Why won't my hens lay anymore

[CraigJemy]

Hello everyone, I have a question that I'm hoping someone with more experience could maybe help me out with. In the summer of 2016 I purchased 11 chickens from a well known farm here in the UK. They were young and after a few weeks began laying. They were fantastic layers and kept producing eggs until July last year. They then began to malt a little and stopped laying. I assumed they would begin again by now but nothing.

Three weeks ago I rescued 20 from a farm that was going to kill them. They were also laying when I got them but no eggs after the first 5 days. I'm really confused as to what has changed or what I could possibly doing wrong. I read on this forum they need approx 150g layers pellets each a day, which I feed them. I give them some scraps and also treat with spent grain from a local brewery every two weeks or so. They get fresh water, have a nice coop with straw that I clean out weekly. They have no signs of mites, or internal problems, they seem very happy and healthy. I even put a whole bail of straw down outside in the coop as it was getting very messy and they seemed to really like that, scratching and pecking away.

I just can't understand why there are no eggs, it must be me doing something wrong to have 28 chickens and NO eggs! I really like these little guys and want them to be healthy and happy (thats why I rescued them) so if anyone could maybe shed a little light on why they might not be laying, I would be very appreciative.

Thank you very much for any help.

PS, I am a member of other forums for various hobbies and understand you guys must get these types of questions all the time, sorry if I am annoyingly repeating .

Craig.

 

[apryl29]

How much light are they getting a day? They need about 14-15 hrs of daylight to lay an egg. If you're not supplementing light during the winter months it's not uncommon for them to stop laying.
As for the 20 recent rescues who stopped laying, rehoming them can be stressful and cause them to stop laying.
Also, is it possible you may have some predator's lurking about? I had a coyote incident last summer and after that all my girls who had been laying stopped, then I got shell-less/ soft shell eggs for several weeks before things calmed down and I started getting normal eggs again.

I had a bantam who stopped laying in Oct when she molted, then laid for 2 weeks at the beginning of January and then stopped again. Her comb got lighter pink and smaller when she stopped laying. Now idea why she started then stopped again.

The first thing I'd look at is their hours of light and go from there.

 

[rebrascora]

Unfortunately you may have delayed things by adding the new girls. Your original girls should have been coming back into lay about now, but the addition of new girls will have caused them stress and stress means no eggs. The new girls also will have experienced stress at their change of home. The first few eggs that you get are because their reproductive system is in full swing when you get them and it takes a few days for it to shut down. Typically about 2 weeks is how long it takes for them to settle down and get back to work, but it is normal for the girls that moult, to then take most of the autumn and winter off because the days are short. People often don't realise that eggs are seasonal produce and unless you have young pullets coming into lay each autumn, your egg supply will get sparse or dry up for several months and as they get older, the down time will lengthen slightly. This is why the egg farms get rid of their older girls when they go into moult, because it is not financially viable to keep them for several months without and return.

The other possibilities are that they are laying and either eating their eggs or rats are eating them. Generally when they come back into lay after moult, their combs will become red and plump again as oppose to the pale wizened combs they have during moult and through winter. If your girls have cherry red combs and are happy and singing the egg song daily but you are not seeing any result, then something else is having eggs for breakfast!

 

[Gray Farms]

Stress....nothing but stress. Transporting them will cause to stop laying and adding new birds will stop laying.

 

[sourland]

What the two previous posters have said ! Bottom line is that as day length approaches 14 hours/day, they will start laying again.

 

[Pork Pie]

@rebrascora - whilst not helping the OP, I just thought I'd share that egg laying is not seasonal in equatorial regions. I realise it's not something that springs to mind to those living in slightly nippier, temperate regions, but it's a fact either way

 

[Meg-in-MT]

They aren't hiding them are they? Seems like a lot of eggs to hide, but it does happen if they free range If not, I hope your girls pick up soon!

 

[Shadyfarms]

You might want to try and find any hidden nests. They do get creative. I found a nest in a wall cavity with a bunch of eggs. Have you ruled out having egg cannibals? Some of the chickens could be eating all the eggs. Some chickens even hide their eggs in a hidden nest buried in their bedding.

 

[rebrascora]

@Shadyfarms
It sounded like the OP kept them cooped so I didn't suggest secret nests, but you are right, they can get very creative about where they lay if they have the opportunity to find/make their own nests.

@Pork Pie Ken

I hadn't considered that as regards equatorial areas so you are quite right to correct me, but I did notice that the OP is in the UK, so it is relevant here. Just out of interest, is there a moulting season for hens where you are or does it happen at any time? Is there a period when they are more likely to be broody and raise young or less likely? I imagine it gets too hot at times, rather than too cold here.

 

[Pork Pie]

@Shadyfarms
It sounded like the OP kept them cooped so I didn't suggest secret nests, but you are right, they can get very creative about where they lay if they have the opportunity to find/make their own nests.

@Pork Pie Ken

I hadn't considered that as regards equatorial areas so you are quite right to correct me, but I did notice that the OP is in the UK, so it is relevant here. Just out of interest, is there a moulting season for hens where you are or does it happen at any time? Is there a period when they are more likely to be broody and raise young or less likely? I imagine it gets too hot at times, rather than too cold here.

I understand the rationale for your comment- I was simply sharing my experience No obvious moulting nor change in egg production, no seasons for anything, actually it may be different at sea level, but where I lived, at altitude it was more of a Goldilocks (middle one) situation