An empty nesting box is usually nothing to worry about. Shorter days, a moult, age, broodiness and stress all pause laying. Here is how to work out which one, and what to do.
If your hens have stopped laying, the most likely answer is something completely ordinary. Hens are seasonal layers, they moult once a year, they go broody, they age, and they react to stress and weather. Each of those can pause or slow the eggs, and almost all of them sort themselves out in time.
The trick is to work through the causes in order of how common they are, rather than jumping straight to illness. Start with daylight, then moult, age, broodiness and stress, then nutrition and hidden nests, and only treat it as illness if a bird also looks unwell. The troubleshooter below walks you through it.
Pick the situation that best matches what you are seeing to get the likely cause and what to do about it. Nothing is saved, and it works offline.
Laying is driven by day length more than anything else. A hen needs roughly 14 hours of daylight to lay at full rate, so as the days shorten through autumn and winter, laying naturally slows and often stops. This is the single most common reason backyard eggs dry up, and it is completely normal.
You have two honest choices. You can let the hens rest, which most keepers do, accepting fewer eggs over the cold months in exchange for healthier birds and a longer laying life. Or you can add gentle artificial light to bring the day length back up to about 14 hours. If you light, add it in the early morning rather than cutting it off suddenly at night, and remember that a natural winter rest is good for a hen's long-term welfare.
Once a year, usually in autumn from their second year onward, hens replace their feathers. Feathers are about 85 percent protein, so growing a new coat is demanding, and laying pauses or drops sharply while it happens. A moult typically runs 6 to 12 weeks, and you will see loose feathers around the run and a scruffy, patchy bird.
Support a moulting hen by lifting the protein in her diet, which helps feathers regrow faster and gets her back to lay sooner. Keep shell grit available for the birds still laying, and give her a calm, low-stress few weeks to recover.
Every hen lays best in her first two years. After that, production falls by roughly 10 to 20 percent a year. The eggs do not stop overnight, they simply become fewer, and often larger, as a hen ages. Many hens keep laying at a reduced rate for several more years.
If your flock is past two or three years old and the numbers have quietly dropped, age is the likely explanation and there is nothing to fix. It helps to know the age of your birds, which is one reason logging each hen pays off over time.
A broody hen has decided to hatch eggs. She sits in the nest all day, puffs up and grumbles if you reach under her, and stops laying entirely. It is hormonal and harmless in itself, but a long broody spell costs you eggs and can run a hen down.
To break broodiness gently, lift her off the nest regularly, collect eggs promptly so there is nothing to sit on, and move her to a cool, airy, well-lit spot away from the nesting boxes for a few days. Most hens come out of it within a week or two and start laying again soon after.
Hens are sensitive, and a range of stresses can switch off laying. Heat above about 30 degrees Celsius, a fright from a predator at night, a move to a new coop, a reshuffle of the flock, or a parasite load will all suppress eggs.
Red mite is a common hidden culprit. The mites live in the coop cracks and only come out at night to feed on the birds, so check after dark, looking along perch ends and in crevices for tiny moving specks. Reduce stress where you can, give shade and plenty of water in hot weather, and treat any mite problem promptly. For free-rangers, an apparent stop is sometimes just a hidden nest, so go looking under hedges and in quiet corners before assuming the worst.
Laying takes fuel. If the diet is short on protein or calcium, or if treats and scraps have crept up so high they are crowding out balanced feed, laying suffers and shells go thin. A sudden change of feed can also cause a brief dip while the birds adjust.
Get the basics back in place: a complete layer feed as the main ration, free-choice shell grit for calcium, and treats kept under about 10 percent of the diet. Change feeds gradually over a few days rather than all at once. Our feed and nutrition guide covers exactly what each bird needs.
Most egg drops are normal. Illness is the exception, and it tends to announce itself with more than just missing eggs.
| Cause | Typical sign | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Shorter days | Laying slows in autumn and winter | Accept the natural rest, or add gentle morning light to about 14 hours |
| Moult | Loose feathers, scruffy bird, autumn | Lift dietary protein; allow 6 to 12 weeks; keep stress low |
| Age | Fewer but larger eggs after 2 to 3 years | Nothing to fix; expect a gradual decline of about 10 to 20% a year |
| Broody | Sits in the nest all day, puffed up | Remove from nest, collect eggs, cool airy spot for a few days |
| Stress or heat | Recent move, fright, hot weather | Reduce stress; provide shade and water; let the flock settle |
| Nutrition | Thin shells, too many treats, feed change | Return to complete layer feed and shell grit; treats under 10% |
| Hidden nest | Free-rangers with no eggs in the box | Search hedges and quiet corners; confine to the run in the morning |
| Illness | Sudden stop plus lethargy or pale comb | Isolate, check parasites, contact an avian or livestock vet |
The free Planting Season app and its Poultry and Flock tracker let you log eggs each day, so a drop shows up as a clear pattern rather than a vague feeling, and you can match it to the season, a moult or a feed change. It tracks chickens, ducks and quail together, and works offline.
A sudden stop usually traces back to shorter days, a moult, broodiness, stress from heat, a predator scare or a move, a feed change, or sometimes illness or hidden nests. Work through the likely causes in order of probability. Most drops are normal and temporary, but a sudden stop combined with a sick-looking bird is worth a closer look.
Yes. Hens need roughly 14 hours of daylight to lay at full rate, so laying naturally slows or stops over autumn and winter as days shorten. This is normal and gives the birds a rest. Laying usually picks back up on its own as the days lengthen again toward spring.
It is optional. Adding gentle artificial light to reach about 14 hours of day length can keep hens laying through winter, and adding it in the morning rather than cutting it off abruptly at night is kinder. Many keepers choose to let hens take a natural winter rest instead, which is good for their long-term health and laying life.
A moult typically lasts about 6 to 12 weeks. Hens replace their feathers, usually in autumn from their second year on, and laying pauses or drops sharply while they do, because growing feathers takes a lot of protein. Lifting dietary protein during the moult helps them regrow feathers and return to lay sooner.
Hens lay best in their first two years, then production declines by roughly 10 to 20 percent a year. Many hens keep laying at a reduced rate for years, often producing fewer but larger eggs, and the slowdown becomes noticeable after about 2 to 3 years. Hybrid layers tail off sooner than heritage breeds.
A broody hen sits in the nest all day and stops laying. To break the broodiness, repeatedly remove her from the nest, collect eggs promptly, and keep her in a cool, airy, well-lit spot away from the nesting boxes for a few days. Most hens snap out of it within a week or two and resume laying soon after.
Yes. Heat above about 30 degrees Celsius, a fright from a predator, a move to a new coop, a change in the flock, or a mite infestation can all suppress laying. Reduce the stress, provide shade and water in heat, check for red mite at night, and laying usually returns once the birds settle.
If a hen stops laying and also seems unwell, with lethargy, a pale comb, weight loss, laboured breathing or unusual droppings, treat it as possible illness rather than a normal drop. Isolate the bird, check for external and internal parasites, and contact an avian or livestock vet for any serious or persistent case.
Track eggs day by day in the free Poultry module and see whether a drop is the season, a moult or something to check.