Why have my 2yr old hens stopped laying?

[Chrugger]

How far north are you? I'm on the 45th parallel. Mine slowed down at the end of August, currently only my two under 1 year are laying. The rest are 3 1/2.

39th parallel (near Wash DC). Mine stopped laying beginning of the summer, basically peak laying season.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

39th parallel (near Wash DC). Mine stopped laying beginning of the summer, basically peak laying season.

Wow that's really unusual.
Are they fluffier?
Perhaps sensitive to heat?
What breed are they?

 

[StinkyAcres]

It's possible, but they often go a number of days only in their coop/run without being let out, so I doubt it. We feed them layer pellets (16% kind from Tractor Supply or Southern States) and a handful of scratch grain and/or mealworms every day. We also leave out a container of crushed oyster shell in their run.

Do you provide grit (crushed granite)? Oyster shell is not a substitute for grit - you need both.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Also, have you considered worms to be a possibility?
Personally I would suspect loss of the other hen might affect them, Maybe the addition of the pullets could affect them too.
By the time they were over it, they might have begun to molt or it may have been unusually hot. There are a lot of variables. Just trying to narrow it down.

 

[SilverBirds]

Right, not expecting all to lay every day, but since we’ve had the older ones for over 2 years now, we definitely know which eggs are theirs and they definitely haven’t laid any in months. We’re averaging 5 per day, but they’re only from the younger hens.

How can you be sure?

 

[Chrugger]

Wow that's really unusual.
Are they fluffier?
Perhaps sensitive to heat?
What breed are they?

Not particularly fluffy. The elders that are not laying are 2 easter eggers and 1 RI Red. They laid great all last summer and continued every couple days through the winter as well.

 

[Chrugger]

Do you provide grit (crushed granite)? Oyster shell is not a substitute for grit - you need both.

Yes, crushed grit as well. Although we're not great about refilling regularly enough, but I would assume they get some amount of grit/pebbles from the amount of free ranging they do.

 

[Chrugger]

Also, have you considered worms to be a possibility?
Personally I would suspect loss of the other hen might affect them, Maybe the addition of the pullets could affect them too.
By the time they were over it, they might have begun to molt or it may have been unusually hot. There are a lot of variables. Just trying to narrow it down.

Yea I've considered worms or mites, although like I said, other than the one we lost earlier this year, they've all been happy and active. I would assume worms would eventually bog them down a bit.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Yea I've considered worms or mites, although like I said, other than the one we lost earlier this year, they've all been happy and active. I would assume worms would eventually bog them down a bit.

No signs of runny poop or crop impaction?

 

[Chrugger]

No signs of runny poop or crop impaction?

Hard to tell since they mostly drop out in the run, but I will start paying closer attention in the coop. I've tried checking their crops but have a hard time telling what's normal. They feel the same as our younger hens, one of them being slightly softer/mushier.