it is. What should I do? Thanks for reading this long read!

The days are shorter. A chicken needs, at least, 14-ish hours of sunlight to lay an egg. Temp may play a part, but not usually.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, fourteen to sixteen hours of light daily is necessary, especially after that first pullet year. Molting also slows or stops laying for a while. Starting extra light now will make a difference, in a month or two.
And bantam Cochins are adorable!
Mary

 

[lasallefamily]

I have three hens that are about a year and a half old ... they started molting in September and stopped laying eggs all together in early October. There hasn't been a single egg out of the three of them since then. I thought maybe they were too old to lay eggs (I have no idea how long a hen lives when it's a pet). They laid their first egg on Halloween 2020 and their last eggs the first week of October 2021. I do hope in the spring there will be more eggs.

 

[tballard]

The first year, the chickens do not molt so they will keep laying. If you want to have eggs through the molt, you need to cycle in new chicks every year and cycle the older, non-laying hens into the soup pot so you do not get overwhelmed with nonproductive chickens.

 

[lasallefamily]

Oh no... my kids would never forgive me. Maddie, Sofie and Luna are pets... they literally come to us when we call their names and they play with the kids and hate the dogs and love to antagonize the goats. lol I live in Texas and their little coop is inside a 6 foot tall 6x4 covered dog run. They actually sleep on TOP of the coop during the summer. I figure as it gets colder they'll go back to sleeping inside the coop. They are quite the pampered pets. lol

 

[TheCluckyClucker2]

I have three hens that are about a year and a half old ... they started molting in September and stopped laying eggs all together in early October. There hasn't been a single egg out of the three of them since then. I thought maybe they were too old to lay eggs (I have no idea how long a hen lives when it's a pet). They laid their first egg on Halloween 2020 and their last eggs the first week of October 2021. I do hope in the spring there will be more eggs.

Legit same story here.

Update: still no eggs but the hen that had no obvious reason not to lay has started molting. So Plum is recovering, Sky and Bubblegum are molting.