Major 5 Reasons Your Hens End Laying – Explained by Gail Damerow
Major 5 Reasons Your Hens End Laying – Explained by Gail Damerow
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Every yard hen keeper has skilled it: sooner or later, your hens are laying reliably, and the subsequent, the nesting bins are mysteriously empty. In keeping with 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, all-natural factors hens quit laying, and comprehending them will help you support 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.
1. Molting: A All-natural Pause
As Damerow clarifies, molting is often a yearly event inside of a hen’s lifetime, generally occurring in late summer months to early drop. Throughout this time, hens reduce and regrow feathers—a approach that requires a huge quantity of Electrical power and protein. Egg creation often stops through this period, as being the hen's physique focuses fully on feather regeneration.
What You Can Do: Assist your hens with a substantial-protein feed or snacks like mealworms and scrambled eggs. Avoid stressing the flock and Allow mother nature consider its system. As soon as the molt is full, egg-laying really should steadily resume.
2. Shortened Daylight Hrs
Light-weight publicity performs a vital part in stimulating a hen’s reproductive procedure. Damerow points out that hens require 14–16 hrs of daylight for dependable laying. As daylight decreases in the autumn and winter months, so does egg manufacturing.
What You Can Do: Take into account incorporating a lightweight resource in the coop having a timer to simulate organic daylight. A lower-wattage bulb turning on from the early early morning can safely and securely prolong "daylight" and aid Wintertime laying. Stay clear of unexpected lights improvements Which may strain your birds.
three. Weak Nourishment
Nourishment is foundational to egg generation. Damerow warns that feeding chickens a eating plan missing in protein, calcium, or vital nutritional vitamins can lead to fewer or no eggs. Treats and scratch grains, while enjoyment, can dilute the well balanced diet provided by professional layer feed.
What You are able to do: Guarantee your flock has continual access to high-high-quality layer feed, cleanse water, and calcium supplements like crushed oyster shell. Restrict treats to no more than ten% of their daily eating plan.
4. Stress and Environmental Components
Anxiety is a major contributor to diminished egg manufacturing. According to Damerow, stressors can involve predator threats, overcrowding, bullying, Severe temperatures, or even transferring the coop. Hens are sensitive to alter and will react by halting egg generation.
What You Can Do: Develop a quiet, Risk-free environment in your birds. Maintain regular routines, offer sufficient House, and deal with sources of worry including loud noises or intense flockmates.
five. Age and Health Issues
Damerow reminds us that laying isn't really a lifelong endeavor. Most hens start out laying about 5–6 months of age, peak at about one–two decades, after which little by little decelerate. Illness, parasites, and reproductive concerns might also interfere with laying.
What You are able to do: Regulate your hens’ General wellness. Carry out common parasite checks, manage a clean coop, and seek the advice of a vet should you observe signs of disease. Older hens should still be worthwhile customers 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 Fun88 Casino production—or just recognize the organic rhythms in their life.