Chickens really are an incredible backyard companion! They’re curious, chatty, and best of all, deliver us those daily golden nuggets – eggs! But what do you do when you notice egg-laying start to drop? How do I get my fowls producing again you may ask?
My name is Poultry Pete and I’ve been rearing and showing purebred poultry for over 45 years. I’ve tried and tested countless strategies for getting my chickens to lay. Today, I’ll be saving you hours of trial and error by teaching you why it happens, as well as the strategies I find the most effective to combat this dilemma.
First, you’ll learn the common reasons why chickens stop laying:
- They’ve just Finished Molting
- They’re Conserving Energy
- Reduced Daylight
- Bird Stress
- Poor Bird Health
Then, I’ll teach you how to get them going again:
- Good Laying Set Up
- Lighting & Optimal Shed Orientation
- A Balanced Diet with Treats
- Reduce Stress
- Manage Health
Chooks and their Eggs
The range of egg colors across the many breeds is truly amazing. Having a menagerie of hens from various breeds can give you colors ranging from white, tinted buff through to blue, green, brown, and chocolate brown. It really is a delight!
Many people purchase chickens in the hope they will lay all year round and there are some hybrids that almost do – like Hylines and Isa browns. In their wild state chickens only lay a clutch of eggs. However, human-animal husbandry has selectively bred certain types to be what I call ‘follicle busters’ or high producers.
But what do you do when it’s the middle of winter, freezing cold and your chickens stop laying? Or perhaps they’ve even stopped laying in the summer months, much to your confusion!
First, let’s explore why it’s actually happening in the first place.
Why have my chickens stopped laying?
Seasonal Reasons
A seasonal pause in egg production is perfectly natural and normal. Winter is actually an opportunity to build your chickens up ready for the more productive warmer months.
There are several reasons why chickens have a slowdown period of egg-laying:
1. They have Just Finished Molting
Nutrients consumed are going into new feather production.
2. Conservation of energy
As the weather gets colder, chickens require greater carbohydrates to maintain body heat; their focus being self-preservation.
3. Reduced Daylight
Chickens require 14 to 16 hours of light daily to produce eggs, which is why your production increases as you head into spring and summer.
To stimulate egg-laying, the essential ingredient is the length of daylight. There is actually a secret to artificially increasing the length of ‘daylight’, which I will also share with you.
Other Reasons
Although the colder months can usually explain the reduction in egg production, some owners may experience issues during the warmer months.
4. Stress
Your chickens may be experiencing the burden of stress from parasites, a marauding predator or physical ailment.
5. Poor Health
Respiratory conditions are common with fowls and this may be sapping your hen’s immune system.
This is all great info Pete, but what can I do about it!? I miss my morning omelet!
How to get my Chickens to Start Laying Again?
1. Laying set up
Firstly, let’s look at your laying set up – you do not want your birds to be laying in random places where the eggs could get dirty.
It is therefore essential to set up nest boxes that are dry, comfortable, dark, and adequate in number. Follow these guidelines:
Provide Nest Boxes for the Number of Birds
You should have one nest box for every two birds, however, you may find they have a favorite box. Ensure they are filled with clean, soft bedding like straw with sides that are high enough to stop them from flicking it out while they are positioning themselves to lay.
Design Nest Boxes to Replicate the Wild
Darken the nest boxes with black paint to simulate a safe place in the ‘wild’ and slightly off the ground by about 15-20 cms.
Collect the Eggs Regularly
Collecting eggs regularly prevents egg eating or the eggs accidentally getting stepped on by other enthusiastic hens all wanting to use the same spot.
Provide Perching Spaces for Every Bird
Adequate perching space ensures that your hens are not tempted to sleep in the nest box. Keeping nest boxes away from perches prevents hens from defecating near their eggs.
Train Your Chickens With a “FAKE Egg”
Use a plastic egg or the cheaper option – golf balls. It may seem silly, but having a placebo egg will trigger your hen’s instinct to lay.
I strongly recommend not free-ranging birds in muddy runs- you may find they leave mud on their eggs in the nest.
I prefer using plastic or metal nest boxes- the problem with timber is they can harbor blood-sucking red mite.
2. Lighting & Shed Orientation
Shed Design – Minimise Wind-Chill
Design a shed with it’s ‘back to the wind’- in other words, have the solid wall of the shed facing the prevailing weather. For example, in Melbourne, the orientation would be walls facing west/south-west and the open-meshed part of the shed facing east-north-east.
You want to minimize the amount of cold air blowing directly into your shed. The wind-chill factors can impact your hens and reduce production.
The Run – Avoid Mud
Allow your birds out into a run or free-ranging but avoid them foraging in sloppy, muddy areas or letting them out during inclement weather (watch the radar). Allowing poor conditions can compromise their heat, health and their muddy feet can soil your eggs.
Artificially Increase the Length of Daylight (My Secret Weapon)
Set up a light (e.g. 60 watts incandescent or about 800 lumens – not too bright but just enough to read a book by) on a timer. Gradually increase the length of artificial light by an hour each week until you get your maximum 14-16 hours per day.
