Why aren’t my chickens laying eggs?

Question

My chickens suddenly stop laying eggs! I had a dozen of them for a few months now, all of them lay beautiful fresh eggs daily. Then out of the blue, they stopped laying eggs one day. All twelve of them. Even when they do, it isn’t the same amount as before. It’s been a few days now and I’m getting more worried by the minute. I haven’t changed anything in the coop, certainly haven’t changed their usual feeds and water. Anything wrong with the hens that I should know of? I’m planning to take them to the vet if I can’t get them laying again.

Answer 1

Your chickens stop laying eggs? It’s not really a big deal. Hens really enjoy regularity in their routine; even the tiniest change to their daily schedule will ruin the egg production. There are plenty of reasons why the hens will suddenly stop laying, certainly something that you should plan ahead for.

One of the factors you can’t control that comes right to mind is the weather and the season. Since you have had the hens for a few months now, it’s probably entering autumn, slowly transitioning into winter. Now with the season, comes shorter days. Sunlight is required for a hen to best develop an egg, 14 hours of it daily on average. The lights allow them to produce the essential hormones with their endocrine systems, which promotes egg laying. So more light means more eggs. You can try to install artificial lighting in the coop, but that decision is entirely up to you. While chickens do provide a lifetime supply of eggs, that doesn’t mean they should be forced to work throughout the year. Have them rest for the winter and they will continue to lay eggs more regularly again as the weather gets warmer. Leave it to the chicken farming industry and their totalitarian regulations to abuse the chickens.

In addition to shorter days, autumn would mean colder temperature too. Chickens molt annually, they got to give up their eggs production and channel them to thickening their feathers to stay warm. Lots of proteins are needed since feathers are made of 85% proteins, the same rich protein that goes in every egg. This trade-off often stops the laying of eggs altogether. In the meantime, the floor of the coop should be covered in tons of feathers. Be sure to clean up the coop, it might take a few weeks until they are adjusted and ready to lay again. Feed them grains and seeds that are high in protein to help them with the process. However, be wary that lack of food and water could trigger the molting too.

Answer 2

The hens could actually have a problem with stress. Yes, chicken can be stressed out as well! A stressed chicken will not lay eggs. There might be a predator lurking around, getting all the hens alerted and scared. Be sure to have the coop cleared of any holes, small animals, like rat and snakes, could squeeze through and have their buffet. The mere presence of a larger predator, such as foxes, or a barking dog, could worry the lot enough to halt production. Keep the coop a safe, conducive place for them to stay, just like how you want to feel at home while you are minding your business. Naturally, if the mother finds that the environment is too dangerous, she will avoid laying her soon-to-be chicks until it feels safe enough.

Continuing on stress, overcrowding is another reason on why they could start getting unruly. If they are closely packed, they might start pecking each other and that creates more stress. Plus, the chickens might hurt each other, with untreated injury leading to a coop wide infection. Give them ample of space to move around, bigger is better, but a minimum of 3 square feet is a must. Keep them stress-free and you get your eggs. Remember, a happy worker is a productive worker.

Comments

This is totally a new theory about why aren’t my chickens laying eggs. A little bit doubt here.

Answer 3

When you find your chickens are not laying eggs, age of the chicken is important to take note of. They are most productive the first two, three years, even more if they are properly cared for. On average, they will start laying eggs around one and a half years of age. Younger chickens might contract what is called an egg bound, a condition that could be potentially devastating. Simply, they have an egg stuck in them and needed to be treated immediately. While fortunately it’s not that common, egg bound is one of the easily detectable illness, showing up as a really fluffed up, lethargic chicken. All in all, keeping the chicken healthy and happy is certainly the best way to ensure the egg production. If your chickens continue to not lay their eggs, DO contact a vet.

Answer 4

Chickens not laying eggs may be caused by the food they eat. 75% of an egg is made of water. Less water, fewer eggs. Fresh, clean water must always be at ready for hens to sip on. Make sure to have the water changed regularly and the water container itself cleaned. Adding a few drops of vinegar would keep the waterers relatively bacteria free. I’ve been told that the chicken enjoy the little hint of acidity so that kills two birds with one stone. The water should be kept chill on hot days as well, by adding ice cubes or something similar, chicken are picky and won’t drink warm water.

On the bright side, chicken aren’t really picky eaters, they will eat pretty much anything easily, which is great and terrible at the same time. They shouldn’t be overfed, since it gets them lazy and slow down the egg laying. Feed them nutritionally balanced food, high in proteins and calcium, with easy access and changed daily to minimize mold. Low-quality feed usually means lower nutrition, so you are essentially paying more now to guarantee better quality and quantity of eggs in return later on.

Answer 5

Hens are still mothers and of course as a mother, she will do absolutely anything to protect her youths. An instinct usually found on heritage breed chickens, a broody hen will incubate her eggs, sitting on them until they hatch, only leaving for the occasional food and bathroom breaks. She stops laying her eggs and only focuses on raising them, sometimes even when there are no eggs. Now you are stuck with what could be a freeloader that will try to protect all the eggs, pecking viciously at your reaching grabby arms. Broodiness is contagious, unfortunately, good luck facing a horde of hens that decide to be the spawns of demons. Early prevention and detection by removing the problematic hen from the nest for a few hours is a solution.