Sudden unexplained stop in egg laying

[UrbanEgger19]

I have a French Black Copper Marans that is about one year old who was laying great in fall, sporadically in winter but that was to be expected, then through January she was laying about 4 eggs a week and then suddenly stopped and we haven't had any eggs from her for the past 5 weeks. Other hens are all laying consistently now. She is still queen of the roost and acting normal, eating and drinking, foraging around, no signs of illness or parasites that I can tell. Just no eggs.
I've looked for hidden stashes and and even tried restricting her free range but still nothing.

Has any one else had a Hen that just stopped for no reason?
Do the start back again?

 

[chickenhugger69712]

Hello! Maybe your hen is becoming broody or molting?

 

[UrbanEgger19]

Hello! Maybe your hen is becoming broody or molting?

So she went through a molt last fall and isnt losing any feathers right now and doesnt seem to be staying in next box or sitting on the other girls eggs really. Can they be " broody" without a clutch of eggs?
Just cant seem to figure out what has her not wanting to lay

 

[Shadrach]

I have a French Black Copper Marans that is about one year old who was laying great in fall, sporadically in winter but that was to be expected, then through January she was laying about 4 eggs a week and then suddenly stopped and we haven't had any eggs from her for the past 5 weeks. Other hens are all laying consistently now. She is still queen of the roost and acting normal, eating and drinking, foraging around, no signs of illness or parasites that I can tell. Just no eggs.
I've looked for hidden stashes and and even tried restricting her free range but still nothing.

Has any one else had a Hen that just stopped for no reason?
Do the start back again?

I have French Marans. They are lovely birds but they haven't been at all reliable on the laying front. The Marans hens here haven't coped with stress as well as the bantams and mixed breeds I've found so stress if she is otherwise healthy may be the cause. The Marans hens here all stopped laying when one of there roosters got killed by a hawk.
A thorough health check is the place to start; crop test, vent examination, mites and lice. Do you worm them?
After the above, unless she got a nest somewhere, there isn't much more you can do.

 

[UrbanEgger19]

I have French Marans. They are lovely birds but they haven't been at all reliable on the laying front. The Marans hens here haven't coped with stress as well as the bantams and mixed breeds I've found so stress if she is otherwise healthy may be the cause. The Marans hens here all stopped laying when one of there roosters got killed by a hawk.
A thorough health check is the place to start; crop test, vent examination, mites and lice. Do you worm them?
After the above, unless she got a nest somewhere, there isn't much more you can do.

So we Had a Blue Copper Marans that was just not adjusting well to Backyard life and went backt to the Farm we got her which seems to be about the time that The BCM stopped laying, but if stress of lost flock member I just assumed she would have gotten over it by now.
Did yours ever start laying again? How long did it take?
I havent wormed them, but I also havent seen any signs of worms or mites or lice.
They have access to regular dust bath with DE powder and I also keep it spread in their house and give them cucumbers and Herbs that I understand to help with worms and parasites and illness.

 

[Shadrach]

Yes, they did lay eggs again but I can't remember how long it took. These are French Marans that came from Marans in France and it seems they lay fewer eggs annually than some of the imported hatchery stock.
I should just point out that DE powder will not either prevent, or eradicate mites, or lice and as a dust is harmful to inhale for fowl and humans.
There are many herbs and remedies that will help a bird to maintain a healthy gut. There has recently been some evidence that certain herbs reduce worm loads but the quantities and dosages isn't widely known.
You may not see worms in the poop and the bird may still carry an excessive load. The best option is to get a fecal float done by a lab and treat accordingly. It might be worth worming them with something that works like Fenbendazole or Flubendazole if a fecal float isn't possible.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

She might just have a nest you haven’t found yet...

 

[UrbanEgger19]

Yes, they did lay eggs again but I can't remember how long it took. These are French Marans that came from Marans in France and it seems they lay fewer eggs annually than some of the imported hatchery stock.
I should just point out that DE powder will not either prevent, or eradicate mites, or lice and as a dust is harmful to inhale for fowl and humans.
There are many herbs and remedies that will help a bird to maintain a healthy gut. There has recently been some evidence that certain herbs reduce worm loads but the quantities and dosages isn't widely known.
You may not see worms in the poop and the bird may still carry an excessive load. The best option is to get a fecal float done by a lab and treat accordingly. It might be worth worming them with something that works like Fenbendazole or Flubendazole if a fecal float isn't possible.

Thank you for all the info and advice! I'm not 100% on the blood lines of mine but they do have the more French characteristics I believe with the feathered feet so maybe aleast more toward that lineage.
Is worming with medication something that needs to be done all the time on a regular schedule? I'm not sure about the fecal float but I can see if the local feed store carries the medication to try.
Thanks again.

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you for all the info and advice! I'm not 100% on the blood lines of mine but they do have the more French characteristics I believe with the feathered feet so maybe aleast more toward that lineage.
Is worming with medication something that needs to be done all the time on a regular schedule? I'm not sure about the fecal float but I can see if the local feed store carries the medication to try.
Thanks again.

I believe the responsible advice is you should worm your flock twice a year. I don't. I get a random fecal float done two, or three times a year and if worms are found, everyone gets treated.
A lot depends on how you keep your flock and your weather conditions. If you've had a period of wet weather and it gets warm and sunny then this is ideal conditions for worms in the soil.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is worming with medication something that needs to be done all the time on a regular schedule? I'm not sure about the fecal float

I personally don't believe in treating something that's not there. Better to know for sure that you need it (and more importantly, what specific worms you're dealing with, which is something else a fecal float can tell you) and then treat accordingly.