Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Toots]

one of my girls (a little over 2 yo) has stopped laying.

 

I have reduced her to pellets only no treats, she laid a couple of softies so more grit and baked egg shell bits.

 

she Is fine in herself, eats well, fights over any treats the thers get, makes sure she gets heard when she wants out to free range etc.

 

do they just have enough and stop/ slow down?

[Surfnirvana]

My two Ginger nut Rangers seem to have stopped too. Although the 2 Miss Pepperpots are still going strong. All four of them are just over 2 years old now. I thought they had slowed down over the winter, but maybe that is it?

Would be interested to hear if other people have had similar experiences with Chooks over the 2 year birthdays.

[moochoo]

My gingernut rangers are just over 3 years old and have just gone through a major moult where no eggs were layed for months but they're back to laying 4-5 eggs per week.

They shouldn't really be going through the henopause at 2

Good plan to go to pellets only but I find I get more eggs if my girls get a cabbage a couple of times a week. I have no idea why, but it does make an obvious difference.

[Seagazer]

Mine are about the same age and one of them doesn't always lay, we get roughly 2 or 3 eggs from her in a good week, sometimes we go weeks without any. She's fit and healthy (and my favorite) so I don't mind.

[Sandychick]

My omlet girls are 2 years old now - they don't miss a day. I wish they would slow down a bit before the new girls start laying If they all lay every day, 28 eggs will be a lot for one person to get through in a week

[Laura & CTB]

My Tiffany laid about six softies in a row then just stopped - I'm quite glad really. She hasnt laid since last September.

[Space Chick]

My ex batt Polly stopped laying after she had been with me for about 5 months so would have been around 2ish. She had a run of softies before she stopped laying. She passed away last week, and would have been just over 2. However, she would have had the intensive lights of the battery system and only knew life as a backyard hen for just over 6 months.

[Olly]

If you consider that battery farms cull hens at 1 year old because they stop laying reliably at around that age, then 2 years old is not unusual for the 'hennopause'. It does depend on the breed and on the individual bird - you may still get an occasional egg, but she may have just run out. I think my Gingernuts slowed down at about that age, one went on laying softies with the occasional hard egg, the other one didn't lay at all.

 

My late Gingernut Rangers spent their retirement gardening, socialising and sunbathing with their friends - not a bad life!