Top rated five Good reasons Your Hens Halt Laying – Spelled out by Gail Damerow
Top rated five Good reasons Your Hens Halt Laying – Spelled out by Gail Damerow
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Every single yard chicken keeper has knowledgeable it: in the future, your hens are laying reliably, and another, the nesting packing containers are mysteriously vacant. According to 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. You will find distinct, organic factors hens quit laying, and knowing 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 annually occasion in a hen’s lifetime, generally happening in late summer months to early slide. In the course of this time, hens shed and regrow feathers—a system that requires an amazing volume of Power and protein. Egg output usually stops during this period, as the hen's human body focuses entirely on feather regeneration.
What You Can Do: Aid your hens using 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 should slowly resume.
two. Shortened Daylight Several hours
Light exposure plays an important job in stimulating a hen’s reproductive method. Damerow factors out that hens will need fourteen–16 hours of daylight for steady laying. As daylight decreases in the fall and Winter season months, so does egg output.
What You are able to do: Consider including a light-weight supply while in the coop that has a timer to simulate purely natural daylight. A low-wattage bulb turning on within the early morning can securely extend "daylight" and help winter laying. Stay away from sudden lighting modifications 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 crucial vitamins can lead to fewer or no eggs. Treats and scratch grains, though 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. Restrict treats to no more Fun88 Casino than ten% of their day by day eating plan.
4. Worry and Environmental Components
Anxiety is An important contributor to lowered egg manufacturing. In keeping with Damerow, stressors can include things like predator threats, overcrowding, bullying, Severe temperatures, or simply relocating the coop. Hens are delicate to change and will react by halting egg generation.
What You are able to do: Produce a quiet, Protected environment on your birds. Maintain regular routines, provide sufficient House, and address sources of strain like loud noises or aggressive flockmates.
five. 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 1–two decades, and after that slowly decelerate. Illness, parasites, and reproductive concerns could 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 observe signs of disease. Older hens should still be useful associates on the flock regardless of whether their laying times are driving them.
Ultimate Ideas
As Gail Damerow typically states, “Chickens don’t just cease laying for no cause.” Should your hens take a crack, it’s their technique for signaling that a little something inside their natural environment or biology has shifted. With a little observation, very good care, and some tolerance, you may also help tutorial your flock back again to wholesome egg production—or just recognize the organic rhythms of their life.