Chicken Issues

[BabyMae09]

My four adult chickens aren't laying. Unless they are hiding their eggs, which I suppose is possible. They do have a nesting box. Do you know what age chickens stop laying at? These are rhode island reds and the black kind with the blueish/gold feathers (I got them from a friend and she doesn't know what kind they are). I think they're only 3-4 years old. Any ideas?

They have fresh water, food, and get our scraps, as well as being free-range most of the time. They get organic feed from a local supplier. It's the same stuff they've been eating forever. They were laying in the winter, and they steadily dropped off until now we get maybe an egg every other day or so from all four adults.

[Erinz]

I wonder if they are molting? There is a way to tell by bleaching sequence and whate feathers are where. I bet you could google it!

[mattemma04]

I was going to say molting too.I just looked it up because eggs are down,and one hen is going white by the ears.

[Motherwolf]

I thought chickens stop laying by 3 or 4 years old?

[lucyem]

I also thought production started to slow down at that age. If they free range then I would also consider they are hiding their eggs elsewhere. Can you keep them in a run or other enclosed area for a few days and see what happens?

[greenmulberry]

I have a 6 year old chicken that still lays 3 times a week in the spring and summer.

[Shahbazin]

This time of year, I'd guess they're going into molt. Production does gradually decline, but even my 6-8 year olds do all right, & I was still breeding from hens that were 12-14 years old (didn't get more than a few settings of eggs from them, though). If you want eggs in late summer/fall, you need to keep some pullets that were hatched in the current year. Or have enough hens that the early molters can take up some of the slack for the others.

[fzouk]

molting could definitely be it too, but when I had my flock of silver spangled hamburgs (have different ones now) they were TERRIBLE about hiding their eggs. They'd be better in the winter about laying in the coop and then as the weather got nice they'd lay out in the woods. I'd lock them up for a week or two and they'd lay in the coop for awhile and then gradually take their eggs out in the trees somewhere. So frustrating!

[aikigypsy]

Ours hide their eggs, too. Every now and again, we get one in the coop, and sometimes there's one on the back porch or in another place we check regularly. We find 1-2 a day, on average, and I'm pretty sure they're laying 3-4. Last week, we found a stash of 12 eggs, but then as soon as we diescovered them they started laying elsewhere.

But yes, molting is a good possibility.

[FarmerCathy]

It does sound like your hens are molting.

We have one hen that gets out of her pen when she wants to lay and I've been thinking about putting fake eggs in those places she lays so she will continue to lay there and we know where to look.