Millie's stopped laying

[Stubby55]

Can anyone advise, please. We have 3 lovely laydees, the oldest is about 21/2-3 years old. About 4 months ago she decided to stop laying - we were getting one egg every 7-8 days. She now hasn't laid at all for about 2 months. She's happy and healthy, the leader of the pack and very noisy! Is it just that she's come to the end of her laying days? We did have a problem with red mite but the other 2 carried on laying. Red mite cured now cos we bought the girls a lovely new home. Oh, they're free range, we've checked the garden and she's not laying out of nest boxes.

[MrsCordial]

I don't have a solution, although I know laying does fall off with age, but our last hen Rhubarb was never much of a layer. She's the only one we've ever had like that. We thought for a while that she was laying somewhere else, but we had to leave her shut in for three days once and she didn't lay. She would have been about 2 1/2 by then.

[kathyd]

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't have thought a hen would normally stop laying at 2.5 - 3 years old - slow down a bit maybe, but not stop completely.

My first thought would have been laying elsewhere, but you say you've already checked that? It might be worth stalking her for a few days just to double check - it's amazing some of the places mine have found in the past to lay, places I'd never have found if I hadn't spent hours watching to see exactly where they went!

The next thing would be health - tricky one if birds all seem fine. If she did suffer when you had red mites, I suppose it's possible she's still 'recovering'? I have one or two birds which seem to do everything in double slow time, including 'getting over' any kind of set-back whether it's a health issue or something else. So if one stops laying eg as a result of broodiness, it can take weeks and weeks for her to start again, while another bird will get going much faster. Ditto being poorly - some recover much quicker than others. I also had one until recently who came to me having suffered from a myco infection - she struggled with egg laying all the time, sometimes being OK, sometimes laying softies and sometimes going weeks and weeks producing nothing at all.

Some birds also respond to what we'd sometimes see as quite small stresses by stopping laying - I wonder if the red mites, followed by putting them in a new coop, could have contributed? Plus she may well now be about to start moulting if she hasn't already, and that will slow things down or stop them completely. So maybe lots of little things are running together to prolong what might otherwise have been a shorter off-lay session? She's not uncomfortable in any way is she? Not got a sore foot, lice (as opposed to mites), scaly leg mites, over-hanging beak, someone trying to unseat her from her position as boss chicken?

Sorry I can't be more help - it's a difficult one when it's just one bird isn't it? I still think it's worth maybe letting them out a bit later for a while, and watching her like a hawk to see if she quietly disappears into a bush or something... the single brain cell that they seem to share between them can be quite cunning at times! In the meantime, hopefully my response will bring your post back into circulation again and someone more experienced will read it and provide a better insight . Let us know how you get one won't you?

[Nicos]

Any chance she could be eating her own eggs ?

Also, what breed is she?
My 3.5 yr old Marans only laid 2-3eggs a week each this year between April and June! Hmmmm....

[veggiechicken]

What breed is Millie? If she's one of the hybrids, like a Warren, she may have just reached the end of her laying potential - especially if she was down to laying only one egg every 7-8 days.

[Scarlet]

Any chance she could be eating her own eggs ?

Also, what breed is she?
My 3.5 yr old Marans only laid 2-3eggs a week each this year between April and June! Hmmmm....

Haha!!! You are so lucky Nicos, mine is 6, she usually lays for a fortnight in the spring then occasionally during the following few weeks. After that she is broody on and off for a couple of months laying an egg when she fancies!

[Scarlet]

Stubby, she shouldn't have stopped completely. Have you picked her up to check he? When was the last time you wormed them?

[Stubby55]

Millie.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone.
Millie is a Nera (Black Rock). She seemed to cope with the mites fine (Gracie, who at the time was little Miss Broody coped less well and became quite anemic ...back to normal and laying well). We regularly worm and check for lice ..none ever found. As yet she shows no sign of going into a moult. Gracie, again, is just coming to the end of hers and is beginning to look tidier. She's a Cambridge Blue. Then we have Scroby our Goldline Millie is the top dog and the most voluble of our girls... non of this has changed. She will often go into the coop and sit for ages but produces nothing...little tease! She doesn't appear eggbound, rear end is clean and fluffy. The girls were only introduced to the new coop last week and outwardly seem to have settled in fine.
We will keep doing a sweep of the garden as about 18 months ago she did start laying in a corner behind the shed. Don't think she's eating her eggs as there is no evidence in the coop and the other girls eggs remain untouched.
Even if she doesn't start laying again we still love her, every time you walk past her and say her name she squats and lets you stroke her...so cute.

[frias]

If she squats I would expect her to be laying. My silver link is about 3 and has stopped laying. She laid a lash about a month ago and hasn't laid since. I don't expect her to ever lay again and she no longer squats either. I have a 6, 5 and 4 year olds that still lay and squat. They are all different though.