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Summer is warm, the days are long, and you get used to having lots of eggs. Then your chickens will stop laying. Michelle Cook It looks at many different reasons why your hens might (temporarily) have stopped laying eggs.
Written by Michelle Cook –Why did my chicken stop laying eggs? Ugh!
This is a common complaint from chicken keepers all over the world. The fact is that sometimes healthy chickens stop laying eggs. In some cases, there are things you can do to help get your ladies back into egg production, and in others, not so much. If your chickens have gone from champion stage to zero in the egg-laying department, read on for some possible reasons your chickens stop laying and what you can do about it.
time of year
Bears hibernate, and chickens sometimes stop laying eggs. The most common reason why chickens stop laying is simply the time of year. During the winter, many hens slow down or stop laying eggs altogether. A hen’s egg production depends in part on nature’s light cycles. This means that when the short days of winter come, your chicken’s body says it’s time to take a break.
If your chickens stop laying around December, this is likely the culprit. The good news is that they will probably start stretching again in the spring. On a warm spring day, you will go out to find a nest full of eggs and try again to shove eggs on your neighbors.
If you can’t wait for spring, this makeshift lucky lamp will trick your girls into thinking it’s spring and restore them to their status as egg champions. Hang the light in the upper corner of your coop and set the timer to extend daylight by about 12 hours. If you have a large coop, you may need more than one light for this method to be effective.
Chicken thaw
Do your birds look a little rough? Maybe they stayed out a little late last night with Jose Cuervo? Chances are they are molting. Molting is the process of shedding old feathers and replacing them with new ones, and they can look awful in the process. Many chickens also stop laying eggs during this time. The chicken’s body shifts the use of calcium and nutrients away from the egg laying process to the feather production process. Spillage usually occurs in the spring or fall but can happen at any time of the year.
The good news is that the process only takes a month or two. The even better news is that you can do a few things to help your chickens through this time and get them back into egg production. Here is a quick list of things you can do to help your chickens during molting season.
- Use a feed that is high in protein, at least 16%, and you may even see it labeled as “feather stabilizer.”
- Keep your coop clean of chicken feathers. This will prevent other chickens from thinking they are toys when they grow back their feathers.
- Feed snacks rich in protein.
- Provide shade for your chickens if they are molting during the warm months to prevent sunburn.
- Provide a good coop that is warm and draft-free if you begin to feather during the winter
Your chicken may look lousy and stop laying during this stage, but it will start again with a little patience and some high-protein snacks.
the age of your chicken
This is one of those that we cannot control. As chickens age, egg production decreases and eventually stops. For some breeds that may be more than two years old, as others may be in their fourth year. Most breeds will begin to slow down by the age of four and completely stop breeding by the age of five.
This may not seem like a very long time, but when you think about how many eggs a hen might lay at the age of four, it’s quite a lot. A good laying breed may lay 800 or more eggs by the time she stops laying at the age of four. That’s a lot of omelettes! If your ladies are a little more on the mature side, this is likely the reason for the lack of egg production.
Many backyard chicken owners choose to thank their old babies by letting them live out the rest of their lives in their coop. If you prefer to treat chicken, check out this article.
stressed birds
Stressed chickens do not lay eggs. It really is that simple. You don’t do your best when you’re stressed and neither does chicken. So, what stresses out a chicken? Predators, lucky new owners, and aggressive roosters are at the top of the list. Overcrowding can also add stress to chickens.
If you notice a sudden drop in egg production, ask yourself what has changed recently. Did you add new birds? Did the cockerel suddenly start to feel his oats? If the answer to both of these questions is “no,” walk around your barn and look for signs of predators. Check for chicken wire that has been pushed in or for traces or scratch marks around the coop. These can all be signs of a hungry critter trying to get a chicken dinner.
Once you know what is stressing your chickens, you can solve the problem. If there is an aggressive rooster, you can house them separately or with just one or two hen. If you’ve recently introduced new coop mates, you may want to take a step back and give them separate rides next to each other so they can see each other, but you don’t have to sleep in the same bed. Nobody likes to sleep with strangers.
If you have a predator problem, you may need to set up a trap or wait for the offender to be dispatched. Both options require knowledge of local laws. If you live in a neighborhood, shooting a gun is a bad idea, and likely illegal. If you use a live trap to trap an animal, it may be illegal to transport it. Check with your local wildlife office for the best advice for your area.
feed
If you’ve checked out everything else on this list and it’s not chicken that’s healthy, it’s time to look at what they eat. Chickens are omnivores and thrive on a well-balanced diet. What does a balanced diet for chickens look like? Well, it is similar to us because humans are omnivores too. Chicken needs plenty of vitamins and protein and should stay away from sugary snacks and grains. Sound familiar?
Most high-quality layer feeds provide something close to a balanced diet, but to produce good eggs, you may need to add more calcium and protein. Oyster shells or crushed eggshells can provide a good source of calcium. Bagged oyster shells are available at most farm stores, and beach lovers can regret it, crushing eggshells and leaving them to dry for a few days before throwing them to the chickens. To supplement the protein, you can give mealworms or scrambled eggs. Chickens love both despite the cannibalistic quality of chickens that eat scrambled eggs. If that could freak you out, but they really don’t care.
One more thing chickens need is gravel. You can buy this commercially or provide the chickens with coarse sand with small pebbles. Gravel builds up in the gizzards of chickens, which helps them digest food properly. You can offer this on its own in a separate feed container, or mix it with his daily pellets.
Egg thief
What if your chicken does not stop laying? What if there was a sneaky little hen that snuggled those eggs under her wings and carried them to her secret place. that happens. Some broody hens think they need to hatch twenty or more babies instead of just one tiny egg, and because they can’t produce eggs fast enough, they turn to a life of crime.
This is most common in small flocks of free-range birds. The free range part of the equation means they can find plenty of places to hide their eggs, and the low number of chickens means they need to steal every egg they can get to a number worth sitting on.
If you notice one of your free-range girls hanging around the nesting box more than usual, she’s not there for fun, she’s just galvanizing the joint. She is waiting for the other hens to lay down so she can pounce on her and steal the egg. If you suspect an egg thief in your flock, you’ll need a little patience and some good detective skills. Watch your chickens and if you notice a stray away from the flock, follow it carefully. It will lead you to the egg loot and you can retrieve your lost eggs.
From zero to hero
Sometimes the chicken takes a break from laying eggs. Most of the time this is for a natural reason such as the time of year or molting season. Other times, you may have to adjust your chickens’ management or feeding. Either way, if you notice a sudden drop in egg production, assess your flock and see what you can do to get your girls to lay eggs again. It could mean your new meal plan is in order or it could mean breaking some little handcuffs for your resident egg thief.
Michelle Cook She is a farmer, author, and National Press Association communications specialist. She raises chickens, goats, and vegetables on her small farm in Virginia’s beautiful Allegheny Mountains. If she isn’t tending to her farm outside, you can find her curled up in a chair with her nose stuck in a good book. Follow her on website.