Why Aren't My Chickens Laying? Here Are Your Answers!

[PerfectPoultry]

Subscribing

 

[greengravy]

yes, I notice the same thing as you with my chickens throughout the years. I prefer to incubate eggs dec-march (if I can) so that I get some eggs that same year hopefully, otherwise I will just wait until late summer & they mature thoughout fall & winter to be fresh & ready to lay come spring..

 

[Cass]

Lastly, as chickens get older they tend to drop off in egg production. How quickly that is depends on the chicken and it's breeding. Hatchery chickens are bred for laying many many eggs quickly. They may lay their whole supply up in just a few years. This is one thing I have noticed with the larger production birds. Our White Leghorns have exhausted their supply by the time they reach 2 or 3, but the cross bred mutts can go on and on. They, however, don't lay as many eggs a week as a Leghorn, nor as early.

White Leghorns are the mainstay of production egg farms. I had the *pleasure* of helping install the auto-egg collector in a large production "coop". (Really a very long short barn full of cages with auto waterers and feeders in them...plus 2 chickens each. It was pitiful, really) I got to talk to the owner of the egg farm, cuz I was a kid and who can resist a child's enthusiasm for their occupation? I was interested in the concrete room full of fluffy yellow chicks. As he explained it, he was raising his hen's replacements, every year 1/4 the "flock" went to Campbell's soup company in NJ and were replaced with the new hens that he was raising in the concrete room. He said that his chickens stopped laying at 2 years of age, so they became soup. This also explained why there were different colored tags on cages. 4 different colors. Each color designated the hen's expiration date.

So there you have it, from someone who made his living off eggs. Production birds stop being productive at about 2 years of age. Then they are only good for soup. I don't have a single production breed in my flock....a few pure breeds (Ameruacanas) and a bunch of mutts.

 

[PerfectPoultry]

My leghorns aren't laying rigt now :/

 

[Cass]

My leghorns aren't laying rigt now

Do you suppliment their light? The big farms have lights on 16 hours a day and get an egg 6 - 7 days a week out of each chicken.

Ever notice that store bought eggs have very thin shells? Well, they are all wore out, those poor girls. The first time I cracked one of my own hen's shells I thought I was going to have to get a hammer to get it open. I actually had to go out and buy a glass bowl to crack them on. (I drop EVERYTHING, so I only owned plastic mixing bowls) When I can crack my own eggs easily I know it's time to break out the supplimental calcium, cuz they are not getting enough in their feed.

 

[PerfectPoultry]

No, I don't have a light. It's not a problem that they aren't laying I was just wondering why they weren't and the others were. When I lock the leghorns in a nesting box they lay an egg, but if I don't they don't! Lol

 

[Cass]

No, I don't have a light. It's not a problem that they aren't laying I was just wondering why they weren't and the others were. When I lock the leghorns in a nesting box they lay an egg, but if I don't they don't! Lol

Betcha they are laying some place you are not finding when you go out for eggs. Hidden laying sites are common. (See above pics) The answer is Lock them in nesting box until they lay then let them go play with the other chickens.

 

[PerfectPoultry]

They aren't laying anywhere else. I've had them locked up in a tiny pen connected to the coop and nothing.

 

[silkieloverz123]

Just remember, hens are not vending machines. They are living creatures that are affected by all sorts of external and internal stressors/cues. We are not at 100% capacity every single day and neither are they.

I never thought of them as a vending machine before lolz!

-SilkieLoverz123

 

[ayrehead]

Question,
I have one of my 6 chickens that started laying about 3wks ago. She produced odd shaped double yolk eggs. She laid for about a week then stopped. The last egg she layed was soft and rubbery. She hasn't laid and egg for about 10 days and is now sitting in the hens' laying box for about 20 min a day. She looks just like she did went she was laying but when she gets up, no egg. She has free access to oyster shells and shes eating layer food.
Any suggestions as to what might be going on?
I've inspected her vent and it appears to be normal (based on comparing it to the other hens).

Thanks for the replies.