My hens have stopped laying
Work through it in order — the answer is usually daylength or moult, and the one people miss entirely is that the eggs are being laid somewhere you aren't looking.
What actually works
The commonest cause, and it is not a problem — it's a hen. Adding light brings them back; it also spends their lifetime supply of eggs faster. A real trade, honestly made.
Feathers everywhere, laying stops for 6–12 weeks, usually in autumn of their second year. They're rebuilding their plumage out of protein. Feed well and wait.
Free-ranging hens find somewhere better than the box you built. A hundred eggs under a hedge is a surprisingly common 'mystery'.
Production falls off meaningfully after year two or three. A predator scare, a move, or a mite load will all stop a flock cold — check under the wings and vent at night for mites.
If the cause is daylength, moult or age — and it usually is — nothing in a tub changes it. Fix calcium only if you actually have thin shells.
Run the numbers
- Flock feed & egg math → — free calculator, works offline.
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