Why did my hens stop laying?

Start with the calendar

Hens lay best with long days. Many sources put it at around 14 to 16 hours of light. As fall days shorten, laying slows, and many hens stop for part of the winter. If it is October through January and your hens look healthy, daylight is the most likely reason.

The common reasons, in order

1. Shorter days. Natural and seasonal. Laying usually picks back up as days lengthen in late winter and spring.
2. Molting. Hens drop and regrow feathers, usually in fall, and stop laying while they do. See molting: what to expect.
3. Age. Hens lay most in their first couple of years, and production slows gradually after that.
4. Young pullets. Pullets often start laying somewhere around 18 to 24 weeks, and later for some breeds or for birds that mature in fall.
5. Broodiness. A hen that sits in the nest all day, puffs up, and growls when you reach under her has stopped laying to try to hatch eggs.
6. Stress. Moving, new flock members, a predator scare, or rough handling can pause laying for a while.
7. Heat. Hot spells reduce laying and egg quality.
8. Diet. Too many treats or scratch grains dilute their layer feed. Keep treats to a small share of the diet, and offer oyster shell on the side.
9. Hidden nests. Free-range hens may be laying under a bush or deck.
10. Egg eating or thieves. Look for shell bits or wet spots in nests; snakes, rats, and raccoons take eggs too.
11. Illness or parasites. If a hen is also lethargic, losing weight, pale, or has a swollen belly, check the health guide.

What you can do

• Keep layer feed as most of the diet, with fresh water every day.
• Check for mites and lice at the vent and under the wings.
• Give nest boxes fresh bedding and make sure they are dark, quiet, and roughly one box per 4 to 5 hens.
• Be patient through fall and winter. Most healthy hens start again in spring.
• If you choose to add light, put it on a timer in the early morning, use a secure fixture away from bedding, and keep the total around the length of a long summer day.