Our chickens, who were laying on average 10 eggs a day, have suddenly halted production and reduced their output to a measly 3 eggs a day.
The first day we got 3 eggs, we thought that maybe the hens were just having a bad day and they’d be back at it again after a good night’s rest.
On the next day we collected 2 eggs.
The day after that 1.
We opened the coop to see if they’d been stashed in a corner. Nothing.
We looked for signs of discontent.
They had enough food, their water was clean, we’d moved them on to fresh grass and their bedding was dry.
They all seemed to be getting along…finally.
We were treating their scabby, red and sore looking backs using Blu-Kote to kill fungus and provide a barrier against further attacks. And, while they didn’t appreciate our method of application, they did seem to find some relief from the bright blue coating.
So what is the problem?
Did we give them too much watermelon? They had two entire watermelons over a three day period…maybe it was too much of a treat all at once.
Are they getting enough calcium? We switched them to organic feed over a month ago. They seem to like it, but maybe they need additional nutrients.
Are the new layers just a little temperamental while the older hens are moulting? This seems like a possibility, but it seems odd for all six old gals would start moulting at once.
Are they on strike?
We are at a loss as to what is hindering their egg laying.
Any ideas or suggestions would be MUCH appreciated.
Sincerely hoping for an answer to this mystery,
Eggless in Illinois
The hens are on strike
Egg production has gone down
What is the problem?
a pinch of homestead 
It’s been a while since I raised chickens, but could it be that they’re moulting
That’s what I thought too, the new ones just started laying so maybe they are just temperamental.
Has the weather been hot? Are they getting plenty of water and shade?
It has been muggy but not super hot. They are getting plenty of water. They have laid 2 eggs so far today. We usually don’t get any until the afternoon so I’m hoping it means they ate back at it.
Hope so!
Hello there! I have had chickens almost all my life and I have had a couple instances like this. Some changes that could have caused this: did you give them new feed (like a new bag or a diffrent brand?) do they need some oyster shells? Is there a light change in the coop? There are lots of reasons they might stop laying like what we like to call “chicken mesopause”
We went to organic feed about a month ago. Their production seemed to pick up a little after that but could it be a delayed reaction? We mixed some oyster shell too.
That could be it it takes about 2-3 weeks to tell a difference in egg production from the time their feed is changed .
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