Why Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs? 8 Reasons Hens Aren’t Laying
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One of the most common issues people run into when raising chickens is why she isn’t laying eggs! Hens are programmed to lay an egg about every 26 hours. She wants to lay that egg, so let’s offer some help! This blog post contains 8 of the most common reasons she isn’t laying and advice on what to do about it.
Here at Pleasant Grove Homestead, we have been raising chickens since 2016 and have maintained a large flock to provide eggs for our community and surrounding areas. We have learned a lot about the ins and outs of raising chickens and how to get maximum egg production! We wrote an extensive blog post to help you learn everything you need to know about raising chickens here.
1. Length of day
The length of day, and therefore the season of the year affects how often hens will lay an egg. Hens need about 14 hours of daylight for them to lay eggs, so during the shorter days in the winter months, your hen will slow down her egg production. The shortened length of day will cause the hen to go into a molting period. (refer below to #2)
What to do for shorter days:
If you want to stimulate your hens to continue to lay during the time of year when the days are shorter you can put supplemental light in the chicken coop. You can use a timer that will turn on the light before sunrise and stay on past sunset. You want the light to be on for 14-16 hours of the day.
However, it’s natural for birds to take a break! You can let your hens take this natural winter break and know you need to stock up on eggs in your fridge, freezer, or by water glassing them. Eggs can stay fresh for a long time when stored properly. You can learn more about egg storage and how long they last here.
2. Molting
Molting is a natural process chickens go through to lose old feathers and replace them with new feathers. You’ll start to notice loose feathers in the chicken coop and the hen will have sparse or missing feathers before new ones grow in. This is a process that happens once a year, typically during the fall, but can happen at any time. Hens will stop laying eggs during molting and will last about 2 months.
If your bird has a pale comb, seems sluggish, and the skin is red where the feathers are missing, it could be that the hen has mites or lice instead (read below) or that it is being picked on and needs more space in the coop.
What to do for molting hens:
Molting is a natural process and you have to let nature run its course, however, adding more protein to the hen’s diet can help them grow their feather back quicker. You can try adding additional protein to your chickens’ diet by giving them meat scraps, mealworms, or nuts and seeds. Hens who are molting will also eat a lot more feed in general to help grow new feathers, so be sure to keep a close eye on their feed and keep it well stocked.
A hen typically has a balanced diet with 16 percent protein complete feed but increasing the feed to 20 percent will help them fix feathers faster.
3. Age of the chicken
The age of the hen affects their egg production! Younger birds lay more than older birds. Egg layer chickens will start laying eggs at about 22 weeks old, however, their eggs will be smaller in size when they first start laying. After that, you can expect your young hens to lay an egg about once a day until they are about 2 years old. At that point, they will start laying about every other day. By around three years old, it will be around 4 eggs per week. At about 4 years old, older hens will likely stop laying all together.
What to do when your hens age:
Aging is, of course, a natural part of life, so there is nothing you can do about an aging hen. However, if you would like to keep your egg production up you can add new chicks to your flock each year to keep the egg production consistent.
4. Stress
Stress can be a big factor in your hen laying. It’s important to have a safe and stress-free environment for your hens. A stressful environment sends signals to the hen that it is an unsafe environment to raise a chick, because remember, the ultimate goal for a hen laying an egg is to raise baby chicks! Things that can be stressful to a hen include loud noises, such as dogs barking or traffic noise, being chased, being bullied by another hen (yes, this can actually happen!) or being moved to another location or coop.
How to prevent stress for your chickens
Be mindful of stimuli that will cause your hens to feel stress. Keep your dogs or animals away from the coop, and make sure that if you have kids at home they aren’t chasing the chickens around.
Ensure enough space
It is important to have ample room for your chickens to freely move around. Overcrowding will cause stress for your hens. Your chicken coop should be 4 square feet per bird, and your chicken run should have 8 square feet per bird.
Have good ventilation
If your coop does not have adequate ventilation you will get ammonia buildup which can cause respiratory illnesses and stress on the hens. To prevent this, you want to ensure that the coop has adequate vents and windows, with about 20% of the wall space being so.
5. Insufficient diet to produce an egg
Hens need a well-balanced diet in order to lay. In order to meet their nutritional needs, you will want to ensure that they are getting enough protein, carbohydrates, calcium, vitamins, and other essential nutrients. It is also important that they always have fresh water available.
What to feed to ensure a good diet
Hen should be fed a high-quality grain mixed specifically for egg layers of at least 18% protein. Foraging, and feeding table scraps and bugs is only an added supplement to a complete layer feed that’s made for backyard flocks. A calcium supplement such as oyster shell can also be beneficial to help produce strong egg shells.
