# Stopped Laying at 18 months



## JAschner (Dec 17, 2012)

My flock is less than two years old. This summer the laying substantially fell off. Even though they laid well last summer, I thought maybe it was the heat. I have four chickens and only get about four eggs a week - two of them hardly lay at all.
Feed and living conditions have not changed. They have a 4x4 foot coop, a 10x10 foot run.
They are fed Purina Omega3 Layena. Snacks are mealworms, fresh vegetable scraps, and a handful of scratch every day.
They look and act healthy and the same as last year except that they don't lay eggs.
Everything I have read says the laying gradually falls off after 3 years or so. In this case they were only about 18 months old when it quickly fell off.
Any ideas on what is up?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That isn't all that unusual for hatchery type birds. 

There are some conditions that can cause egg drop in layers. If you google egg drop maybe you'll see something that would explain what might be going on.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

sounds like a slow molt to me
finding any feathers in the coop/run?


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## Charlotte (Apr 17, 2013)

piglett said:


> sounds like a slow molt to me
> finding any feathers in the coop/run?


I agree. Two of my hens are molting and not laying at all. I have two 2 1/2 year old hens and two 6 month old hens. I'm getting about one egg a day right now due to the molting and the short days.


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## JAschner (Dec 17, 2012)

I don't think it is molting. We have been through that enough that I know what it looks like. Plus two of them molted at the same time from mid-July through mid-September (took forever!), and they are the two that lay the least (Amerucanas). I was trying to figure out what else to look for that I hadn't tried yet. Thanks for your ideas.


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