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What to do when chickens stop laying eggs
Ingram Sam
Effingham Extension Agent Sam Ingram

Why did my chicken stop laying eggs?

I have received several calls about backyard chickens decreasing egg production or not laying at all since the first of the year. There are several factors that can affect laying production during this time of year, with molting being the most common. Molting generally occurs as a result of the declining photoperiod causing the hen to go out of production and shift to plumage regeneration and a non-reproductive state. So, we would expect during shorter daylight days (now) that our chickens will slow egg production and possibly lose some feathers.

To receive the more information on other possible factors, I posed the question “Why do chickens stop laying eggs?” to our UGA poultry specialist and this is what he had to say:

“During fall and winter, layers tend to stop laying eggs because of the declining and short photoperiod (day length). When I get calls of this nature, I start by asking if the individual provides supplemental lighting to extend the photoperiod perceived by the hens (to 14-16 hours per day). Insufficient or unbalanced nutrition can put hens out of production. If hens have been in production for many months, they are predisposed to go out of production and molt. Many backyard flock owners keep birds for a long time; age predisposes a hen to stop laying. Of course, disease will depress or terminate egg laying, and there are a lot of possibilities for disease,” said Dr. Bruce Webster.

So, to ensure we have adequate egg production throughout the fall and winter, I suggest these simple steps:

Nutrition: Provide adequate nutrition to your laying hens throughout the season to enable them to produce eggs.

Lighting: Provide supplemental lighting during the fall and winter months when the photoperiod is short.

Disease control: Maintain good sanitation practices and pest control in the coop and chicken yard to provide the best environment for your laying hens.

I think nutrition is the most important factor for anything that is producing something, whether it is a cotton plant producing lint, a cow producing meat, or a chicken laying eggs. So, if you can provide a feed to your laying hens that give them the energy to produce, you have already won half the battle.

For more information, contact Effingham Extension Agent Sam Ingram at 754-8040 or singram@uga.edu.