Stopped laying

[gardengeordie]

Hi all

For some reason the girls have stopped laying, it is around 2 weeks ago since they last laid any ideas?

Thanks very much

[Stan79]

The heat!!!

[Stan79]

Red mite infestation?

[lottie dolly]

the heat,plus they do have rest times from laying,you not said how old they are,and wether they free range or pen,if free range have a look under secluded places,

[Chris11]

I'd ask about what else might have changed over the same time scale, so the heat wave is an obviously possibility.

Hope your birds are not dehydrated, and have got adequate shade and shelter?

[Nicos]

I'd go with heat too as my older ones have slowed down.
If they've all stopped laying (how many do you have?) I'd also suggest you check for red mite and lice too...Just incase....

[mothhawk]

And if they are free to wander around the garden, could be they are laying in a cooler, shady spot, finding the chicken coop too hot to sit in to lay.

[gardengeordie]

They are around 2year old now, they have plenty of shelter and water, with lots of shading there is no sign of redmite so hopefully it's just the heat, I give them apple cider vinegar to

[Small pumpkin]

When were they last wormed?

[gardengeordie]

Wormed them 3 month ago

[Scarlet]

I thought you wormed them in February?
If theee was a sign of worms then after the first treatment a second course is usually advised.

Heat can cause a pause in laying, have they had constant access to water?
Check their coop for red mite.
What are you feeding on - do you feed scraps? If so stop them all.

[gardengeordie]

Whoops yes it would have been February there was no signs after

They have plenty of access to water and don't often feed them scraps

Thanks very much for all the replies

[veggiechicken]

I found redmite yesterday - just a small patch in the coop and easy to miss, so have a double check on yours.
My 3 are also not laying much and I'm putting that down to old age (they're about 3), the heat and partial moult.

[Stan79]

I've been away with work for 5 days and have come back to the biggest redmite infestation i've ever had... Coop has been dusted with diacotamous earth, is cleaned out and sprayed with Poultry Shield and is now drying off...

horrible little bloodsuckers!

[Scarlet]

They have plenty of access to water and don't often feed them scraps

Did they carry on laying over winter? If that is the case you will see a break in laying.

You say not many scraps but just a few can make a difference. When my kids were little they kept feeding them corn as treats during the summer hols. They stopped laying until we cut the lot. They don’t need it in the summer - plenty of insects around as treats at this time of year.