Field guide · Chapter 2

Why did my chickens stop laying?

Six ordinary reasons cover nearly every empty nest box: daylight, moult, age, broodiness, stress, or health — and a seventh where they never stopped and you just can't find the eggs. Run the checklist in order; it's sorted by how often each one turns out to be the answer.

First, two questions that change everything

Did production fall, or stop dead? A gradual slide over weeks points to daylight or age. A hard stop inside a few days points to stress, a predator scare, broodiness, or hidden eggs.

Is it every hen, or one? The whole flock slowing together is season or feed. One hen stopping alone is moult, broodiness, or a health problem. This is the single best reason to keep per-hen records — a flock total hides exactly the information you need right now.

The checklist, in order

1. Check the calendar — daylight. Laying is driven by light through the pineal gland, and below roughly 14 hours of daylight most hens slow or stop. From September onward this is the answer for the majority of "suddenly fewer eggs" posts. It reverses on its own as days lengthen in late winter.
2. Look at the birds — moult. Feathers on the coop floor, patchy necks, a scruffy saddle: the annual moult, usually in autumn, takes 8 to 16 weeks and pauses laying almost completely. Feathers are about 85% protein, so the egg budget goes to plumage. A bump to 18–20% protein feed helps her through it faster.
3. Do the maths — age. A hen lays at ~100% of her potential in year one, ~80% in year two, ~70% in year three, and about half by year five. If your "why did they slow down" coincides with the flock's third birthday, nothing is wrong. The laying age chart has the full curve.
4. Check the nest boxes — broodiness. A broody hen sits flat, growls, pecks your hand, and refuses to leave the box. She has stopped laying and will stay stopped for the three weeks she'd need to hatch eggs plus recovery. Orpingtons, Silkies and Sussex go broody constantly; production hybrids rarely.
5. Think back a week — stress. A predator visit (even unsuccessful), a new flock member, a move, a feed brand change, loud works next door, or a heatwave above ~30°C / 85°F each pause laying for days to a couple of weeks. The eggs return when the calm does.
6. Inspect at night — health. Red mites hide in coop crevices by day and feed on roosting birds by night; run a white paper towel along the perch underside after dark — red smears mean mites. Also check for worms, unusually pale combs, or a hen standing hunched and puffed. A stopped lay plus a sick-looking bird is the one branch of this list where a vet beats a blog.
7. Follow a hen at dusk — hidden eggs. Free-ranging hens with any access to hedges, sheds or long grass will happily move the clutch. If the birds look glossy and busy but the boxes are empty, they're probably laying somewhere you haven't looked. Lock them in the run until mid-afternoon for a few days; the boxes will tell you.

Half this checklist starts with "when did it actually stop?" — a question a memory can't answer and a log can. EggBasket shows the day the line bent, per hen, without an account.

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The winter light question, honestly

You can hold laying through winter with a bulb on a timer bringing the coop to about 14 hours of light — commercial farms do exactly this. Backyard keepers split on it. The case for: eggs all winter. The case against: the winter pause is a natural rest, and a hen has a roughly fixed lifetime supply of ova, so winter eggs are borrowed from later years rather than added. If you do it: add light in the morning (a sudden dusk blackout strands hens off the roost), keep it gentle and incandescent-warm, and never light around the clock. If you don't: expect the first pullet eggs and returning layers from February.

Questions people ask

Why did my chickens suddenly stop laying?

A sudden stop across the whole flock usually follows a stressor within the past week: a predator scare, a new bird, a feed change, a move, or a heatwave. One hen stopping suddenly is more often broodiness or the start of a moult. Check for hidden nests before assuming anything — free-ranging hens relocate the clutch constantly.

How long do chickens stop laying during moult?

Most hens pause laying for 8 to 16 weeks during the annual autumn moult while they regrow feathers, which are about 85% protein. Fast moulters are back inside two months; slow moulters take four. A switch to 18–20% protein feed shortens the pause somewhat.

Will my chickens start laying again after winter?

Yes. Laying restarts as daylight passes roughly 12 to 14 hours, typically February or March depending on latitude. Yearling hens and production hybrids return first; older hens and heavy breeds follow weeks later. The first eggs back may be irregular or soft-shelled for a few days.

Should I put a light in the coop in winter?

It works — about 14 total hours of light keeps most hens laying — but it trades away the natural winter rest, and winter eggs draw down the same lifetime supply. If you add light, add it in the morning on a timer so dusk still falls naturally and hens can roost, and keep it dim and warm-toned.

How do I tell which hen stopped laying?

Short of cameras, the honest answers are records and handling. Log per-hen when you can identify the layer; a per-hen week strip makes the stopped bird obvious in days. Physically, a laying hen has a moist, wide vent and flexible pelvic bones about three fingers apart; a non-layer's vent is dry and puckered and the bones sit tight.