# Hens aren't laying



## eqstrnathlete (Mar 16, 2013)

I bought hens off CL that are approx 1.5 yrs old. When I got them they laid for a few weeks then quit. They have lights that come on to give them 14 hrs a day. They get homegrown pellets and kitchen scraps. They free range 3 days a week. I haven't had a single egg since last summer. Any ideas?


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

Things that can stop hens laying:

1) They are laying! But if they freerange, they are laying where you can't find the eggs. If they are stuck inside, they might be eating eggs.

2) They just need a break - they need to moult and take a break from laying in order to recover. Hens naturally have a rest period - though you can distort this with lighting, it will shorten their lifespans, and it doesn't always work.

3) Their diets need a good high protein food and a good amount of calcium to encourage laying. Without this, they can stop entirely.

4) They're stressed, or something is upsetting them at night, and it's stopping them resting.

Lastly, there are a number of simple tests you can do over time to see if a hen is a producer - to do with measuring between the pelvic bones, and looking at the condition and colour of the legs and comb. Chickens need to invest a lot in an egg - if you take too adult white hens and one has yellow legs, and one white legs? The one with white legs is the layer, often. That's the other reason she needs a rest period.


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

Wait - off Craigs List. Were they commercial hens beforehand, from an egg factory? Are they a commercial standard breed?


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

They could be older than you were told, though I'd still think you'd get an egg here and there. Steampunked said everything else I was thinking of.


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

The reason for the question about if they came from an intensive farm is that those folks crank the light up to 24 hours a day, then toss the chickens once they reach a year and a half. If you put those poor things in where they can get any sleep, they'll go into a rest period regardless. You can of course put the light on 24 hours a day yourself, but by this point, they're exhausted.

You can tell if they're from a system like that by examining the nails - are they absurdly long, or, if clipped, were they clipped very recently? Do the beaks look as if they were clipped and are regrowing?

In the case of my rescue girls, do they now follow you around as if you're the messiah and everything they ever wanted oh god, oh god, thankyou, thankyou...:lol:


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