Top 5 Factors Your Hens Quit Laying – Described by Gail Damerow
Top 5 Factors Your Hens Quit Laying – Described by Gail Damerow
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Each individual backyard rooster keeper has experienced it: at some point, your hens are laying reliably, and the following, the nesting containers are mysteriously empty. As outlined by Gail Damerow, renowned poultry expert and author of Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens, this egg-laying pause is often not a secret in the slightest degree. There are distinct, all-natural factors hens quit laying, and comprehending them will help you assistance your flock and restore efficiency. Here i will discuss Damerow’s major 5 causes hens quit laying—and what you are able to do about them.
one. Molting: A Organic Pause
As Damerow explains, molting is usually a yearly event inside of a hen’s lifetime, normally occurring in late summer months to early slide. Throughout this time, hens reduce and regrow feathers—a course of action that requires a huge level of Electrical power and protein. Egg generation frequently stops all through this period, given that the hen's entire body focuses solely on feather regeneration.
What You Can Do: Guidance your hens having a superior-protein feed or snacks like mealworms and scrambled eggs. Stay away from stressing the flock and Enable nature just take its course. After the molt is finish, egg-laying ought to little by little resume.
two. Shortened Daylight Hours
Mild exposure performs a significant role in stimulating a hen’s reproductive technique. Damerow details out that hens need fourteen–16 several hours of daylight for regular laying. As daylight decreases in the fall and Wintertime months, so does egg creation.
What You Can Do: Contemplate including a lightweight source in the coop using a timer to simulate pure daylight. A Fun88 Casino small-wattage bulb turning on within the early morning can safely lengthen "daylight" and help Winter season laying. Prevent unexpected lighting improvements That may strain your birds.
three. Very poor Diet
Diet is foundational to egg manufacturing. Damerow warns that feeding chickens a diet program lacking in protein, calcium, or important vitamins can result in much less or no eggs. Treats and scratch grains, though pleasurable, can dilute the well balanced nutrition provided by professional layer feed.
What You are able to do: Make certain your flock has continual access to high-high-quality layer feed, clean up drinking water, and calcium dietary supplements like crushed oyster shell. Limit treats to no more than ten% of their day by day eating plan.
4. Stress and Environmental Things
Pressure is a major contributor to lessened egg creation. In accordance with Damerow, stressors can include predator threats, overcrowding, bullying, Serious temperatures, and even going the coop. Hens are sensitive to vary and may respond by halting egg manufacturing.
What You are able to do: Create a serene, safe natural environment for the birds. Manage steady routines, present ample Room, and handle sources of pressure such as loud noises or aggressive flockmates.
5. Age and Health concerns
Damerow reminds us that laying is not a lifelong endeavor. Most hens start off laying around 5–6 months of age, peak at about one–two decades, after which little by little decelerate. Sickness, parasites, and reproductive troubles may interfere with laying.
What You are able to do: Keep an eye on your hens’ All round wellbeing. Perform regular parasite checks, preserve a clear coop, and talk to a vet for those who notice signs of illness. Older hens should be valuable members from the flock even though their laying days are behind them.
Last Ideas
As Gail Damerow usually suggests, “Chickens don’t just quit laying for no cause.” In the event your hens take a break, it’s their technique for signaling that one thing inside their natural environment or biology has shifted. With a bit of observation, great care, and some persistence, you can help guidebook your flock back again to balanced egg output—or just appreciate the all-natural rhythms in their life.