Can anyone help diagnose this issue?

[Dad of chicken lover]

We bought 4 Rhode Island Reds about a year ago. Apparently the one pictured wasn't a red. She laid large green eggs. She laid before the other 3 gals and daily. We feed them well I think, calcium supplements at times, Purina layer pellet with oyster mostly and they are in large Georgia lawn most of the day. Leftover veggies, fruits, rice, homemade bread scraps etc. at times.

After about 3+ months of laying regularly this gal had 2 elongated eggs with some deformation in middle that came out within a 2-3 week period give or take. Then there was one strange egg that came out whole, but was very fragile, slight bumps on it, and kind of more crumbly than brittle. Maybe a little chalky? That was either her last egg, or if not, VERY close to it.

It has now been 2 months or maybe more with no eggs from her. She and her 3 fellow hens seem healthy to our eyes. They have a nice large caged area, a coop for laying inside that. I don't think stress is an issue, they have it good.

Does anyone have a suggestion? I am trying to avoid vet bills with money tight, but would do that if it has a high probability of fixing the issue. My only guess is maybe worms but she seems healthy, so doesn't make sense. We did try giving her some extra calcium via oyster shell and baked egg shell.

Thank you for any help.

 

[Slothinc]

Welcome to BYC! If you’re in the northern hemisphere and experiencing winter right now, I’d guess that is the reason she has stopped laying. Some girls lay regularly during the winter (and especially during their first winter), but some - probably most actually - really slow down or don’t lay at all in the winter months. If she is happy and healthy in every other regard I would wait until the days lengthen up again and see if she starts back up

 

[Dad of chicken lover]

Welcome to BYC! If you’re in the northern hemisphere and experiencing winter right now, I’d guess that is the reason she has stopped laying. Some girls lay regularly during the winter (and especially during their first winter), but some - probably most actually - really slow down or don’t lay at all in the winter months. If she is happy and healthy in every other regard I would wait until the days lengthen up again and see if she starts back up

Thanks for the reply. We are in Georgia and the issue started before any real cold weather.

 

[Slothinc]

Thanks for the reply. We are in Georgia and the issue started before any real cold weather.

More than the actual temperature, is the daylight getting shorter that can cause them to slow down or stop laying for the winter.

Some people put lights in their coops to simulate sunshine so that they will lay better in the winter. I haven’t ever done this, and would recommend researching it a lot more if it’s something you want to try - I do believe that it can cause them to stop laying earlier in their life.

But anyways, hopefully it is just the shortening daylight that caused her to slow down and stop laying. Certainly, since it has been two months, there isn’t an urgent life-or-death situation going on (like being egg bound, etc.)

 

[Dad of chicken lover]

More than the actual temperature, is the daylight getting shorter that can cause them to slow down or stop laying for the winter.

Some people put lights in their coops to simulate sunshine so that they will lay better in the winter. I haven’t ever done this, and would recommend researching it a lot more if it’s something you want to try - I do believe that it can cause them to stop laying earlier in their life.

But anyways, hopefully it is just the shortening daylight that caused her to slow down and stop laying. Certainly, since it has been two months, there isn’t an urgent life-or-death situation going on (like being egg bound, etc.)

What about the strange eggs right before she stopped laying? Doesn't that seem like it is more than coincidental? Or are those types of abnormal eggs common before temporarily shutting down their egg production?

She is the only one that has stopped laying, but is apparently a different breed so that doesn't seem to say much.

 

[Slothinc]

My guess is that the eggs were oddly shaped or thinner shelled because she was getting ready to stop production. I occasionally get oddly shaped eggs or more chalky eggs but it doesn’t seem to be a concern, at least it hasn’t yet been a concern in my flock. If anyone else reads this post and has more experience with this, they may chime in too. My flock is young this year so most of them have been laying through the winter, but there are a couple who have taken extended breaks from laying.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It has now been 2 months or maybe more with no eggs from her. She and her 3 fellow hens seem healthy to our eyes. They have a nice large caged area, a coop for laying inside that. I don't think stress is an issue, they have it good.

Does anyone have a suggestion? I am trying to avoid vet bills with money tight, but would do that if it has a high probability of fixing the issue. My only guess is maybe worms but she seems healthy, so doesn't make sense. We did try giving her some extra calcium via oyster shell and baked egg shell.

What about the strange eggs right before she stopped laying? Doesn't that seem like it is more than coincidental? Or are those types of abnormal eggs common before temporarily shutting down their egg production?

I'm not sure what your goal is?
Is it production?

Very possible she may have some type of reproductive problem if she had some strange looking eggs or they may have been a "glitch" if she was going into molt.

You don't report any symptoms of illness - no lethargy, etc. She's active, eating/drinking, etc. So you can either wait it out and see if she resumes laying as the days get longer or if purely production is your goal and she's not producing, then culling may be a more practical step to take. Hard to know.

If you are concerned about worms, then taking a sample of poop to your vet for a fecal float will give you information about whether it's necessary to deworm or not.

 

[Dad of chicken lover]

I'm not sure what your goal is?
Is it production?

Very possible she may have some type of reproductive problem if she had some strange looking eggs or they may have been a "glitch" if she was going into molt.

You don't report any symptoms of illness - no lethargy, etc. She's active, eating/drinking, etc. So you can either wait it out and see if she resumes laying as the days get longer or if purely production is your goal and she's not producing, then culling may be a more practical step to take. Hard to know.

If you are concerned about worms, then taking a sample of poop to your vet for a fecal float will give you information about whether it's necessary to deworm or not.

I would say my current goal is diagnosis, to see if what I describe is an indicator of something familiar to to anyone in the group. The chickens are combination production/pets. Culling is not an option.
I mentioned worms but I don't know if that makes any sense, doesn't seem to but I'm new to chickens. Was looking for feedback in that regard. Is worms feasible if the chicken seems completely healthy other than the strange egg(s) and then 0 eggs for close to 3 months now?

The one egg I described in original post was VERY different and I believe last egg she laid. It was probably a long shot, but I was hoping someone would identify the issue via that clue and that it would be something fixable.

 

[Eggcessive]

If she has some reproductive issue, there is not a lot more that you can do at this point. I had a few hens who had some odd eggs, soft ends, fart/fairy miniature eggs, calcium deposits, rings, etc. My chickens had a mild case of infectious bronchitis virus when they were young. Quite a few developed egg issues, and stopped laying young. Some had reproductive disorders that killed them. Here is a good chart to learn the possible causes for abnormal egg shells:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would say my current goal is diagnosis, to see if what I describe is an indicator of something familiar to to anyone in the group. The chickens are combination production/pets. Culling is not an option.
I mentioned worms but I don't know if that makes any sense, doesn't seem to but I'm new to chickens. Was looking for feedback in that regard. Is worms feasible if the chicken seems completely healthy other than the strange egg(s) and then 0 eggs for close to 3 months now?

The one egg I described in original post was VERY different and I believe last egg she laid. It was probably a long shot, but I was hoping someone would identify the issue via that clue and that it would be something fixable.

Worms can affect the overall health of the bird. But it sounds like she's happy and well within herself. This is why I suggested getting a fecal float to see if worms were even an issue.

When she stopped laying, did she molt? Grow new feathers?

Check her over for lice/mites, see that her crop is emptying, just so you've covered some of the basics.

It can be hard to know why a hen isn't laying eggs. Each one is an individual, even within the same breed. Some take a break for a long while and resume laying like gangbusters. Others may lay for a period of time and never lay again, but live for years.