Chickens Stop Laying Eggs? Common Reasons

Chickens stop laying eggs sometimes. Chickens are beautiful creatures that provide us with farm fresh eggs. But sometimes, our chickens stop laying. This can be due to light, stress, poor nutrition, or age. In this blog post, we’ll explore why chickens stop laying eggs and what you can do to fix the problem so your chickens can start laying eggs again.

Chickens are wonderful creatures that provide us with fresh eggs. But sometimes, our chickens stop laying eggs. This can be due to light, stress, poor nutrition, or age. In this article, we’ll explore why chickens stop laying eggs and what you can do to fix the problem so your chickens can start laying eggs again.

Light

Chickens need 14-16 hours of daylight to stimulate egg production. However, they can get by with as little as 8-12 hours of daylight if necessary. 

Chickens are very sensitive to changes in light, and their egg production is correlated to the amount of daylight they receive each day. In the winter, chickens may stop laying eggs altogether when there are fewer daylight hours.

Conversely, in the summer, when there are more daylight hours, chickens may lay more eggs than usual. 

You can use artificial light to manipulate the amount of daylight your chickens receive. This is a common practice among commercial chicken operations, and it can be used to increase egg production even in the winter months.

If you use artificial light with your chickens, ensure that the light is not too bright or too dim. The light should also be turned off for at least 8 hours each day so that your chickens can have a dark period to rest. 

Read more on how to help your hens lay eggs year-round in this link.

Extremely Hot Weather

If you’re a backyard chicken keeper, you know that your hens’ egg production can fluctuate with the seasons. Did you know that hot weather can also impact your hens’ egg laying? Let’s look at how hot weather affects your hens and how you can help them stay cool (and keep those eggs coming).

Hot weather can have several negative impacts on your hens. When the temperatures soar, your hens will start to lay less. This is their body’s physical response to environmental stress. In addition, at 85-90°F, egg size and quality will start to decline. And if temperatures rise above 90°F, your hens may stop laying eggs altogether to reduce stress on their bodies.

You must start emergency cooling procedures, as overheating and death are real threats. While it’s not always possible to keep the temperature in the preferred range, there are things you can add or change to help your hens stay cool.

Shade is important; you can hang a tarp or shade cloth to provide them with a shaded outdoor area.

Critical for your flock is having lots of clean, fresh water available. You should think about adding ice cubes to your waterers and changing water more frequently throughout the day.

Frozen treats are a great way to help get hydration to your hen and beat some heat symptoms. Freeze some vegetable and fruit scraps in a pot of water and serve up in a shaded area of the run.

Sprinklers will also help to keep your hens cool and productive. While hens don’t like getting wet in the rain, putting a sprinkler or just hosing down, the run area can cool the ground allowing your flock extra comfort to come out and get some air. An added benefit, adding water to soil can encourage bugs, and your hens love foraging for these!

Hot weather can also put a damper on your hens’ egg production. But by taking some simple steps to help them beat the heat, you can hopefully minimize the impact hot weather has on your flock.

Stress and Egg Laying:

Chickens are susceptible to stress, just like humans. And just like humans, when stressed, they don’t function as well. Common causes of stress in chickens include loud noises, environmental changes, and being removed from the flock (e.g., when you catch them for inspection). The solution is to minimize stressors in their environment and ensure they have plenty of time to socialize with their flock mates during the day.

Common Causes of Stress in Chickens

Chickens are social creatures and do their best around other chickens. They’re also creatures of habit so any environmental changes can cause them stress. Some common causes of stress in chickens include: 

-Loud noises

-Changes in their environment (e.g., new chicken coop)

-Being removed from the flock (e.g., when you catch them for inspection)

How to Minimize Stressors in Your Chicken’s Environment

You can do several things to minimize stressors in your chicken’s environment. Here are a few ideas: 

-Provide plenty of straw or other bedding material to nest, so they feel safe and secure.

-Make sure they have plenty of time to socialize with their flock mates during the day. 

-Keep their chicken coop clean and tidy to minimize environmental changes.

-Secure coop to keep predators from getting access to your hens.

More on Threat of Predator Attack

One of the best ways to protect your chickens from predators is to build a strong fence around their coop and run. The fencing height should be at least 6 feet tall, and sturdy material predators can’t easily dig or chew through or climb over. You should also bury the fence at least 1 foot deep to deter digging predators.

If hawks are common in your area, you may also want to consider topping your run area with hardware cloth or some other secure materials.

Coop doors should be closed and locked at night when you’re not nearby to supervise.

Common predators to chickens aren’t always wildlife; a local neighborhood dog can be seen as a threat just as easily as a hawk, coyote, or bobcat.

Poor Nutrition Impact on Egg Production:

A lack of important nutrients in a chicken’s diet can reduce egg production. For example, insufficient calcium can cause soft-shelled or shell-less eggs.

Feed

Chickens need a balanced, nutritious diet to lay eggs regularly. A lack of certain vitamins and minerals in their feed can stop or slow their egg production. Feeding your chickens a high-quality layer feed is essential.

Water

Make sure they have access to fresh and clean water all day long. This includes providing frequent cool fresh water throughout the day. You may want to change the water more frequently in the summer or add lots of ice to the water to help keep water cool. In the winter months, consider a heated waterer.

Treats

In addition, providing them with occasional treats like a chicken scratch is fine but should be no more than 10% of their daily diet, as these snacks offer little nutritional value. It’s also important to keep an eye on your hens’ weight; overweight birds may stop laying eggs altogether.

Try more nutritional treats like fruits and vegetable scraps from your kitchen or garden. Even mealworms are a great option.

