Why did my chickens suddenly stop laying?

The most common reasons, roughly in order: the days are getting shorter (hens need 14-16 hours of light and lay drops off below about 12-14 hours), they are molting and putting their energy into new feathers instead of eggs, they are getting older, one has gone broody, or something has stressed them — a move, a new bird, a predator scare, or a heat wave. If none of those fit, check the boring things first: a diet that has drifted too far toward treats, layer feed that is too low in protein, or water that ran out. Penn State Extension warns that hens left without water for more than 12 hours can drop or stop laying entirely.

Do chickens stop laying in winter?

Often, yes, and daylight is usually the reason rather than the cold. A hen's laying is triggered by day length, and Penn State and University of Arizona Extension both put the target at 14-16 hours of light a day — production falls off as the natural day drops below that in autumn. This is the one cause you can actually reverse: adding a bit of morning light to reach 14-16 hours keeps most hens laying through winter. Our coop lighting calculator works out how much you need for your location and date.

How long do chickens stop laying when they molt?

Penn State Extension says birds "take about 10-12 weeks to complete a molt and come back into production." Molting is the annual replacement of feathers, usually in autumn, and a hen cannot grow feathers and lay well at the same time because both draw heavily on protein. A hen mid-molt looking ragged and eggless is doing exactly what she is supposed to. There is nothing to fix — a slightly higher-protein feed during the molt is the only useful lever.

Can stress make chickens stop laying?

Yes — Virginia Cooperative Extension lists stress as one of the five main factors, noting that "any negative stress such as moving, handling, changes in environmental conditions or fright can contribute to or be the main cause for egg production declines." A predator that got into the run, moving to a new coop, adding or losing flock members, a dog, extreme heat, or a heavy parasite load can all shut laying down for days to weeks. The pattern to look for is a sudden flock-wide drop that lines up with something that changed — once the stressor is gone and the birds settle, laying usually resumes on its own.

My hen stopped laying but seems healthy — what should I check?

Walk down the ordinary causes before assuming illness. Is the natural day under about 14 hours? Is she molting, broody, or simply getting on in years? Then the diet: treats and scratch should be no more than 10% of what the flock eats (Oklahoma State Extension's 90/10 rule), because everything beyond that dilutes the balanced layer ration — which should itself be 16-18% protein. Finally, make sure the waterer never runs dry; Penn State Extension notes even 12 hours without water can stop laying. If she is bright, eating, and none of these apply, check for mites and lice under the vent and around the roosts.

Why Did My Chickens Stop Laying?

Almost always one of eight things — and the season you are in usually tells you which. Here is how to work out what happened to your eggs, and which causes you can actually do something about.

Figures reviewed against university extension guidance · Last reviewed July 2026

Start with the calendar

Before you worry, look at the date. If it is autumn or early winter, the odds are overwhelming that the answer is daylight, a molt, or both at once — the two most common causes of a laying stop both peak in the same season, which is why so many keepers panic in October. If it is spring or summer and laying suddenly quit, you are more likely looking at a broody hen, a stressor, or a problem with feed or water. The cause you are looking for is usually the one that matches the time of year, so that is where to start.

The eight reasons hens stop laying

1. The days are getting shorter

This is the big one, and the one people miss because it is invisible day to day. A hen's laying is driven by day length, not temperature. Penn State and University of Arizona Extension both put the sweet spot at 14–16 hours of light a day, and production tapers as the natural day falls below that through autumn. Penn State is blunt about the mechanism: "Never decrease the lighting period on birds in production, or they will stop laying." Nature decreases it for you every autumn.

This is the one cause on the list you can simply reverse. Adding a little light — in the morning, not the evening — to bring the day back up to 14–16 hours keeps most hens laying through winter. Our coop lighting calculator works out how many hours to add for your location and the date.

