# Update (the hunt is on): 9 chickens haven't laid an egg since September.



## PappyHoel (Dec 29, 2015)

I had 11 chickens in August.  Sometime in the first part of September I lost 2 at separate times.  One was a 2 month old chic that I had just introduced to the flock.  I hatched it the old fashioned way... I let a broody hen sit on it for 28 days (I know crazy!).

After loosing the two birds I set traps and caught 2 big opossums that were promptly released on Dawson Forest wma.  I live a mile away as the crow flies.

Anyway... Since September I have had 4 eggs, all from my Easter egger, I know this because she is the only one in the flock to lay blue eggs.   I left one of her eggs in there and it stayed for days.  I was ruling out a snake or critter.  

I've checked every conceivable egg laying spot around the yard and woods and I have found nothing.  These are pretty much free range birds that roam about an acre but come home every night.  I've even locked them in for 48 hours and found no eggs.  

These birds used to lay 6-7 a day with average days of 3.   Since the missing members they have only laid 4 eggs all from the same bird and absolutely none since around October.  

Are my birds done laying eggs?  They are 3 yrs old in March.  Did trauma cause them to stop laying?  

I can't eat them, they have names given to them by the 4 and 6 year old girls.


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## Jeff Raines (Dec 29, 2015)

Pappy,I had 10 that didn't lay nary an egg for 2 months.3 of them were 3 years old,the others ranged from 1- 2 years old.Some were going thru a molt as well.But when I got rid of the 3 oldest hens,I started getting eggs again.A 3.9 ounce double yolker yesterday


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## holton27596 (Dec 29, 2015)

could aslo be du to less light every day, that ill slow them down.


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## doenightmare (Dec 29, 2015)

I say off with their heads- literally. Be a good life lesson for the youngins'. Produce or you are gone.


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## SGADawg (Dec 29, 2015)

Short day length affects laying. Ours quit laying too. I put a 60 watt bulb  on a timer for 2 hours a night and laying is about back to normal.


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## NE GA Pappy (Dec 29, 2015)

I have got a light running on my hens for 3 hours a night in one pen.  The other pen, no light.

I average 2 eggs a week out of the no light pen, 4 or 5 a day out of the lighted pen.  3 more hens in the no light pen than in the lighted pen.  

Before I started the light up back in November, I was lucky to get an egg a week.  Happens every year. Now that the days are getting longer, I will start reducing the amount of light in about 10 weeks.


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## Jeff Raines (Dec 29, 2015)

My 2 coturnix quail hens have not missed a day,sometimes getting more than 1 egg/quail in 24 hours


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## GA DAWG (Dec 29, 2015)

At one time I raised a bunch of game chickens. I mean hundreds. Its natural for em to quit laying this time of yr running outside. Watch an see in March they will start back.


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## greg_n_clayton (Dec 29, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> At one time I raised a bunch of game chickens. I mean hundreds. Its natural for em to quit laying this time of yr running outside. Watch an see in March they will start back.



Yep....maybe alittle later.


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## PappyHoel (Dec 29, 2015)

Yeah but this has been since sept before shorter days.  Before that in July they really slowed down.  Maybe they want a clean coop?


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## Jeff Raines (Dec 29, 2015)

PappyHoel said:


> Yeah but this has been since sept before shorter days.  Before that in July they really slowed down.  Maybe they want a clean coop?



Yep,sounds exactly like mine.Last year even thru the winter I was getting 8 or 9 eggs per day.
Here is a pic of some quail eggs I had in incubator.20 eggs,11 hatched.


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## GA DAWG (Dec 29, 2015)

How many roosters you got. Throw another one out there.


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## NE GA Pappy (Dec 29, 2015)

give them a higher protein food.  They may not be getting enough protein and that will cut them way back on the egg laying.  Have you wormed them lately?


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## dawg2 (Dec 29, 2015)

I keep a light in my coop 24x7


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## Nugefan (Dec 30, 2015)

dawg2 said:


> I keep a light in my coop 24x7



do you get eggs all year ???


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## dawg2 (Dec 30, 2015)

Nugefan said:


> do you get eggs all year ???



Yes I do.  The hens slow down to about 1/2 normal rate in winter, but lay all season.  However, the Guineas stop laying.  

The shorter days affect the chickens laying.  The light helps to "trick" them.


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## PappyHoel (Dec 30, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> How many roosters you got. Throw another one out there.



I have 1 rooster and he's enough.  I had to kill the other one when he attacked me and made me bleed.



NE GA Pappy said:


> give them a higher protein food.  They may not be getting enough protein and that will cut them way back on the egg laying.  Have you wormed them lately?



I've not worked them.  How do you do that?  I've been using the same tractor supply feed since they were chics.


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## javery (Dec 30, 2015)

You can use Wazine to worm them, just add to their water. It's what I've always used. Some people use Safe Guard too, I think you have to hold them and force feed it. I would always give mine a 22% layer this time of year, the extra protein will help them get through a molt quicker.


