Why Did My Chickens Stop Laying Eggs? 11 Causes and Fixes

Quick answer: most of the time, chickens stop laying eggs because of shorter days, molting or age, and all three are normal. Hens need about 14 hours of light to lay steadily, so egg production drops every fall. If it is spring or summer and your hens still are not laying, look at stress, protein and calcium, broodiness, hidden nests, egg eating, parasites or heat.

I have kept hens for years, and I still get that sinking feeling every October when I open the nest boxes and find them empty. The good news is that it is rarely something you did wrong. Below is the checklist I go through with my own flock, a table to help you find the cause fast, and how long each one takes to sort itself out.

Why Are My Chickens Not Laying Eggs? Start with This Table

Match what you are seeing to the clue column. Usually one row jumps out straight away.

Why Did My Chickens Stop Laying Eggs in the Fall?

This is the big one. A hen’s laying cycle is triggered by light hitting a gland behind her eye. University of Florida IFAS says hens need about 14 hours of day length to keep laying (UF/IFAS, Factors affecting egg production). Penn State Extension notes that in the US, production usually falls in September and October, when daylight drops below 12 hours.

So if your whole flock slowed down at once in fall, and nobody looks sick, it is almost certainly the light. They are not broken. They are resting.

Should You Add Light to the Coop in Winter?

This is one of the most argued-about topics among chicken keepers, and there are honest points on both sides.

For adding light: Commercial farms and many extension services use it. Penn State Extension suggests up to about 16 hours of total light, using a warm-colored bulb (not a heat lamp) on a timer, and leaving hens a dark period every night to rest. If you depend on your eggs, it works.

Against adding light: Many backyard keepers, me included, like to let hens rest over winter. It gives their bodies a break from making eggs, and it lines up with a natural molt. There is no strong science that a hen has a fixed number of eggs that light “uses up,” so I won’t claim that. My reason is simpler. My hens are pets that also lay, and I am happy to buy eggs for a couple of months.

If you do add light, do it safely:

• Add light in the early morning, before sunrise, so hens go to roost with the natural sunset and are not left in the dark off the roost.
• Increase it slowly, no more than about an hour a week.
• Use a low-watt LED in a warm color (under 3500K) on a timer, mounted where hens cannot reach it. Never a heat lamp.
• Give molting hens time to finish before you add light.

Is My Hen Molting?

Molting is the other big fall reason. Most hens have their first real molt at around 15 to 18 months old and then molt every year, usually as the days shorten. Feathers take a lot of protein to make, so a hen’s body switches from eggs to feathers.

You will know it when you see it. The coop looks like a pillow exploded, and some hens look rough and patchy. A molt can take anywhere from about 8 to 16 weeks, and egg laying usually comes back once the new feathers are in. I cover the whole process in why do chickens molt.

What helps most is extra protein. I switch to an 18% to 20% feed and offer mealworms or scrambled eggs a few times a week. Here are 13 high protein foods for molting chickens. Keep handling to a minimum, too, because new pin feathers are tender.

Can Age Stop a Hen from Laying?

Yes. Hens lay the most eggs in their first two years. UF/IFAS notes that after two or three years many hens lay significantly fewer eggs. They don’t stop all at once. Each year you get fewer eggs, often larger ones, with longer breaks.

By around 5 to 7 years old, many hens lay very few eggs or none at all, though some keep going. A hen can live 8 to 10 years, and older hens still earn their keep by eating bugs, turning compost and keeping the flock calm. It also helps to know your breed. Some breeds simply lay more than others, and production breeds often slow down sooner. My chicken breeds chart compares yearly egg counts.

Can Stress Stop Chickens from Laying?

Very much so. Chickens are creatures of habit, and almost any change can pause laying for a week or more. Common triggers include:

• A raccoon or dog prowling around the coop at night
• Adding new birds, or losing the top hen and reshuffling the pecking order
• Moving the coop or the nest boxes
• A crowded coop with too little space
• Loud noise, like fireworks or construction
• A wet, drafty coop

Find the cause, remove it if you can, and give them time. Most flocks bounce back in one to three weeks once things settle.

Are Your Hens Getting Enough Protein and Calcium?

