The 12 Reasons Why Chickens Stop Laying Eggs
A hen in its egg-laying stage can stop producing eggs due to
natural causes or something else you can simply fix with easy changes. For
instance:
1. Natural Annual Molting Cycle
It’s pretty natural for chickens to molt during different
times of the year. Molting is the process where chickens shed their old
feathers to allow newer and brighter feathers to regrow.
However, this molting cycle is highly stressful for
chickens. It requires substantial protein amounts for it to occur, making it
hard for the hen’s body to support the growth and egg production at the same
time.
This process can be so taxing that chickens just take a
break so their bodies can put energy into growing new beautiful plumage. Your
hen will appear slightly weary and worn out during this time.
Molting mainly occurs in the fall, although it’s not unusual
to see a hen molt any time of the year, including during winter. Some shed
quickly while others take their time, although it averagely lasts for around 16
weeks.
2. Decreased Daylight
First-time chicken keepers may not know this, but a laying
hen requires plenty of time out in the sunshine, or it may fail to produce
eggs.
The amount of daylight hours a chicken gets impacts her
egg-laying capacity, requiring nothing less than 12 hours under enough
sunlight. Make it 14 to 16 hours if you want to keep your hen at peak
production.
Hens require increased daylight hours because of a gland
between their eyes, which secretes certain hormones in response to light. These
hormones signal the hen’s body to begin laying eggs.
These birds naturally take a break to regenerate during
winter just after molting, a move that may see the number of eggs slow down or
cease altogether. However, they resume laying in the Spring when the bodies
heal, and you increase daylight times.
3. Improper Diet
Offering your chickens too much wrong food causes
malnutrition. What comes up in most people’s minds when they hear of
malnutrition are pictures of starving birds. However, obese birds are
malnourished, just in a different way.
Most chicken keepers have a false perception that a fat and
happy hen produces larger and more eggs. However, an imbalance of nutrition
altogether, whether too much or too little, will prevent your hen’s body from
functioning as it would in a normal state and alter its egg production.
4. Old Age
Could your girl be getting a bit too old to lay eggs? Most
laying hens begin to produce fewer eggs once they are two to three years old
and continue for one or two years until they eventually stop. Unfortunately,
there’s no way to stop your hen from getting older.
5. They Could Be Broody
A chicken going broody is something a keeper will experience
at one point or another, as a time comes when a hen feels compelled to become a
mother. However, most chicken keepers prevent their laying hens from
interacting with roosters, something that can cause a “hysterical notion of
pregnancy” and confusion in a hen.
A chicken that goes broody will stop producing eggs entirely
for five to ten weeks when the broodiness breaks.
It’s good to let your hen get around roosters if it becomes
broody. After all, it’ll be giving you more hens to improve egg production.
6. Stress
Chickens may seem like the calmest and tranquil creatures,
but they are delicate and neurotic beings during the laying season. Therefore,
they require optimum concentration, or else they won’t produce eggs.
Things like predators such as dogs and cats, hyper kids,
enthusiastic owners who force hens to the nesting corner too regularly, or
moving a hen to a new coop can stress a laying bird. Such distractions can
inhibit a hen from laying even when it’s the production season.
7. Parasites
Mites and lice can torment and make a laying chicken too
uncomfortable to lay an egg. These pests tend to hide around the vent and in
the plumage or under the wings, making it hard for you to notice them.
Image Credit: Racheal Carpenter, Shutterstock
8. Disease and Discomfort
A hen will stop laying eggs when it falls ill. A laying hen
can catch a whole host of illnesses and infections with terrible symptoms that
make it pretty challenging to produce eggs.
They may cease to lay temporarily until you address the
condition, during which you may want to separate it from other healthy hens.
Common diseases that attack hens include:
- Avian Leukosis
- Salpingitis
Infection
- Lymphoid Leukosis
Signs and Symptoms include:
- Diarrhea
- Too
much mess around the hen’s vent
- Droopy
tail
- Coughing,
gasping, sneezing
- Watery
eyes
- Refusing
to leave the coop
- Reduced
energy level
9. Extreme Weather
An extremely hot or cold environment can stop a hen from
producing eggs, which is a physiological response to environmental stress.
It would be best to make your bird as comfortable and warm
as possible during winter by insulating the coop.
Image Credit: Amy Kerkemeyer, Shutterstock
10. Overbreeding
Roosters are vital for a backyard hen’s productivity, only
that an overtly lustful rooster can be a recipe for stress and injuries to
hens.
Roosters that constantly harass a hen can make her nervous,
make her go off the feeds, and hide, which leads to reduced production or
stopping entirely.
11. Dehydration
Water is essential to every life, including egg production.
Therefore, your hen requires plenty of clean water during the laying season or
summer.
Ensure that you supply your bird with plenty of water when
it’s too hot in summer, mainly because hens have more problems dealing with
heat than cold.
These birds do not sweat like humans, so they’ll use any
means like panting to try to cool themselves down, a process that causes stress
and inhibits laying. Water availability will act as a coolant, allowing your
hen to calm down and lay eggs.
12. Breed Type
Chicken keepers sometimes forget that chicken breeds differ
and that certain species aren’t just great layers as others. For instance,
fowls like Rhode Island Reds and Orpingtons can
produce more than 200 eggs annually, while others like Silkies only
lay less than a hundred eggs a year.
You need to understand the breed you bring home and what to
expect to prevent disappointments and surprises.
Top 6 Solutions
1. Remove Stressors
One way of ensuring continuous egg production is to improve
your hen’s living conditions. For example, keep stress levels to a minimum by
offering your chickens a safe and strong enclosure to keep predators away.
Try to maintain a routine with your layers-the less change,
the better. It would also be best to understand the most recent changes and
help the hen adjust and avoid swift changes. Also, keep their nesting places
warm, silent, with as minimum intrusions as possible.
2. Improve Nutrition
You can ensure your hens get proper nutrients by using high-quality
formulated feeds. You can use organic or commercial layer feeds and
mix your poultry rations, which is fine as long as you know your hen’s
nutritional needs.
Also, avoid overfeeding or starving your hens if you want to
keep the eggs coming. Keep treats to a minimum, whether healthy treats like
veggies and grains or food scraps.
The general rule of thumb is to keep the feeds at 90/10,
which means that your hen’s diet should contain 90% whole feeds and 10% treats.
3. Conduct Regular Check-Ups
Parasites and pests can’t be noticeable if you don’t make an
effort to check your chicken’s skin and feathers frequently. You can treat
infestations when you see them or do it regularly as a preventive mechanism.
Ensure you re-treat any infested bird after a week to eradicate new parasites.
4. Provide Proteins During the Molting Period
Help your hen during molting by supplementing
its protein absorption. Its diet can include 20% proteins or more,
although you should transition back to a calcium-packed layer feeds once it
starts layings again.
5. Add Light Hours
Winter can get too dark sometimes, and the best you can do
is increase light hours by lighting your chicken’s coop.
It would be best to add the lighting at sunrise rather than
sunset; otherwise, your hen can be plunged into darkness before they roost.
Also, longer daylights will make your hens start laying again.
6. Control Your Roosters
Set out a schedule for your roosters if they must breed. One or two days a week can
be enough for it to conduct its business.
Also, balance the rooster to hen ratio by ensuring that one
rooster has about three to four hens.
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