Why are your chickens not laying?

Perhaps the most common questions people ask about chickens is ‘Why are my chickens not laying?’ Well there are a lot of possible reasons and in this video I hope to tell you all of them. If I miss some, please leave me a comment and tell me what other reasons you might know about.

Here is a summary, along with the links I mention:

- Too young – see my video about when you can expect your chickens to start laying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zu2aE2gu58&t=2s
- Too old - As they get older, the number of eggs that a hen lays each year will usually get less and less.
- Expectations too high - Even great layers take a day off occasionally.
- Breed - The commercial hybrids will lay better than the heritage breeds in the short term. Even amongst the heritage breeds, some are better layers than others.
- Time of year / light levels – When the number of hours of daylight drops below 14 hours a day, her reproductive cycle tails off, and she stops laying eggs until the longer days of spring.
- Moulting - During the Autumn, the hen will also be replacing all her feathers with fresh new ones in a process called moulting (or in America “molting”) and she usually won’t lay eggs and make new feathers at the same time.
- Broody - If you don’t want her to hatch chicks, or if the eggs are not fertile, you should gently discourage her broodiness – find out how here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY8WhpZtbMs
- Still raising chicks - It is likely to take at least six weeks after hatching chicks before she comes back on the lay again.
- Change to lower protein diet – Choose a good quality feed with high protein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUaY_LE8VEQ&t=72s
You can also give her high protein treats like mealworms – see my video about how to grow them for almost nothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Fr9MJV_fI
- Other dietary deficiencies – too prevent calcium deficiency, do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P19FMt0wABw
And give them plenty of greens, even weeds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wixH546l-0I
- Toxins – Never feed mouldy food to your chickens, avoid overly salty kitchen scraps. Don’t worry too much about plants if your chickens are free ranging, but do beware of pesticides, herbicides, and other such chemicals.
- Too low in the pecking order and not getting a good chance at the food or water.
- Lack of water – see my video about the importance of fresh clean water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O35MUWpsqRY&t=1s , and one about my favourite container to provide that water in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDxU5Q_XYcU&t=19s
- Too hot – overheating can easily put your chickens off the lay.
- Cold is less of a problem as long as they stay fairly dry.
- Stress of any kind, including trying to integrate chickens into a new flock.
- Parasites such as mites and lice and internal worms.
- Sick Often the first sign of illness is a decrease in egg production.
- Too fat. Only likely to be a problem with heritage breeds that get too much starch and not enough activity.
- Laying elsewhere. Make the nest box as attractive as possible so she wants to lay in the right place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1M0bCu5Uo8&t=1s
- Predators stealing eggs (or even the dog)
- Hens eating eggs – very hard to break so avoid allowing this bad habit to start.
- It’s a rooster. It’s not always easy to tell, especially with some breeds and if you’re not very experienced at spotting the sometimes subtle differences, but eventually if that young chicken crows, you can stop expecting eggs.

For more fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for your chickens, and the sheer pleasure of chickens, subscribe to my channel: Chickens in my garden - New Zealand
https://www.youtube.com/c/Chickensinmygarden

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Видео Why are your chickens not laying? канала Chickens in my garden