This is where I see the most avoidable trouble. A layer feed should make up about 90% of what a hen eats. Virginia Tech Extension recommends a layer ration of 16% to 18% protein. When kids shower the flock with bread, scratch and kitchen scraps, the hens fill up on treats and short themselves on protein.

Calcium matters just as much, and low calcium is one of the main reasons a hen becomes egg bound. Each eggshell takes about 2 grams of calcium, and the Merck Veterinary Manual notes laying hens need a diet of roughly 3.5% to 6% calcium. Without it, a hen pulls calcium from her own bones, lays thin-shelled eggs and eventually stops. I keep a dish of oyster shell out all the time so each hen can take what she needs. More on that in do chickens need oyster shell.

Water counts too. Hens are more sensitive to running out of water than running out of food, and a few hours without water can knock production down. That happens most in summer heat and on freezing winter days.

One more thing I learned the hard way. When I switched my flock from crumbles to pellets, several hens stopped laying for a while. As soon as I switched back, they started again. If you change feed, mix the old and new over a week or so.

Is Your Hen Broody?

A broody hen wants to hatch chicks, and while she is sitting, she will not lay. She will flatten herself in the nest box, puff up and growl or peck if you reach under her. A brood lasts about 21 days if she has fertile eggs, and some stubborn hens will sit on an empty nest for even longer.

You can let her hatch some eggs or gently break the brood. Either way, expect a few weeks after she quits before she lays again. See how to care for a broody hen.

Are Your Chickens Hiding or Eating Their Eggs?

Sometimes hens are laying just fine and you are not getting the eggs. Free-range hens love a secret nest under a bush, behind the woodpile or under the deck. If you suspect a hidden nest, keep them in the run until late morning, since most hens lay before noon.

Egg eating is the other culprit. It often starts with one cracked egg, and once a hen gets a taste for it, others copy her. Watch for yolk on beaks and bits of shell in the nest. Snakes and rats also steal eggs. Collect eggs often, keep nest boxes dim and clean with one box per four or five hens, and make sure they have calcium. Here are 11 ways to stop chickens from eating eggs.

Could Parasites or Illness Be the Reason?

Mites and lice drain a hen and quietly cut production. UF/IFAS reports lice can reduce egg production by around 10%, and up to 20% in heavy infestations. Check under the wings and around the vent, and visit the coop after dark with a flashlight to look for red mites on the roosts. If you find them, follow my step-by-step chicken mite treatment for the birds and the coop. Worms can do the same thing. Here is how I control parasites in chickens.

Illness is less common but more serious. Respiratory diseases such as infectious bronchitis can cut egg production sharply, and the hens can take weeks to recover even after they look better. If a hen is sneezing, wheezing, droopy, losing weight or has odd droppings, separate her and call a vet. Here are 13 signs your chickens are sick.

Egg binding, where an egg gets stuck, is rare but urgent. A hen straining, pumping her tail and standing like a penguin needs help right away.

Do Chickens Stop Laying When It Is Too Hot?

Yes. Severe heat cuts feed intake, and eggs drop off with it. Once temperatures climb past about 85°F, hens pant, hold their wings away from their bodies and eat less. Give them shade, airflow, plenty of cool water and a few frozen treats. Laying usually picks up within days of the weather breaking.

Do Chickens Lay Fewer Eggs When It’s Cold?

Mostly it is the short days, not the cold itself. Healthy hens handle cold well, but wet, drafty coops stress them, and they burn more energy staying warm. A dry, draft-free coop helps them keep laying on the days they would anyway. Here is my guide to how to keep chickens warm in winter.

At What Age Do Hens Start Laying Eggs?

Most pullets start laying between 18 and 22 weeks old, and many lay by 6 months. Some heavier breeds take 7 to 8 months or longer. A pullet that reaches laying age in late fall may wait until the days lengthen in spring before she starts.

How Long Until My Hens Start Laying Again?

It depends on the cause. After a molt, expect 8 to 16 weeks. After a stressful event, often 1 to 3 weeks. Short-day slowdowns usually end in late winter as days lengthen. If none of the rows in the table fit and it has been more than a couple of months in spring or summer, it is worth a health check. For more on what normal production looks like, see my backyard chicken egg production statistics.

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