2. They are molting

Once a year, usually in autumn, hens drop and regrow their feathers. Growing feathers and laying eggs both draw heavily on protein, and a hen cannot do both well at once — so she stops laying while she re-feathers. Penn State Extension says birds "take about 10-12 weeks to complete a molt and come back into production." A ragged, patchy, eggless hen in October is not sick; she is doing exactly what she is meant to. There is nothing to fix, though a higher-protein feed through the molt helps her rebuild.

3. They are simply getting older

Hens do not lay forever, and they do not stop all at once. They lay best in their first year or two; after that, in Penn State Extension's words, with each cycle "the hens will lay fewer eggs, be less efficient, and will lay eggs for a shorter time." Virginia Cooperative Extension puts a rough marker on it: "After two or three years, many hens decline in productivity." A hen who was reliable for three years and is now slowing down is most likely just aging — the eggs often get larger even as they get rarer. This is not a problem to solve.

4. One has gone broody

A broody hen has decided to hatch a clutch. She sits in the nest box almost around the clock, puffs up and grumbles when you reach under her, and stops laying entirely — there is no point laying more eggs when she is trying to incubate the ones she has. As University of Georgia Extension puts it, "A broody hen will stop laying eggs, may become aggressive and will sit on a nest to prevent other hens from laying eggs there." This affects the individual bird, not the flock, so if your egg count dropped by exactly one hen's worth, look for who is glued to the nest box.

5. Something scared or unsettled them

Laying is one of the first things a hen gives up when she feels unsafe. Virginia Cooperative Extension is direct about it: "Any negative stress such as moving, handling, changes in environmental conditions or fright can contribute to or be the main cause for egg production declines." A predator prowling the run at night, a move to a new coop, new birds added to the pecking order, or a neighbor's dog all count. So does a heat wave — University of Florida Extension notes that under severe heat "feed consumption, egg production, egg size, and hatchability are all adversely affected," largely because hens eat less when they are hot. The tell is a sudden flock-wide drop that lines up with something that changed. Once the stressor is gone and the birds settle, they usually come back on their own.

6. Their diet has drifted

Well-meaning treats are a common, fixable culprit. A complete layer ration is balanced to keep hens laying; scratch, corn, and kitchen scraps are not, and every extra handful dilutes that balance. Oklahoma State Extension's rule is that treats should be no more than 10% of the daily diet — the 90/10 rule. The layer feed underneath should be 16–18% protein; drop below that and laying suffers. If the eggs slowed after you started handing out more scratch, that is very likely your answer. Our treat calculator puts the 90/10 rule in ounces for your flock.

7. The water ran out

Eggs are mostly water, and a hen that cannot drink stops laying fast. Penn State Extension is specific: "Never let the laying hens go without water for more than 12 hours, or you will see a drop or stoppage of egg production." A waterer that froze overnight, tipped over, or was too fouled to drink from is an easy thing to overlook and an easy thing to fix. In a heat wave, birds drink far more than usual, so a container that was fine in spring can run dry by afternoon.

8. They are sick or carrying parasites

This is last for a reason — it is the least likely of the eight, and worth checking only once the others are ruled out. A heavy load of mites or lice, an internal worm burden, or an illness will pull a hen off lay along with other signs: pale comb, weight loss, hunched posture, dirty vent, or labored breathing. Part the feathers around the vent and roosts at dusk and look for crawling mites. If a hen is genuinely unwell rather than just eggless, that is a veterinary question, not a calculator one — the Merck Veterinary Manual's poultry section is a solid starting reference.

A worked example

Say it is late October, your three two-year-old hens have gone from a dozen eggs a week to almost none, and two of them look scruffy. Walk the list in season order: it is autumn, so start with daylight — a quick check shows your area is down to about 10.5 hours of light, below the 14-hour floor, which alone would slow them down. Two birds are visibly ragged, so they are also molting — that is the 10–12 week pause, not illness. Nothing changed in their feed, the water is clean and unfrozen, and nobody is camped in the nest box. Diagnosis: shorter days plus a molt, the classic autumn double. Nothing is wrong with your hens. Add morning light to reach 14–16 hours if you want winter eggs, keep a higher-protein feed in front of the molting birds, and wait it out.

