Reasons why your hen might not being laying… ?
And this is Abigail. I’ve had Abigail for a little over seven years now.
Molting 
One reason that your hens might not be laying as well as they normally do is if they’re molting. Molting is when they lose their feathers to get new ones
I have some hens that molt in the spring, some that molt in the fall
It takes so much energy for them to grow new feathers that a lot of times they don’t lay while that’s happening
Broody Hens 
When hens are broody they don’t lay
Because they’re spending all their energy to create the temperature that the egg needs to come up to temperature in order for chick development
Temperature Changes ?
Drastic temperature changes can also alter their laying
If it goes quickly cold for winter or quickly hot for the summer, that can throw a wrinkle in their laying process, and they might not lay.
Internal Parasites 
If they’ve got an internal parasite going on they can stop laying
That takes extra energy away, so they don’t lay
Illness 
?
?Any kind of illness…
They tend to not lay when they don’t feel well
Age 
And then of course there is getting old, like Abigail here
Abigail is about three and a half, like I mentioned
Her laying has definitely slowed down
You have to figure out what to do with aging flock members
Are you going to have enough space to be able to bring younger hens into the flock to keep up in egg production while the older hens that don’t lay so much anymore just live out their life and becomes pets
or
Do you need to cull them because you’re limited on space
Whether you cull or let the hens live out their life is a personal decision that every backyard chicken owner has to make
We’ve done both. We prefer to let them live out their life
We’ve culled some for various reasons, but the majority of ours live out their life
I’ve culled ones that had problems, they just weren’t going to make it on their own
It’s not a fun thing to have to do, but it was more humane for them, then the way their life would have been
So, that’s why we chose to do it at that time
But the majority of ours, like Olivia is about 3 ½ and Abigail is 3 ½
I’ve got a couple of others that are about that old.
Hens typically lay eggs from three to five years old and then they slow down
They could live as long as 12 years
So, it could be quite a few years that you’re paying to house and feed them without very much egg production from them
Egg production will naturally slow down over time
You’ll notice that you’re not getting an egg every couple days anymore
You’re getting an egg every couple weeks
Then, it will slow down even more to be every couple months
Abigail here goes through spurts
She will lay consistently for a month or so, and then not lay at all for a couple months
You just really have to decide how you want to handle this as a backyard chicken owner
There’s no right or wrong answer, just what your family is comfortable with
You need to make sure that molting, broodiness, etc aren’t what’s going on
And have a plan for when your hens age
So you can make the best decision for you and your backyard flock
Remember … Be The Organic U – Feed Your Soul
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