- Loud sudden sounds. Has construction commenced nearby? Has someone in the area started a landscaping project? Is someone mowing, weed-wacking, using a chainsaw or heavy equipment nearby.
- Predators include significant stress even if they do not have access to the coop and nesting boxes. Remember, hens are at their most vulnerable when laying eggs, so they will not jeopardize their survival if they feel uneasy. Predators include the obvious such as foxes, opossums, birds of prey and skunks, but it could also be causes such as a nearby dog behaving erractically, excited barking, chasing other livestock and rushing at fences. What may be innocent enough to you may be causing complete panic in your birds.
- Nutrition is another key. Have you recently tried a different feed, a new feed, or maybe your tried-and-true feed has changed formulas. If you are changing feeds, be sure to mix in the new feed with the old feed to help increase acceptance. Monitor the birds carefully to make sure they are eating what they need. Sometimes even just changing the delivery mechanism, such as going from crumble to a pellet formula will upset the birds.
- Environmental issues will also impact the birds' behavior. Differences in the amount of daylight, temperatures, significantly changed precipitation, and smoke from fires may be the culprit.
- Flock dynamics may have changed. Have new birds been introduced to the flock. Do the birds need more space? Is one bird bullying others? Sometimes more space is all that is needed to solve the problem. Other times, giving the birds something else to do with their time, such has hanging multiple treats around the coop, will distract them enough to get flock relationships normalized.
- Molting can also be a trigger. If all of your birds were purchased at the same time, it's very possible all will go through molts at similar times. In this case there is nothing to do but wait it out or purchase other actively laying hens that are not in molt. To avoid this situation in the future, stagger the age of the hens in your flock.
Occasionally, and luckily infrequently, it may occur that your hens will not lay eggs for many days or even weeks at a time. When the entire flock stops laying, you need to dig deeper to understand the underlying issue. Once you have identified the issue, it may take some time for your hens to recover and get back to the business of laying. Here are a few possibilities you may want to check into:
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