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## j_seph (Dec 30, 2015)

PappyHoel said:


> Yeah but this has been since sept before shorter days.  Before that in July they really slowed down.  Maybe they want a clean coop?


No egg drop soup can only mean time for Chicken noodle soup


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## obligated (Dec 30, 2015)

I have nine hens on strike.Possum raided them(dead now)and they cut the egg supply off. I gave them layer pellets plus their scratch and bread scraps the grandson hand feeds them.I was going to Crock Pot them but the youngest grandsons thrill is to hand feed and pet his chicchics.


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## PappyHoel (Dec 30, 2015)

obligated said:


> I have nine hens on strike.Possum raided them(dead now)and they cut the egg supply off. I gave them layer pellets plus their scratch and bread scraps the grandson hand feeds them.I was going to Crock Pot them but the youngest grandsons thrill is to hand feed and pet his chicchics.



I think that's what happen to mine.  I think a possum got the white silky and a hawk got the chic.  I think they are traumatized.


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## Cmp1 (Dec 30, 2015)

What are you feeding them? We feed ours layer food, higher protein, the light is important but not that much, I'll tell you that if their free range, their probably laying somewhere else and you haven't found where, ours free range and we have found them in some strange places, but we still get 6 a day in the hen house, in the winter, no rooster,,,, ours are about 2yrs old, you really only get about 3yrs production out of them,,,,don't use the pellets, ours wouldn't eat it,,,,


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## PappyHoel (Jan 4, 2016)

Cmp1 said:


> What are you feeding them? We feed ours layer food, higher protein, the light is important but not that much, I'll tell you that if their free range, their probably laying somewhere else and you haven't found where, ours free range and we have found them in some strange places, but we still get 6 a day in the hen house, in the winter, no rooster,,,, ours are about 2yrs old, you really only get about 3yrs production out of them,,,,don't use the pellets, ours wouldn't eat it,,,,



They used to eat pellets up.  Now they barely touch them.


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## PappyHoel (Jan 4, 2016)

Update:  Saturday I cleaned the coop and nesting boxes.  At nightfall I shut all the chickens in.  I normally leave the little door open at night and they come out in the morning. I've never had issues with critters, that I knew of. 

This is where it gets interesting.  Saturday night I put 9 wooden eggs painted white in the 4 nesting boxes.  I counted 8 eggs this evening as I was feeding and watering.  The chickens have been in the coop and run for two days.  There were no fresh chicken eggs but one less wooden egg.

Just a while ago I set a live trap inside the coop with a wooden egg in the back.  We shall see what happens.

I have 8 game cams and none work or I would add one to the mix.  I'm going to figure this out.


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## caughtinarut (Jan 4, 2016)

I have around 30 hens...different ages. They all stoped for about a month and were molting . Almost all of them have started back.  I give them layer pellets and whatever we have on the farm....sweet potatoes, cabbage....etc


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## GA DAWG (Jan 4, 2016)

A golf ball in a live trap will catch your critter. Unless its a snake.


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## PappyHoel (Jan 4, 2016)

GA DAWG said:


> A golf ball in a live trap will catch your critter. Unless its a snake.



If it's a snake it swallowed a large wooden egg.  If it's a critter he chewed some wood.


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## Kdad (Jan 8, 2016)

PappyHoel said:


> If it's a snake it swallowed a large wooden egg.  If it's a critter he chewed some wood.
> 
> Ahhh that's just killing me! Got wood.... Too funny. Talk about getting one over on a thief. You're priceless Pappy!


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## BigCats (Jan 10, 2016)

Even funnier if someone's taking eggs and trys cracking it in the pan


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## PappyHoel (Jan 20, 2016)

I've had 20 eggs in the last 5 days.  I never caught anything but a chicken in the live trap.  

I'm not sure what I did or if it was anything I did to get them to lay.  I cleaned the coop, added oyster shells and scratch to their regular pellets, I added a warming light to the coop and I talked nicely to them.


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## joey1919 (Jan 20, 2016)

somewhere near your yard is a rat snake with a permanent lump.


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## littlewolf (Jan 20, 2016)

Sounds like you might have stopped up your egg thief.


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## GA DAWG (Jan 20, 2016)

I found some more eggs closer to home. You'll be good from now on


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## mguthrie (Mar 15, 2016)

We had this problem also. Run a light all night and started getting 4-5 eggs a day from 7 hens


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## mlandrum (Mar 17, 2016)

Had a dog kill 15 chickens in the afternoon last year , the rest of the chickens quit laying for a month,started back , so i pended them up and the possums started , they stopped laying and possums were eating eggs up, put a live trap out and between that and me catching them in the nest problem solved. #1- Trama and  #2- Eating of eggs were the killers but now the eggs are coming!!!


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