why have my 5 chickens stopped laying ?

Answer 1

During the summer chickens tend to not lay eggs as well due to the heat. There may also be a couple of other reasons. Your feed may not have enough protein or enough calcium. To add calcium, sometimes you can add ground up sea shells to the chicken feed. Also, I've noticed that over the years as my dad has raised chickens that the chickens tend to lay eggs better when they are allowed to go outside and eat grass and bugs and stuff. I'm not one to push organic chickens and all that, but they do seem to produce better when the are allowed to roam around outside in the yard and eat grass and bugs.

Another thing you may consider is that your chickens if they are over 2-3 years old may not be producing partly because they are getting older.

Also, you will want to avoid having your chickens lay on any eggs. If they are sitting on eggs, they normally do not eat as much and they do not produce more eggs, instead they just sit on them.

As the one person said, you may want to feed a layer mash instead of regular chicken feed.

Answer 2

weather can effect chicken laying, sun exposure or lack of it extreme diet change and habitat changes. chicken need to be essential in a routine to lay egg's also age plays a part. the older the chicken the less they lay.
time for **** o' Vin

Answer 3

Could be a number of reasons, most common they have gone into what is called molt, Laying hens will not lay during molt. You could have had a calling by a predator which has scarred the layers causing them to go into molt. Diet may be
incorrect. Layer mash or pellets with some egg shell fed to them will keep the egg shell consistency hard, and your layer with a balanced diet.

Answer 4

when hens go through the mault they do normally stop laying untill it is completed. also remember they dont lay all year around unless you have lights in the sheds for them to keep the light levels high all year round.

i had one that each time it rained she refused to lay and also when it was frosty.

also what age are the hens and what breed? hens are normaly good layers but bantams tend to go broody very easily so will be a bit hit and miss this time of the year if they are going broody. do they sit for long periods of time in the nest boxes?

Answer 5

Most chickens go off the lay when they moult

Answer 6

Try putting a golf ball at the spot where they lay their eggs,we did this with one of our chickens once and it worked.

Answer 7

Maybe they're too old to lay eggs anymore. Try takin' 'em to the vet's office.

Answer 8

They are maybe having a rest, plus the weather, if you are in the UK, has not been very good, and this can affect them

Answer 9

Probably someone pulled the plug on the romantic music..