How Long Does It Take for Hens to Lay Eggs Again After Stress

So… your chickens stopped laying eggs? Ours did too, and the good news is, this issue is usually something you can solve and get your chickens dorsum to laying eggs on the daily.

There are many reasons chickens stop laying eggs, from disease and stress, to old historic period. Some of this is in your control equally their keeper, and some of it isn't.

Let's dig a little deeper into the consequence to become to the cadre of why your chickens stopped laying eggs in the first place.

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12 Reasons Your Chickens Stopped Laying Eggs

1.Improper Diet

When your hens take stopped laying, diet is the first affair you should examine. Changes in diet are one of the virtually common causes of chickens stopping or slowing down egg laying. Poor nutrition can also contribute to lack of eggs, or eggs that take thin shells.

H2o:

Chickens need access to fresh, clean water all day long. A lack of water for even an hr on a hot day can disrupt the laying bicycle. In the winter, brand sure to keep your hen'southward water from freezing.

Feed:

It's important to too make certain you're feeding your flock a loftier quality layer feed and ensure each hen is getting enough to eat every twenty-four hour period. Even the all-time treats, including craven scratch, should be fed sparingly as they tin can really pack on the pounds without offering much diet, kind of similar your favorite snacks!

How you can help:

Did you modify your chickens feed recently? It may take their bodies some time to adjust to the change.

Are you maybe feeding too many snacks and non enough healthy food? Take a close look at what your hens are eating and supplement or take away equally needed.

A hen's diet should exist 90% chicken feed and 10% snacks. Make sure the feed you're giving them is designated for laying hens, as hens need more nutrients to produce good for you eggs. It wouldn't injure to showtime giving them some free selection oyster shell in a bowl next to their food.

2. Extreme Weather

Extremely hot weather and extremely cold weather condition tin cause a subtract in egg production for your hens. To combat this, endeavour to brand them every bit comfortable equally possible by insulating the coop in winter. Keep them cool and supplied with plenty of water in summer.

You lot can also requite your chickens some delicious craven treats to meliorate their wellness and well being when the atmospheric condition gets tough. Hot oatmeal with fruit in the winter or other winter chicken treats will be much appreciated and in the summertime chickens just beloved frozen fruit!

How you can help:

If your chickens are too hot, read this article for ideas on how to absurd them downward!

If it'southward winter and you feel your chickens are suffering from the cold, check out our post on chicken keeping during the winter months to help warm them up a chip.

3. Molting

Another reason that your chickens stopped laying eggs could be due to molting.

Molting is when chickens shed their sometime feathers and re-grow bright shiny new ones. This process is taxing on the chicken'south body, and many take a break in egg laying and then their trunk can put its energy into growing new feathers.

Almost chickens molt in the fall, but we've seen our ladies molt at all unlike times during the yr, some even molt in the winter! Poor girls!

Some chickens molt then lightly you can barely tell it's happening. For these low-cal molters wait for ruffled feathers or bald spots on the head or around the vent.

How you can help:

If your hens are molting, be certain to give them some actress protein. Nosotros love giving our hens Tasty Grubs when they're going through a molt to assist heave their organisation and abound those feathers back more quickly and then they can get back to laying delicious eggs!

Learn more about the signs of molting and what you tin do to help your gals through it.

4. Change in Season

Equally summer moves into fall, the decrease in daylight signals the chicken's body to lay less eggs. Chickens naturally take a intermission in laying eggs in the winter and hens can slow down to one egg per week or stop laying all together.

We here at Backyard Chicken Project firmly believe in giving our dearest hens a much needed laying break in the winter, but every chicken keeper has their own views on this topic.

How you can aid:

The shorter days of winter almost always trigger the hen'south torso to irksome down on egg product. If you actually need for your hens to keep laying in the winter, yous can add artificial lighting to the coop to extend the daylight hours and trick their bodies into continuing egg production.

five. Broodiness

Our piddling chicken flock has quite a few silkies in it, so going broody is something we deal with about of the year around here. Going broody is when a hen decides she wants to sit on a nest of eggs and hatch chicks.

Some breeds (like silkies) are more likely to go broody and most hens will get broody but in one case per year, in the bound. Sometimes it's a good idea to let your hens become broody. Afterwards all, there are advantages to letting her raise you lot up your next batch of puffballs.

When hens get broody they terminate laying eggs entirely, and don't begin over again until their broodiness breaks or their chicks reach an independent historic period. Broody hens are easy to identify, they will sit down on the nest twenty-four hour period and dark on a clutch of eggs. Broody hens volition often puff upwardly their feathers and shriek at other hens or people who come near the nest. They may also peck at intruders.

How yous tin can assist:

There are several options if y'all have a broody hen or two!

• In one case a hen goes broody she may be quite determined to sit on that nest until she has chicks. 1 option to terminate the broodiness is to literally give her some chicks to take care of.
• Put some fertilized eggs under her and permit her hatch them.
• Try to break the broodiness by taking them off the nest frequently.
• Let them be broody, they usually get over the impulse in well-nigh a month and get dorsum to their egg-laying business.

half dozen. Age

We've found this to be the worst reason that chickens stop laying eggs, because at that place's no fixing it. Merely like females of any type, female chicks hatch with only a sure number of ova in them. In one case those ova have all transformed into eggs and been laid, that's information technology, they're gone and there won't be whatsoever more. This can happen at any fourth dimension, only most hens reach this signal in their life around two or three years of age.

