Top 5 Causes Your Hens Cease Laying – Described by Gail Damerow
Top 5 Causes Your Hens Cease Laying – Described by Gail Damerow
Blog Article
Each yard hen keeper has knowledgeable it: in the future, your hens are laying reliably, and the subsequent, the nesting bins are mysteriously vacant. In keeping with Gail Damerow, renowned poultry professional and author of Storey’s Manual to Raising Chickens, this egg-laying pause is often not a mystery at all. There are obvious, normal motives hens end laying, and comprehension them can assist you help your flock and restore productivity. Listed here are Damerow’s leading 5 motives hens cease laying—and what you can do about them.
one. Molting: A Organic Pause
As Damerow explains, molting is usually a annually occasion inside of a hen’s lifetime, generally occurring in late summer months to early drop. During this time, hens reduce and regrow feathers—a approach that needs an incredible number of Electrical power and protein. Egg generation frequently stops through this period, as being the hen's physique focuses fully on feather regeneration.
What You Can Do: Assist your hens with a substantial-protein feed or snacks like mealworms and scrambled eggs. Avoid stressing the flock and Allow mother nature consider its system. As soon as the molt is total, egg-laying really should gradually resume.
2. Shortened Daylight Hrs
Gentle publicity performs a vital part in stimulating a hen’s reproductive process. Damerow details out that hens need 14–16 hrs of daylight for regular laying. As daylight decreases in the autumn and Wintertime months, so does egg production.
What You Can Do: Think about including a light-weight supply from the coop which has a timer to simulate natural daylight. A reduced-wattage bulb turning on inside the early morning can securely lengthen "daylight" and assist Wintertime laying. Keep away from sudden lighting adjustments that might tension your birds.
3. Poor Nourishment
Nourishment is foundational to egg generation. Damerow warns that feeding chickens a eating plan missing in protein, calcium, or vital nutritional vitamins can lead to fewer or no eggs. Treats and scratch grains, while enjoyment, can dilute the well balanced diet provided by professional layer feed.
What You are able to do: Make certain your flock has continuous access to superior-excellent layer feed, clear water, and calcium nutritional supplements like crushed oyster shell. Limit treats to not more than ten% of their each day diet regime.
4. Strain and Environmental Variables
Tension is An important contributor to lowered egg production. As outlined by Damerow, stressors can contain predator threats, overcrowding, bullying, Intense temperatures, or even moving the coop. Hens are sensitive to vary and may react by halting egg production.
What You Can Do: Make a relaxed, Harmless surroundings for your personal birds. Sustain dependable routines, supply enough space, and deal with resources of worry Fun88 Casino including loud noises or intense flockmates.
five. Age and Health Issues
Damerow reminds us that laying isn't really a lifelong endeavor. Most hens start out laying about 5–six months of age, peak at about one–two decades, after which little by little decelerate. Illness, parasites, and reproductive concerns might also interfere with laying.
What You are able to do: Regulate your hens’ overall wellness. Carry out standard parasite checks, retain a clean up coop, and seek the advice of a vet should you recognize signs of disease. Older hens may still be useful associates in the flock whether or not their laying days are powering them.
Last Ideas
As Gail Damerow frequently says, “Chickens don’t just stop laying for no reason.” If your hens have a split, it’s their means of signaling that one thing within their atmosphere or biology has shifted. With a little observation, excellent care, plus some endurance, you can assist guidebook your flock back to balanced egg generation—or simply value the natural rhythms in their lives.