yes my Rhode island reds are no longer laying eggs. They are 3 or 4 years old. They are in a chicken coop. Are they done laying or do I have another problem?

-- paul miller (millerclan@alltel.net), June 16, 2001

Answers

Is it really hot there? I know our hens sometimes take a break when it's hot.

-- Elizabeth (Lividia66@aol.com), June 16, 2001.

I just looked up in, "Chickens in you backyard" that chickens can stop laying for various reasons. Change in feed, weather, moulting, change of location, lack of water are some of the reasons. I am not sure about age but there will also come a time when that affects them.

-- Tom S. (trdsshepard@yahoo.com), June 16, 2001.

Hi Paul. Our chickens have lowered there egg production by half. Our weather has been hot and humid. The chickens aren't happy. We live in Upstate NY and it has brrn hot. As far as the age goes. One of our hens died last year naturally and she still was laying. Our chickens are also Free Ranging. Yours could be molting also, Well hope they start laying soon. We have 3 Broody hens on a batch of eggs. That's why our production is down. Sunshine Mountain Ashe Acres Farm

-- SUNSHINE (gp83196@AOL.COM), June 16, 2001.

Thanks for the replies. Yes the weather is a bit odd. And we did change locations they always had freedom but now with predator problems we enclosed them for their own protection we have not changed their feed or water schedule.

-- paul miller (millerclan@alltel.net), June 16, 2001.

Paul, I have some old chickens that must be 7-8 years old now and they lay good still. However, I just penned my free ranging flock up and they dropped more than half egg prodution, we say they are pouting. They can be free again as soon as my flower transplants get a little bigger and stronger and I suppose they will go back to normal egg prodution, all other things being the same. The only ones to want to set are the Bantys and the Guineas. The weather here has been abnormally hot with very little rain. Maureen at Ravens Roost

-- Maureen Stevenson (maureen@mtaonline.net), June 16, 2001.

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-- khfgvgfihvl lifgvuoybewf (b_f@sapo.net), September 27, 2001.