It is very trendy for people having a garden or a piece of land to have a small domestic chicken coop where they can breed laying hens and have fresh and genuine eggs every day. It may happen, for the reasons we will explain, that our courtyard animals do not lay eggs for a few days. Let’s discover why.
First of all, we suggest you to seek in the garden thoroughly. It happens more than a few times that the hens decide to change places in which to lay their eggs and find a quiet place away from our eyes, perhaps among some bushes, to leave their precious gifts.
It may happen that they prefer, especially in the summer, an alternative natural nest to the one they usually use inside their chicken coop. In this case we have to make them change their mind, for example by replacing the eggs with a stone. We then leave an egg in the nest in the chicken coop and try to understand why they decided to abandon it.
Most of the time they change places because they don’t feel safe, because it’s too visible. So let’s try to make their nest more intimate and secluded, with lots of soft and clean straw. Also pay attention to parasites and animals that could disturb them, therefore sanitize the area well.
Once this is done, they will most likely return to brood in their nest inside their beautiful chicken coop.
Reasons why hens no longer lay eggs
If instead the hens have not laid eggs for several days, there could be other reasons; here they are:
- they are too young or too old: under 6 months or over 4/5 years the hens do not lay.
- they are moulting: usually in the period between September and October they use their energy in changing the plumage and therefore suspend the spawning.
- it is winter and there are too few hours of light. Hens need 14 hours of light to produce eggs and therefore the nest often remains empty in the winter months.
- they are brooding hens, that is, they are brooding chicks, so they will stop laying and will resume it only after the birth and weaning of their babies.
- they live in an inadequate house, the hens are very attentive to the habitat in which they live and if there is an overcrowding in the chicken coop this generates stress for them which does not allow them to produce new eggs
Ferlast chicken coops like Happy Farm and Hen House are designed with all the needs of hens in mind. They have a special area dedicated to laying eggs and one for resting with a perch. They are equipped with a practical sliding drawer for collecting dirt which facilitates cleaning operations. Furthermore, for each model, the maximum number of specimens it can host is indicated, in order to avoid overcrowding.
- have a wrong diet, this can reduce or block egg laying.
- are debilitated or have an illness and therefore not being physically healthy they are unable to lay the egg.
Anyway, we always advise you to consult your vet, if the problem is not resolved, for the health of your cheerful chickens.