6. Health Issues
Healthy chickens are important to ensure good layers! Just like when we don’t feel well and need rest, so do chickens. If a hen is sick she will stop laying eggs.
Illnesses
Chickens tend to hide their illnesses in order to maintain their pecking order and not be vulnerable to predators. If a hen stops laying eggs, that could be the first signs of illness. You may also notice the hen being more withdrawn or unlike herself, her feathers have a dull appearance, coughing, molting, or watery eyes, and nostrils.
Parasites
Chickens can get parasites, worms, or other pests such as lice.
Egg bound Hen
Egg bound is when an egg gets stuck inside a hen’s oviduct and she cannot lay it. This can be common in young hens who eat too much protein or are not in great health. It is important to help the hen pass the egg, or otherwise, this could become a fatal condition.
How to ensure hens are in good health
To ensure that your flock is in good health, be sure to give them a healthy feed, and clean water and maintain a clean and safe environment for them. Clean their coop regularly to remove bacteria and ammonia that can be harmful to the chickens.
7. Too hot or too cold
Chickens are very sensitive to extreme heat or extreme cold. They do best at temperatures between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. During extreme heat, hens tend to conserve their energy and will stop laying or will lay fewer eggs. You may notice a decline in egg production during the colder months, partially because of the shorter days, and also due to the cold weather and conserving their energy to stay warm.
What to do when the weather is too hot or cold
During the summer months, be sure that you are providing plenty of cool water and a shady place for the hens to go. Keep their coop well-ventilated for airflow and to prevent the coop from getting too hot. You can also give them cool treats that contain a lot of water, such as cold watermelon, to help them cool down.
During the cold weather, be sure that the coop has plenty of straw and that the coop is draft-free and well-insulated. If it is really cold, you can also add a heat lamp, but be sure to have it in a safe place where it won’t burn the hens.
8. Trauma or Drama
Believe it or not, chickens can have drama! They have something called a pecking order, which is a hierarchy of dominance. Hens may bully or pick on other hens below them in the pecking order which can cause that hen to stop laying. Hens are also sensitive to moving to a new coop, or when a new hen is added to the flock.
How to prevent trauma or drama
Keep an eye on your flock and watch the behavior of the hens. If you notice any bullying, you can isolate the hen if needed. Be sure the flock has plenty of room to move around so that they have space to get away from each other if needed.
Other things to consider:
1. Other chickens eating your eggs
Sometimes hens will eat eggs from the coop, this can be a sign that they have nutrition deficiencies, particularly calcium because they are trying to get the calcium from the egg shells. Sometimes they will also eat their eggs just out of boredom! Be sure they have space to roam and that they have things to keep them entertained such as treats to peak at.
2. Possums, coons, snakes, squirrels
The presence of predators can cause the hens stress or trauma which will prevent them from laying, but it is also a possibility that predators are getting into the coop and stealing eggs. To prevent this, ensure that the coop is secure and that the doors are properly closing at night. Roosters can also help protect the flock by alerting the hens of danger. Roosters will watch over the flock and will also fight off any danger that gets near.
3. hidden eggs
Instead of using their nesting boxes, sometimes hens will decide to lay their eggs someplace else, especially for hens that are free range. If you notice your egg production is down, you may want to look around the run and see if you can find eggs hidden anywhere. You may find a jackpot of hidden eggs!
4. The hen is broody
A broody hen is when she stops laying eggs and instead sits on them in order to hatch them. It is a natural and hormonal process for the hen, but you can still try to discourage the behavior so that she will start laying again. Removing eggs from the coop daily will help discourage broody behavior.
5. Is it a rooster?
This may seem obvious, but maybe the chicken isn’t laying eggs simply because it is a rooster! You can tell if it is a rooster based on a few factors:
- The size: Roosters will be larger in size than hens
- Feathers: Rooster’s feathers are longer and may be more colorful than hens.
- Combs: The fleshy crown on a rooster is larger and more colorful than a hen.
- Wattle: The fleshy part below the peak is larger than a hen.
- Behavior: Roosters tend to be more aggressive, especially towards predators, and they will also do the signature rooster crow.
How many eggs will a chicken lay in her lifetime?
The number of eggs that a hen lays can vary on a number of factors, but on average, she will lay about 260 eggs a year! For more details, you can read our blog post here to learn how to maximize egg production and care for your chickens.
Do you sell your eggs?
If you want to make sure you are selling eggs for a price that covers your expenses, without the hassle of doing the math yourself, we created a egg calculator download! Find it here.