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

[skookumchuck]

I was getting 3-4 eggs per day from my 6 hens and then we got a misserable snow, thunder and freezing rain storm. Now for three straight day not a single egg. same feed water and they free range they wouldn't even leave the coop the first two days after the storm. The day of the storm I got 3 eggs. They are all hanging out in an old dirt floored garage where they can scratch and dust, I thought they may be laying eggs in there but I have serched the shack 4 times and no eggs. I havn't heard an egg song eithter and some of the girls were quite vocal. I just put 8 eggs into the new incubator to do a test hatch before buying eggs and the girls all just quit laying. I have been giving eggs away for the last three months and now I am out and will have to buy some....this sucks

 

[Faenauliel]

My hens all started laying over the last month. As of about a week ago, I was getting 4 eggs/day out of my 5 hens.... However, one of my hens decided to go broody about 3 days ago. And now all of the other hens seem to have just stopped laying! Even though we have 2 brooding boxes, all of the hens had been laying in only one of the boxes. It seemed that they had a preference even though the two boxes are side by side and exactly alike. Unfortunately, the broody hen is using that box to hatch her eggs! I figured that the other hens would just go to the next box over and lay their eggs there, but that hasn't happened! Is it common for the whole flock to stop laying just because one has gone broody? Nothing else has changed at all.... They free-range in the day time in my backyard, but I have searched everywhere every day and they aren't laying out in the yard either! HELP!
>_<

 

[Maggiesdad]

You sure they aren't under the broody girl? One of my Australorps went broody last year, and that little sneaker had 17 eggs under her! She insisted on staying in the nest box and would continue stealing and adding eggs everyday. I had to mark the 8 eggs I let her hatch with a pencil, and sort them out each day.

 

[Cass]

You sure they aren't under the broody girl? One of my Australorps went broody last year, and that little sneaker had 17 eggs under her! She insisted on staying in the nest box and would continue stealing and adding eggs everyday. I had to mark the 8 eggs I let her hatch with a pencil, and sort them out each day.

I just noticed the original poster is a "new egg" here on the forum, so perhaps this is their first broody.

No, the whole flock doesn't just stop laying because one goes broody. However hens lay where the eggs are. I would suggest you put on gloves and lift the broody hen out of the box and check how many eggs she is trying to cover. THEN select the eggs you WANT her to hatch, mark them throughly (all sides and ends so it is obvious which you should leave under her). Now you know what eggs you want hatched and you will have to remove the freshly laid eggs every day. I don't know why hens all lay in the same box, but I have had as many as 4 hens in the same box all laying an egg at the same time. Silly girls. In the past when I have had broodies the other hens lay their eggs in the same box as the broody, trying to get their egg hatched. I always mark the eggs I put under my broody very well, so I am never confused which ones to remove and which to leave. Be very gentle picking up any eggs you want to hatch so you don't disrupt the air cell at the end of the egg.

You can't allow the eggs to build up under her or very few of them will hatch because she won't be able to keep them all warm and turn every one of them like they need to be turned for sucessful hatching.

(Had an *experienced* flock owner tell me that they won't sit on less than 12 eggs and one of her hens sat on over 25. Of that 25 exactly 2 hatched. I have had my silkie sit on 4 and hatch all 4. And my Wyndotte (sp) sit on 9 and hatch 8. My point being more isn't always better)

 

[Maggiesdad]

I just noticed the original poster is a "new egg" here on the forum, so perhaps this is their first broody.

No, the whole flock doesn't just stop laying because one goes broody. However hens lay where the eggs are. I would suggest you put on gloves and lift the broody hen out of the box and check how many eggs she is trying to cover. THEN select the eggs you WANT her to hatch, mark them throughly (all sides and ends so it is obvious which you should leave under her). Now you know what eggs you want hatched and you will have to remove the freshly laid eggs every day. I don't know why hens all lay in the same box, but I have had as many as 4 hens in the same box all laying an egg at the same time. Silly girls. In the past when I have had broodies the other hens lay their eggs in the same box as the broody, trying to get their egg hatched. I always mark the eggs I put under my broody very well, so I am never confused which ones to remove and which to leave. Be very gentle picking up any eggs you want to hatch so you don't disrupt the air cell at the end of the egg.

You can't allow the eggs to build up under her or very few of them will hatch because she won't be able to keep them all warm and turn every one of them like they need to be turned for sucessful hatching.