Sources

Every cause on this page is tied to one of these publications: the light target, the 10-12 week molt, the 12-hour water limit and the protein and treat shares to their figures; broodiness, stress and heat to extension statements that name them as causes. Where a source gives a range rather than a number — age, stress — we quote the range instead of inventing precision.

Virginia Cooperative Extension — Why Have My Hens Stopped Laying? 5 Factors that Impact Egg Production (2902-1097)
Penn State Extension — Management Requirements for Laying Flocks
Penn State Extension — Artificial Lighting for Winter Egg Production
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension — Lighting Schedules for Arizona Backyard Laying Flocks
Oklahoma State University Extension — Backyard Flock Production (fact sheet ANSI-8202)
Alabama Cooperative Extension System — Feeding the Laying Hen
University of Georgia Extension — Management Guide for the Backyard Flock (Circular 969)
University of Florida IFAS Extension — Factors Affecting Egg Production in Backyard Chicken Flocks (PS029)
Merck Veterinary Manual — Poultry — health, nutrition & toxicology

Frequently asked questions

Why did my chickens suddenly stop laying?: The most common reasons, roughly in order: the days are getting shorter (hens need 14-16 hours of light and lay drops off below about 12-14 hours), they are molting and putting their energy into new feathers instead of eggs, they are getting older, one has gone broody, or something has stressed them — a move, a new bird, a predator scare, or a heat wave. If none of those fit, check the boring things first: a diet that has drifted too far toward treats, layer feed that is too low in protein, or water that ran out. Penn State Extension warns that hens left without water for more than 12 hours can drop or stop laying entirely.
Do chickens stop laying in winter?: Often, yes, and daylight is usually the reason rather than the cold. A hen's laying is triggered by day length, and Penn State and University of Arizona Extension both put the target at 14-16 hours of light a day — production falls off as the natural day drops below that in autumn. This is the one cause you can actually reverse: adding a bit of morning light to reach 14-16 hours keeps most hens laying through winter. Our coop lighting calculator works out how much you need for your location and date.
How long do chickens stop laying when they molt?: Penn State Extension says birds "take about 10-12 weeks to complete a molt and come back into production." Molting is the annual replacement of feathers, usually in autumn, and a hen cannot grow feathers and lay well at the same time because both draw heavily on protein. A hen mid-molt looking ragged and eggless is doing exactly what she is supposed to. There is nothing to fix — a slightly higher-protein feed during the molt is the only useful lever.
At what age do hens stop laying?: There is no hard cutoff, and it is a gradual decline rather than a switch. Hens lay best in their first year or two; after that, as Penn State Extension puts it, with each additional cycle "the hens will lay fewer eggs, be less efficient, and will lay eggs for a shorter time." Many hens still lay into their fourth or fifth year, just fewer and larger eggs with longer breaks. If a hen has been productive for years and tapers off, age is the likeliest explanation and not a problem to solve.
Can stress make chickens stop laying?: Yes — Virginia Cooperative Extension lists stress as one of the five main factors, noting that "any negative stress such as moving, handling, changes in environmental conditions or fright can contribute to or be the main cause for egg production declines." A predator that got into the run, moving to a new coop, adding or losing flock members, a dog, extreme heat, or a heavy parasite load can all shut laying down for days to weeks. The pattern to look for is a sudden flock-wide drop that lines up with something that changed — once the stressor is gone and the birds settle, laying usually resumes on its own.
My hen stopped laying but seems healthy — what should I check?: Walk down the ordinary causes before assuming illness. Is the natural day under about 14 hours? Is she molting, broody, or simply getting on in years? Then the diet: treats and scratch should be no more than 10% of what the flock eats (Oklahoma State Extension's 90/10 rule), because everything beyond that dilutes the balanced layer ration — which should itself be 16-18% protein. Finally, make sure the waterer never runs dry; Penn State Extension notes even 12 hours without water can stop laying. If she is bright, eating, and none of these apply, check for mites and lice under the vent and around the roosts.