The timer can be either set to come on at about 5am and go off around 6pm. Or – if you do not want it on all day – you can set to come on at 5am then off at 9am then on at 3pm and off at 6pm.
I only advocate this approach on the proviso that your birds have adequate nutrition. In some particularly cold areas poultry-keepers have heat lamps on freezing nights to take the edge off the cold. This can make your power bill more expensive without a more sustainable option.
3. Balanced Diet with Treats
Protein, Carbs, Greens, Grains & Grits
Always use a commercial feed as a base-line!
Backyard chickens that most commonly don’t get the required nutrition are those which aren’t fed commercial feed. If your chicken’s dietary requirements aren’t being met, then they won’t be laying any eggs for you.
Your chicken needs around 20 grams of protein to lay an egg. In addition to protein, chickens need calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, fat, and water.
Chickens need a minimum of 16% protein in their diet – I recommend using a standard commercial feed with clearly labeled dietary content displayed.
If your chickens haven’t started laying yet, you should be feeding them either grower or developer feed. Start feeding them layers’ pellets at 20 weeks old or when they lay their first egg if this occurs before 20 weeks.
Laucke, an Australian owned and based company produces good quality feed.
Protein – The Key Ingredient
The most ingenious story I ever heard to get your chickens to lay more eggs belonged to an old poultry judge. He relayed the account of a breeder friend of his who had the biggest birds and whopper eggs he’d ever seen!
The secret? Maggots!!
That’s right, this old guy would get a 44 gallon drum, fill it with bran and shove a rancid piece of old steak down the middle. In no time the flies gathered, laid their eggs and in time fistfuls of maggots would appear to eat the bran.
These he fed to his chooks in copious amounts who hungrily consumed them and the results spoke for themselves. If the maggot idea grosses you out try mealworms instead – they are relatively easy to breed with minimal cost in set-up.
Some have expressed concern about the commercial production of mealworms so I would advocate breeding your own.
At the end of the day, mealworms and maggots work because they supplement the amount of protein your chooks are consuming.
A Question of Balance
A caution is to not overfeed your fowls on the one food source in this way. In fact, there is some evidence that over-consumption of protein can be detrimental.
‘Your chickens can overdose on protein. … All levity aside, if you feed your chickens a ridiculous high protein diet, your chooks will basically experience malnutrition because their bodies are simply not getting enough of the complex array of vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates that they need.’ – Backyard Chicken Coops.
The Added Extras
Once you have a commercial feed as a baseline you can include the added extras.
In their natural state, a chicken’s main diet are grits, grubs and greens.
Chickens don’t have teeth but collect their meals in a vessel called a crop. The grits they peck from the ground like small rocks, gravel and shell pieces act as the ‘teeth’ to grind down the food they eat,
Grubs are a rich source of protein and greens the ideal sources of vitamins. Chickens are opportunistic omnivores – which is why it is preferable to allow your birds a time in the day to forage.
Also, keep a supply of shell grit available for the birds to pick at will – medium-coarse grits are recommended for fowls. This is important for good shell development. Providing treats like corn, pumpkin, watermelon, silverbeet gives them something new and different to enjoy and is also advisable.
4. Reduce Bird Stress
Bird stress can severely reduce egg production if not properly managed.
Exercise
One way to combat this is to keep your fowls as active as possible, especially in winter. Throw one handful of wheat per bird in the afternoon before bed-time to call them in and get them scratching about – this helps maintain their body heat over those cold nights.
Predators
Other stresses to consider are the presence of predators. The shock of a barking dog or a marauding fox can stress the birds enough to drop production. Keep these at bay.
5. Manage Bird Health
Disease
Respiratory diseases like CRD (Chronic Respiratory Disease) and Mycoplasma can impact productivity. You can identify this at the first sign of a sniffle or gurgle by your birds.
I would, therefore, recommend having a container of antibiotics handy like Oxytetracycline (can be purchased without a prescription from Stockfeeds) or Baytril (Prescription required). These can be easily administered in the water.
Make sure you check the label to ensure that eggs can be eaten whilst the product is being administered.
Infestation
Another burden is worm infestation, which can also have a dramatic impact on laying. If your birds have an infestation you may see a very soiled vent around their back-end.
An effective solution is Levamisole or Piperazine which is available from most stock feeds or Bellsouth Poultry Supplies. This can be administered in tablet or solution.
Also, check hens for signs of lice or mites and look for any physical ailments like bumble-foot or sour crop. More on this in another article.
Longevity
Your birds may simply be getting old and worn out. Egg production reduces over time.
Over my years of poultry keeping, I have observed hybrids sometimes laying two eggs a day and frequent double-yolkers which is a curious and delicious novelty.
These producers perform admirably if well attended to, particularly when nutrient levels are maintained. However, I have observed the ultra-high productivity of some of the hybrids can compromise a bird’s health if their diet is not well managed.
Some birds worn out by the hyper-production can evidence poor feather development and a rapid reduction in productivity after about 2 years. From an animal welfare and aesthetic viewpoint, I personally would recommend pure breeds as they tend to have better egg-laying longevity. They may not lay all year round but over time they can perform just as well.