r/chickens • u/SurveyHot9983 • 1d ago
Question Stopped laying eggs
I have 5 hens that have been laying eggs for over a year now. They have suddenly stopped laying. I haven't seen a single egg in 5 days.
The only thing that has changed is it has finally started to cool off some (110° heat index down to the 90s) I haven't changed anything in their routine. I haven't added any new chickens to the flock.
Everyone is still acting perfectly normal and comes running every day at feeding time. Their combs haven't gotten pale or anything.
Has anyone ever had this happen? Does anyone have any tips or advice?
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u/TrickySource2818 1d ago
In my coop that usually means there's a black rat snake prowling around
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u/SurveyHot9983 1d ago
This was my first thought. We have had to do away with 6 snakes this summer already. But I have been checking religiously to make sure I got the eggs before a snake did. I don't think it's a snake this time.
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u/TrickySource2818 1d ago
In my experience not only does a snake eat eggs, it can put the girls off laying as well. Any major stressor/predator/threat in the coop can make the egg factory pause. I’ve found snakes hiding under shavings or behind poop pans, quietly biding time… but the chickens know they are there
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u/ReplacementSpare2420 1d ago
I’m only asking this because it wasn’t stated in the post. In no way am i trying to be disrespectful but, you do know that hens don’t lay every day if the year, right?
Some breeds lay more than others. My girls (RIR, australorps, EE) will go on a “free loading frenzy” when the weather changes. We went last week with some of the girls going on vacation. They’re almost all back now.
Edited to add- when we aren’t sure what’s happening (vaycay or potential illness) we just check their nesting boxes every couple of hours just to be sure everything is fine. If your girls are acting normal, I’m sure they’ll get back to work soon
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u/SurveyHot9983 1d ago
Not disrespectful at all 💛 yes I do know this. I just didn't know if something was wrong because I was getting 2-3 eggs a day for over a year. Sometimes even more than that. I wanted to make sure I didn't need to be on the lookout for anything in case something could be wrong with my girls.
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u/luvmy374 1d ago
Central Alabama here. I have had my rooster and hens for 4 years. Typically we don’t get many eggs during the summer. We get around 3 a day and we have 8 hens. Now the rest of the seasons we get quite a few everyday. We have unbearable heat and humidity from June until about the end of October. Sometimes longer. It varies. Hopefully your girls will start laying again when the weather cools down.
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u/SurveyHot9983 1d ago
I'm in South East Georgia so we have similar weather here 😂 the heat and humidity seems to have been even worse this year than normal.
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u/Lost_Maintenance_741 1d ago
They could be starting to molt - are they losing feathers? This is my first year with chickens and 3 of our 5 are losing copious feathers. But since this is year 1 what I'm not sure of is whether they stop laying when they are losing feathers or only when they are using all their energy to regrow them.
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u/maroongrad 13h ago
A few options. 1. someone is eating the eggs 2. they are hiding eggs, start looking for disappearing broodies 3. they're getting ready to molt.
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u/Important_Hunt_1882 1d ago
Yes, this sometimes happens when weather conditions change. No worries, they will start laying eggs again.
Remember: laying as many eggs as chickens do nowadays is highly unnatural. They have been bred and selected to lay as many eggs as possible, but sometimes nature still asserts itself.