We take some hens that are vi years old and still lay eggs on occasion, but have by and large stopped production. They're just enjoying their retirement at this point!

How you can assistance:

Unfortunately there's pretty much nothing you lot can do to modify this situation. Erstwhile birds won't magically commencement laying once again, no affair what you lot practise. Your only pick here is to add some new young chicks to your flock so you'll continue getting eggs.

7. Illness

Hens will stop laying eggs when they are ill. If your hen stops laying unexpectedly, watch her carefully for signs of illness. If you spot any of these signs of illness, be sure to separate her from the remainder of the flock and requite her some TLC.

Common Signs of Sickness in Hens:

• Drop in energy level
• Refusing to leave the coop
• Droopy tail
• Glassy, watery, or droopy eyes
• Coughing, sneezing, wheezing, gasping
• Vent discharge
• Diarrhea

This handy printable offers even more signs your chicken is ill.

How you lot tin can help:

Quarantine the sick hen immediately and then she doesn't laissez passer on illness to the flock. We like to keep a folding rabbit muzzle on mitt just in example nosotros need to separate chickens for any reason.

While chickens are in the sick bay they receive easy to swallow foods like yogurt and scrambled eggs and nosotros put electrolytes and vitamins in their water. We've had many hens recover from illness and injury this style.

eight. Stress

Chickens tin become stressed very easily. Like any animal, stress affects chicken physiology and can lead to a decrease in laying. Try to continue your hens stress-free by fugitive swift changes in their surround, protecting them from predators, and keeping them comfortable year-round.

Mutual Stressors for Chickens:

• Recent predator attacks/predator nearby
• Moving to a new coop
• Extreme conditions
• Calculation or losing chickens

How y'all tin help:

Try your all-time to keep your chickens surroundings the aforementioned, and don't change their routine too often. Allow your chickens out to free range if possible, this volition permit them to blow off some steam, get exercise, and forage for fresh foods.

nine. Pests

Pests are ane of the most irritating problems yous can take when it comes to raising chickens. The nearly common pests you'll encounter in the chicken coop are lice and mites. When chickens suffer from an infestation of lice or mites they will slow down or terminate laying eggs.

How you tin can assistance:

It's a practiced thought to practice routine flock checks every month to make sure they aren't riddled with pests. Bank check your hens thoroughly for these pests, they tend to congregate under wings and around the vent.

Be sure to cheque the chickens at all times of mean solar day, equally some pests are just active at night. If your chickens are suffering from pests, it's best to take hold of the issue as presently as possible!

Read these articles for more than specific assist with your issue:

• How to get rid of Mites
• How to get rid of Lice

x. Fear of predators

One reason hens lay fewer eggs or cease all together is fear from predators. If your flock recently had a predator set on, you tin can expect your hens volition stop laying or boring down from the stress and fear of the event. Their bodies may accept a few days to a few weeks earlier they render back to normal subsequently such a trauma.

We've known predators to lurk outside of the coop at night, digging or pushing on doors and windows to effort to gain entry. All of this adds up to actress fear and stress on your birds.

How you lot tin assist:

If y'all suspect your chickens stopped laying due to fear of predators information technology may help to put a trail cam or 2 upward effectually the coop to meet if they're being stalked at night.

Have steps to add extra predator protection to the coop, and maybe proceed them from free ranging for a few weeks until things calm down.

xi. Adding or losing flock members

To you, getting a few new chicks or buying a few fully grown chickens on craigslist isn't a very big deal, but to your flock information technology's a whole different story.

Calculation new members to the flock is extremely stressful not simply on the new chickens, but on the original flock too. The chickens volition all have to establish a new pecking club and yous can look fights and general chicken rudeness to break out for several weeks or months as everyone adjusts.

This stressful time tin can mean less eggs for your breakfast.

Losing flock members also affects the flock for the aforementioned reason as above, the flock has to establish a new pecking order.

If the flock member was lost due to illness or a predator it can add an extra element of fright for the rest of the flock. It's no cloak-and-dagger that chickens can be cliquey and tend to befriend other birds.

If ane of the chickens dies or disappears, the other may get depressed. Some chicken keepers have noticed that this depression tin can last for quite awhile and can certainly affect egg laying.

How y'all can assist:

Try non to add or take away flock members unless it'due south absolutely necessary. If you do decide to add together new flock members, follow our step past pace arroyo to innovate them to the flock. This way in that location's very little stress for everyone involved.

And then, equally you lot can encounter, there are a lot of reasons hens finish laying eggs. Some of them are in your control, and some aren't.

Eliminating stress, checking for pests, and making certain your birds are happy and salubrious are the first steps to take when your nesting boxes of a sudden go empty!

Nosotros hope this listing will help you place reasons your chickens stopped laying eggs, and how to become them back on track! If you want to conversation chickens, delight leave a comment below, we'd honey to hear from y'all!

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Source: https://backyardchickenproject.com/9-reasons-hens-stop-laying-eggs/

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