Major 5 Good reasons Your Hens Stop Laying – Discussed by Gail Damerow
Major 5 Good reasons Your Hens Stop Laying – Discussed by Gail Damerow
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Just about every yard chicken keeper has professional it: sooner or later, your hens are laying reliably, and another, the nesting boxes are mysteriously empty. According to Gail Damerow, renowned poultry skilled and creator of Storey’s Guide to Elevating Chickens, this egg-laying pause is usually not a thriller in the least. There are very clear, normal good reasons hens prevent laying, and understanding them will help you help your flock and restore productivity. Listed below are Damerow’s best five good reasons hens halt laying—and what you can do about them.
one. Molting: A Pure Pause
As Damerow points out, molting is actually a annually function inside a hen’s everyday living, commonly taking place in late summer season to early fall. During this time, hens lose and regrow feathers—a system that requires a huge level of Power and protein. Egg production typically stops in the course of this era, as the hen's overall body focuses completely on feather regeneration.
What You are able to do: Aid your hens with a large-protein feed or snacks like mealworms and scrambled eggs. Stay clear of stressing the flock and let nature get its study course. As soon as the molt is total, egg-laying must little by little resume.
two. Shortened Daylight Hrs
Mild publicity plays a significant purpose in stimulating a hen’s reproductive program. Damerow details out that hens need to have 14–16 several hours of daylight for regular laying. As daylight decreases in the fall and Winter season months, so does egg production.
What You are able to do: Think about introducing a light supply in the coop by using a timer to simulate natural daylight. A lower-wattage bulb turning on in the early morning can safely and securely increase "daylight" and support winter laying. Prevent unexpected lights changes that might anxiety your birds.
3. Very poor Diet
Diet is foundational to egg generation. Damerow warns that feeding chickens a diet missing in protein, calcium, or important nutritional vitamins may lead to much less or no eggs. Treats and scratch grains, while entertaining, can dilute the balanced nutrition provided by industrial layer feed.
What You Can Do: Make sure your flock has continual entry to large-good quality layer feed, clear water, and calcium dietary supplements like crushed oyster shell. Limit treats to not more than ten% of their everyday diet regime.
4. Anxiety and Environmental Elements
Stress is An important contributor to lowered egg creation. In line with Damerow, stressors can incorporate predator threats, overcrowding, bullying, Severe temperatures, or perhaps transferring the coop. Hens are sensitive to alter and can respond by halting egg manufacturing.
What You are able to do: Make a relaxed, Harmless setting for the birds. Keep constant routines, give sufficient House, and handle sources of anxiety for instance loud noises or aggressive flockmates.
five. Age and Health concerns
Damerow reminds us that laying isn't really a lifelong endeavor. Most hens start out laying around 5–6 months of Fun88 Casino age, peak at about one–two years, after which little by little decelerate. Ailment, parasites, and reproductive challenges can also interfere with laying.
What You are able to do: Regulate your hens’ overall well being. Conduct normal parasite checks, preserve a thoroughly clean coop, and seek advice from a vet should you discover indications of ailment. Older hens should be precious associates of the flock even if their laying times are behind them.
Remaining Ideas
As Gail Damerow frequently claims, “Chickens don’t just cease laying for no reason.” When your hens have a break, it’s their strategy for signaling that anything of their setting or biology has shifted. With a bit of observation, very good treatment, plus some patience, you can assist guideline your flock back to wholesome egg creation—or just take pleasure in the natural rhythms in their life.