Non laying chickens

[iamwoody]

My 3 chickens have virtually stopped laying due to their age , my question is i want more chickens to lay eggs (thats why i have them) but do not have the room to accomodate both , what do the hen keepers on here do when their hens come to this stage ?

[Chez2]

Are you sure its due to age? The go through the annual moult and stop laying. They also stop laying when daylight hours reduce. What breed of chicken are they? They don't lay an egg per day all year round. Some breeds lay as few as 150 per year while the commercial hybrids can lay as many as 280 per year. Even these knock off or slow down in the moult, when daylight is reduced or just for a rest. Thats when they get rid of them at commercial farms.

 

I add a few young chickens (pullets) each year as they tend to lay through winter. It does depend when they were hatched and what breed they are though. I also keep a breed that lay better in winter to balance my year round egg supply.

 

Forgot to ask....

 

Are they in good health? Do you worm them regularly? Are they fed on layers pellets or do you feed them scraps and 'treats'? All these affect laying.

[maryjane]

my 3 havnt laid since june! they are 7 now, so think it is an age thing like yours. mine have laid us many and plenty eggs over the years so will let them live their lives out happily and then start again, do miss our eggs tho!

[iamwoody]

Are you sure its due to age? The go through the annual moult and stop laying. They also stop laying when daylight hours reduce. What breed of chicken are they? They don't lay an egg per day all year round. Some breeds lay as few as 150 per year while the commercial hybrids can lay as many as 280 per year. Even these knock off or slow down in the moult, when daylight is reduced or just for a rest. Thats when they get rid of them at commercial farms.

 

I add a few young chickens (pullets) each year as they tend to lay through winter. It does depend when they were hatched and what breed they are though. I also keep a breed that lay better in winter to balance my year round egg supply.

 

Forgot to ask....

 

Are they in good health? Do you worm them regularly? Are they fed on layers pellets or do you feed them scraps and 'treats'? All these affect laying.

 

all three are laying hybrids ( white star, black rock and warren) and aren,t going through a molt ,they,re just past their best days egg wise , they seem to be in good health but have never been wormed ,are fed on layers pellets with a treat most days, i,ve thought about adding a couple of new hens but after the nightmare last time i did this with fighting etc i,m a bit hesitant also with the space i don,t want to overcrowd them

[Chez2]

All chickens go through the moult at this time of year. Some do it gradually so you hardly notice it whereas others can drop all of their feathers within 48 hours and look oven ready! Its common for hens (mature birds) to stop laying from mid summer/autumn, depending when they started laying and how they are moulting.

 

I kept hybrids for 9 years and none of mine ever stopped laying completely. These birds only ever lived for two or three years but my pure breeds live at least four years and still lay well.

 

A high worm burden or being fed an incorrect diet can stop them laying. They should be wormed at leat twice per year, more often if you keep a lot of birds on well used ground and don't lime it. I know from experience. My husband and parents often give my hens some treats, usually mixed corn or wheat but too much can make them fat and stop them laying. Every time I mention they aren't laying well and ask them to stop giving them treats the hens start laying again after a week or two.

 

Most of my hens (birds over 1 year old) have just stopped laying but the pullets (birds under 1 year old or not gone through their first moult) are laying like crazy.

 

Birds will always establish the pecking order when the pack dynamics change. I have kept poultry for 11 years and never had a problem introducing birds. You have to do it correctly though annd its not difficult. Always introduce at least two new birds to your existing flock.

[maryjane]

hi, so mine are doing well at 7 then!!! were all laying as normal til this early this year. I always worm mine at the beginning of each months, the stuff you just add to thier food, which like yours is layers pellets, they have grain twice a day as well.

[Chez2]

Hybrids should lay for well for up to two or three years. Pure breeds lay well for up to 6 years but don't lay as many or as frequently as the hybrids. Pure breeds have been know to live 10 to 11 years but it can vary from bird to bird with lots of factors affecting lifespan. Hybrids such as warrens (that go by lots of different names) are literally burnt out after two or three years as they are egg laying machines. The stress and strain of laying so many eggs takes a toll on their bodies.

 

To answer your original question:

Keep and add a few new ones to the flock or cull

 

Did you say how old they are?

[iamwoody]

Hi, they,ll be about three years to three and a half years old ,

[Chez2]

They will have passed the peak of their laying then. They might lay a few for you next year when light levels pick up but not as manay as when they were younger.

 

When I only had one small coop I used to buy two birds every year and let the older ones live as long as they were healthy.

[Lotti]

You'll get a variety of different answers I expect.

You say you keep them for their eggs... a lot of people on here keep them as pets with the added bonus of eggs.

You may struggle to rehome them though when they've stopped laying. I'd love chickens if the owner of my house would let me but I wouldn't choose to get chickens that had stopped laying because I want the added bonus of eggs. However, because they'd be pets, I would keep them on after they'd stopped laying and maybe add a couple as Chez2 says so that I still get my egg supply. Once I take on an animal, I can't then pass them on because I feel responsible for them and fall in love with their characters so wouldn't want to anyway. That said... if I had a large enough area I may add non laying chickens to my existing flock that were laying because I'd still get my egg supply so it wouldn't matter that a few extras weren't 'contributing'.

 

However, if you have no room for new laying chickens if you keep these and you only keep them for their eggs, then the obvious answer is to get rid - whether that be by trying to rehome them (there may be someone who has space for them and isn't bothered that they aren't laying because they perhaps have others that are still laying) or culling them.

 

I'm not going to tell you what I think you should do because we may have very different ideas about them... I don't agree with culling or rehoming an animal once it's no longer of use, but then I don't keep them only for the job they do... this is why I would make a rubbish farmer! If you keep them for their eggs and not as pets, and you have no room to add new stock then it would be silly to keep them I suppose and they'd be better off being added to someone else's flock if someone has room for them than ending up with less space due to new birds being added.