If your hens have quickly stopped laying eggs, you're not by itself—and there’s commonly a good explanation driving it. As outlined by Gail Damerow, highly regarded poultry pro and writer on the Chicken Wellness Handbook and Storey’s Guidebook to Raising Chickens, egg-laying is a posh course of action motivated by many different environmental, biological, and nutritional things. Here are the best five factors your hens may perhaps halt laying, as discussed by Damerow, in addition to practical strategies that can help your flock get back heading in the right direction.

1. Molting Season
Molting is often a organic system the place chickens shed outdated feathers and develop new kinds. Damerow emphasizes that molting usually happens once a year, normally in late summer or drop, and it requires an incredible number of Power. All through this time, hens frequently pause egg generation to preserve nutrients for feather regrowth.

What to do: Be patient and supply excess protein (including mealworms or significant-protein feed) to support the molting method. At the time your hens are finished molting, egg manufacturing need to resume.

two. Lessened Daylight
Chickens are extremely attentive to gentle. In keeping with Damerow, hens require at the very least 14 to 16 hrs of daylight to sustain standard laying. As daylight hrs shorten in slide and Wintertime, hens The natural way reduce or quit laying altogether.

What to do: You are able to complement with artificial lights in the coop during the darker months. Utilize a low-watt bulb with a timer to simulate an extended day, but keep away from extreme lighting, which may tension the birds.

three. Weak Diet
Diet regime is The most disregarded causes for reduced egg production. Damerow warns that even compact imbalances in a very hen’s diet regime—like also small calcium, protein, or vital nutritional vitamins—can result in a noticeable fall in laying.

What to do: Be certain your hens have entry to an entire layer feed, in conjunction with clear h2o, oyster shells for calcium, and occasional clean greens or kitchen scraps. Prevent overfeeding treats or scratch grains, which dilute the nutritional worth in their diet plan.

four. Tension and Environmental Variations
Anxiety has a direct influence on a hen’s reproductive cycle. Damerow notes that sudden alterations—for instance a predator attack, new flock customers, coop relocation, or extreme weather conditions—can cause hens to prevent laying.

How to proceed: Minimize disruptions and sustain a relaxed, consistent setting. Give new birds the perfect time to integrate slowly and gradually, and supply plenty of Area, perches, and nest bins to lower Opposition and panic.

five. Age and Health concerns
As hens age, their egg production By natural means declines. Damerow points out that the majority of hens reach peak laying about 18 to 24 months and progressively taper off through the years. Disease, parasites, or underlying health problems could also interfere with laying.

What to do: Keep an eye on older hens for signs of sickness, Nhà Cái Fun88 and contemplate typical wellness checks. Although older hens may not lay as often, they still add to flock dynamics and will Stay content, healthier lives.

Final Views
As Gail Damerow correctly advises, egg-laying is just not nearly biology—it’s about balance. Once your hens halt laying, it’s normally their method of telling you some thing’s off. With attention to lights, nutrition, and treatment, you may help your flock thrive and keep All those egg baskets entire.