By providing your chickens with a healthy balanced diet, you’ll ensure they continue to lay delicious eggs for your family to enjoy!

Molt:

Chickens molt (i.e., lose their feathers) once a year, typically in late summer or early fall. During this time, they stop laying eggs as their bodies divert energy towards feather growth instead.

Molting is a highly stressful event for chickens. It occurs when a chicken needs to replace its old feathers with new feathers. The entire process can take up to 16 weeks.

During this time, the chicken’s body cannot support the growth of new feathers and laying eggs, so something has to give – in this case, it is the egg laying! 

How You Can Help Your Chickens Through Their Molt

You can do a few things as a backyard chicken keeper to help your flock through their molt.

First, change their feed to 20% protein or higher during the molt. This will give them the extra protein boost needed to grow new feathers.

Second, offer high-protein treats such as mealworms.

And finally, let nature take its course! There is no way to make the molting process faster, so it’s best to let your chickens do what they need to do.

The real solution is patience! Once molting is complete, egg production will resume as normal within a few weeks.

Broody Hens

Every hen will feel the desire to become a mother at some point in their lives. Whether or not your hen’s eggs are fertilized, she may still feel the urge to hatch her eggs. This is called broodiness and often affects chickens for five to ten weeks.

Is Your Hen Broody? How to Tell

You first need to look for a change in her demeanor. A broody hen will become very possessive of her nest and aggressive if you try to remove her from it. She will also stop laying eggs and barely leave the nest to eat or drink. If your hen is exhibiting these behaviors, she might be getting broody.

How to discourage broodiness

You can do a few things if you don’t want your hen to go broody. The first is to make sure her nest box is clean and comfortable. A dirty, cramped nest is more likely to trigger broodiness than a clean, spacious one. You should also remove any eggs she lays so she doesn’t think they’re hers and start sitting on them. Finally, ensure she gets enough food and water, so she doesn’t get too stressed out.

How to encourage brooding

If you want your hen broody, you can do a few things to help her along. The first is to give her an extra egg to sit on, so she thinks she has something to care for. You can also place a golf ball or other small object in her nest so she has something else to sit on besides eggs. Finally, make sure her nest is nice and warm, so she’s comfortable while she’s sitting on her eggs. Finding a breed of chicken that is more likely to have broody tendencies is the easiest way.

Read more about Broody Hens here.

Age and the Lifespan of Chicken:

The lifespan of a chicken is, on average, 7 to 10 years. However, well-cared-for hens have been known to live beyond that age range. As birds age, they will begin to produce fewer eggs.

Egg production reaches a maximum during the first year of producing eggs in a hen’s life. The number of eggs produced each year gradually decreases until the hen retires.

After the peak production period of a hen has ended, she can continue to be a valuable member of your flock. Older retired hens often become great companions and leaders in their new flock, encouraging and teaching the younger birds what they need to know.

This is completely natural and should not be cause for concern.

Hormones 

The primary reason that older chickens stop laying eggs is that their hormone levels start to decline. This causes a reduction in the number of follicles (where eggs are produced) in their ovaries, which leads to fewer eggs being produced overall.

Conclusion:

What makes chickens stop laying eggs? Chickens stop laying eggs for various reasons, including light, stress, poor nutrition, molting, and age. Some of these reasons are natural responses that cannot be helped, while others can be fixed with simple changes so that egg-laying returns to normal levels. By understanding the reasons behind why your chicken has stopped laying eggs, you can take steps to fix the problem so your chicken starts laying eggs again soon!

FAQ’s

What time of day do hens lay eggs?

Laying hens are most often done within six hours of the sun rising. You can hear the clucking as they are laying. Plan on checking for your farm-fresh eggs no later than noon each day.

How do chickens lay eggs without mating?

Your hens can lay eggs with or without a rooster present.

Do chickens lay eggs naturally?

Yes, they lay all on their own without any help from doctors or midwives.

How long can a chicken go without laying an egg?

If your chickens stopped laying eggs and it’s otherwise healthy and being fed a nutritional diet, there is no harm to their health when they stopped laying eggs. If they stop for reasons like daylight, molting, or broodiness, this could take six to 12 weeks. However, if you find your hen at the end of its life expectancy, you may find they stop laying eggs altogether.

Do chickens (hens) stop laying eggs in the winter?

They lay according to daylight hours, which is part of our seasonal changes with the onset of late autumn and winter months. A hen needs 14 hours – 16 hours of light to produce eggs. Some will continue to lay infrequently throughout the winter (less light).

What month do chickens stop laying eggs?

This depends on where you live. However, you can probably anticipate a slowdown around October/November in the US. Here in New England, our hens stop laying eggs in December/January with the occasional ‘gift.’ Come March and April, we start seeing an increase, then by May, it’s full steam ahead with the egg-laying hens.

Read About Brahma Hens and Roosters or The Precious and Sweet Cornish Chickens.

Conclusion: why would chickens stop laying eggs?

If you keep chickens, chances are you’re hoping for a steady supply of fresh eggs. But sometimes, for one reason or another, your chickens might stop laying eggs.

There are several reasons why your chickens might stop laying eggs. It could be something as simple as a change in season or a reduction in light exposure. Or it could be something more serious, like an illness or an injury.

There are many reasons why your chickens might stop laying eggs – but there’s usually no need to worry too much. In most cases, egg production will resume once the underlying issue has been resolved (for example, by increasing the amount of light exposure during the winter months). However, if your chicken stops laying eggs and shows signs of illness or injury, it’s important to consult a veterinarian immediately.