# Chickens are out of eggs....



## Shrub (Jul 25, 2018)

So the chickens were layng real good. Buck would lay an egg once every 2nd day and Shades would lay an egg 2 days in a row then not the third. So we had good eggs.
Could even tell who laid which. Bucks would have speckles on the shell but hold up to the light the shell wold look clear and flawless. Shades shell looked clear and flawless but held up to the light it would have speckles.

But for about 2 weeks they have not laid anything. I don't think they are showing broody behavior. Shades did for like 2 days but then she stopped and started acting normal again. (we dis encouraged broodyness) The chickens seem fine, their poop looks normal, they eat well. We haven't changed anything. Their diet is mainly a mix of chicken pellets and seeds. Fresh bread (they will only eat good bakery bread) Supermarket ones with the preservatives they wont even look at. I give them scraps when we have some. plus Giggles left over bird seeds and scraps once a week. (more often when there are fresh fruit/vege)
They walk around the garden eat, run around, chase each other and do their chicken stuff and we have no idea why they have stopped laying. Even through winter and the snowed they kept laying. We even checked the yard to see if they lay else where checking their fav sitting places and nothing.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's possible they're going into a molt. One of mine did it starting last week. Suddenly there was a ton of feathers laying wherever she hung out. 

What are you giving them for calcium supplements? Is it in their feed?


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## Shrub (Jul 25, 2018)

robin416 said:


> It's possible they're going into a molt. One of mine did it starting last week. Suddenly there was a ton of feathers laying wherever she hung out.
> 
> What are you giving them for calcium supplements? Is it in their feed?


Yes in their feed as well as sometimes crushed up egg shells


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Watch for extra feathers laying around. That will confirm if it's a molt or not.

One other question, has anything changed in their environment? If there's a large enough change that can cause them to stop laying due to stress.


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## Shrub (Jul 25, 2018)

no nothing has changed, they don't seem stressed their behaviour is the same. We haven't noticed extra feathers yet (apart from Giggles she is molting a little, finding tiny green fluffy feathers everywhere)
I remembered we haven't given them grit in a while (because they are free range) so trying that as well. I watched a video a while back and the lady said hers stopped laying and it had to do with not enough grit.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That lady does not know what she's talking about. Or you have oyster shell (calcium) and grit confused. Quite a few do get the two confused. 

If all is going well with them then you're doing what you need to do at this point, observing. Until something shows up that you can see then there's nothing really to do. 

Frustrating, I know. But the safest thing for them when nothing is showing up is to leave them be. I've had to do that many times. Almost always it turned out to be a momentary thing.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

When you give too much non chicken food they can stop laying. Human food should really only be like 5% and only 2x a month if that.
Or something like mites are on them which will cause egg laying to stop


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## Shrub (Jul 25, 2018)

Maryellen said:


> When you give too much non chicken food they can stop laying. Human food should really only be like 5% and only 2x a month if that.
> Or something like mites are on them which will cause egg laying to stop


They don't get much human food, mainly bread but not every day. Their feed is mostly a mix of pellets and seeds as well as things they find in the garden.

They have been laying again for about week.


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