Why aren't my hens laying?

[Madelyne618]

I have three hens, a Speckled Sussex, a Partridge Cochin, and a Buff Orpington. On July 2nd I got my first egg, and on July 3rd I got two more, but I haven't gotten any more since then. Why is this happening?

 

[Coop de Grass]

I have three hens, a Speckled Sussex, a Partridge Cochin, and a Buff Orpington. On July 2nd I got my first egg, and on July 3rd I got two more, but I haven't gotten any more since then. Why is this happening?

Hi @Madelyne618 , have your hens laid any more eggs? If you are in a heat wave, sometimes that will cause a drop. Make sure to keep them well hydrated and administer electrolytes and vitamins during the heat.

Congrats on your first eggs!

 

[Choco Maran]

Just starting out they can and probably will miss days in between laying as they get their system for laying going. Give them time they will start in again. Heat has a lot to do with it as well.

 

[ladyj02]

I'm in the same boat. Got my first egg a few days ago and nothing since. Today was coop cleaning day so I did a thorough clean out and put a few golf balls in each of the nesting boxes. Hoping to find another egg soon!

 

[Coop de Grass]

I'm in the same boat. Got my first egg a few days ago and nothing since. Today was coop cleaning day so I did a thorough clean out and put a few golf balls in each of the nesting boxes. Hoping to find another egg soon!

FIngers crosssed that you find one in the morning!

 

[Madelyne618]

Thanks for all the info! It has been in the upper 80s for a few weeks, so that's probably why they aren't laying much. Thanks again!

 

[Coop de Grass]

Thanks for all the info! It has been in the upper 80s for a few weeks, so that's probably why they aren't laying much. Thanks again!

Hydration with added electrolytes ( even Gatorade!) and don't forget to offer calcium on the side - crush those eggshells, the girls like them better than oyster shell. Just be sure to rinse them, dry them, and then crush them so they don't look like eggs.

I have a hen with vent prolapse and it looks like it was dehydration and lack of calcium. I switched my flock from layer feed because of the pullets and missed putting out calcium for a week.

 

[Madelyne618]

Thanks! I'll start adding eggshell to their diet. I also give them watermelon during the afternoon when it's really hot. Does Gatorade really help? Thanks again!

 

[Coop de Grass]

Thanks! I'll start adding eggshell to their diet. I also give them watermelon during the afternoon when it's really hot. Does Gatorade really help? Thanks again!

I used gatorade in desperation when I had a sick chicken. I needed something to get electrolytes into her and remembered a bottle in the pantry left from last years track season. It worked. I dribbled it into her mouth with a syringe. Eye droppers are easier and I now have a few in the kit.

There are recipes on the forum for home made electrolytes, but I didn't have the time or patience at that moment I've heard people use pedialyte as well.

 

[Penny Hen]

Putting vinegar in the drinking water helps prevent heat exhaustion. It restores electrolytes. You could also use pickle juice too because it has the vinegar in it. The electrolytes in pickles are why women crave them during pregnancy. My hens have quit laying on me too. All except my lame hen who has her own wooden shipping box of shavings. One of my hens has chicks and she is moulting so that by the time she gets these chicks big enough she should be back to laying. I think it is the high humidity here in the South that is putting most of them off laying. That or the fact that I have had a pair of mated hawks move into my little hollow about two weeks ago. So far I have not had problems with them. They just circle the sky calling.I think they have a nest on the hill across the road from me. I think the stress of them and the heat/humidity that has thrown the chickens off laying.