(Had an *experienced* flock owner tell me that they won't sit on less than 12 eggs and one of her hens sat on over 25. Of that 25 exactly 2 hatched. I have had my silkie sit on 4 and hatch all 4. And my Wyndotte (sp) sit on 9 and hatch 8. My point being more isn't always better)

All good info! Remember, Faenauliel, none will hatch if you didn't have a rooster with the girls prior to the eggs being laid. If she stays broody and you want her to hatch some chicks, you could buy her some hatching eggs if you don't have a rooster. An ideal number for a first time mama is what she can comfortably snuggle lined up under each wing...

I know, way too much info! You just wanted to know where the eggs were and we've got you hatching chicks!

 

[Faenauliel]

You were SO right!!..... I went to check after reading your post last night & she had 7 eggs under her.... This morning, I went to check again, and--sure enough--there were 8 eggs! I marked them all as you suggested. I think 8 chicks would be the most either the chicken or *I* could handle!

I do have a rooster.... He's a black Silkie that I raised from a fuzzy little chick last summer. The guy I had purchased the two Silkie chicks from ''guaranteed'' that they would both be hens. By the time the rooster began growing a comb, I was too in love with him to get rid of him. At night I have to keep him inside my house, in a utility closet, in the plastic bin that we had them in as chicks just so my neighbors won't complain about being awakened too early!

I'm a bit curious what the chicks may end up looking like!
O

 

[Maggiesdad]

I love it when chicken mysteries have happy endings!

That's just awesome! As for the chicks...



Anything crossed with a bedroom slipper has got to be cute!

 

[Cass]

I love it when chicken mysteries have happy endings!

That's just awesome! As for the chicks...



Anything crossed with a bedroom slipper has got to be cute!

x2

 

[duke692008]

well i think my chickens are mixed up i bought them about this time last year and they got pretty good at laying and got really great throughout the winter and what happens?....our first real week of spring and they all give out! i went from 15 to 17 eggs a day to maybe 4 nd i have 23 chickens 11 RIR 9 BSL and 1 guinea which i dislike for she is very mean headbutting everyone else and one strong man standing tall with all those girls a welsummer rooster....hes absolutely my favorite after i eat my breakfast in the morning lol

 

[homegrownchicks]

Thanks for the links.
Ive had my chickens for almost 6 months now and they are part of the family. We started off with 5 with various breeds, they got comfortable and after a month we started receiving 3+ eggs daily. We then decided to increase the flock with 5 more and all different breeds including a bantum chicken. They all varied in age and as such I have struggled to know what to feed them since some are pullets and the oldest bird being 8 months roughly. We have 10 chickens that have a nice coop which i built in the corner of the garden. I have about 25metres of grass and a small garden at the end and they roam free everyday as the gate is always open for them. There is one chicken that crokes in the morning when the gate is closed and thus we have adapted and leave them out everyday now. They produce 2-3 eggs per day, not enough to give away but enough for our family of 2 + 10 chickens. The important thing to note that even in my flock, the combination of these factors. A pecking order must be established thus creating stress on the initial 5 birds, then they get comfortable and we had another 5 so thus another pecking order needs to be established. The age of the birds varies and the right feed is important but hard to monitor. I have two isa browns and the rest are all different breeds, so 9 different breeds of chickens with different personalities and traits. The important thing to note when keeping chickens is the combination of all these factors not to mention water, conditions and weather. Imagine 10 chickens and 9 different breeds, i chose this on purpose as we treat them like our family. They are such great animals and family pets as they adapt to their surroundings. However i have come to terms with the fact that chickens are exactly as you have mentioned not machines. They co exist and are temperamental just like the rest of us. We also feed them scraps and all sorts of treats which we have observed that they enjoy, such as yogurt and bananas. Having 10 chickens and only 3 eggs per day does raise alarms to some but we have at least 3 chickens in that grey area of how old they exactly are and whether they are at laying periods yet. Ultimately they are very well looked after with plenty of food, water and great living conditions that they should produce each day however chickens are not machines that pop out a treat every time you invest a dollar. Patience and understanding is the key in my situation with the amount of breeds i have in my flock. Isa browns and leghorns are the ultimate egg laying breeds and i only have 2 chickens with such breeds the rest will vary greatly from bird to bird. Keeping all that in mind there is nothing your really doing wrong if your ticking all the boxes but it does not mean that you will get good egg production simply due to the breed, age and temperament of each bird.