Are you walking out to the coop and finding empty nesting boxes lately? You aren’t alone! As the days get shorter, we get this question a lot from new keepers:
“Why did my chickens stop laying?”
The short answer? Moulting season. 
So, what about the eggs at the supermarket? Where do they get the eggs from right now? Those are commercial hybrid breeds. These girls are specifically created for maximum egg production. They often start laying as early as 16 weeks old and will pump out an egg a day throughout their first year, regardless of the weather or season. But for our heritage breeds, taking a break from laying is a completely natural and necessary biological process.
Daylight & Hormones
As the daylight hours decrease, it triggers a hormonal change in the hens. Their bodies know the cold weather is coming, signaling them to drop their old, worn-out feathers and grow a fresh, warm winter coat.
The Protein Priority
Feathers are made almost entirely of protein (keratin). Producing an egg also requires a massive amount of protein and energy. A hen’s body simply cannot physically do both at the same time! During a moult, 100% of her protein reserves are diverted to growing new feathers.
“So, when will they go back to laying?”
Once the moult is completely finished and their new fluffy coats are fully grown in, their bodies will reset. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months. Hens require about 14 hours of daylight for their hormones to trigger egg production. They will naturally resume laying when their energy is restored, often shortly after the Winter Solstice as the days slowly begin to lengthen again.
For now, the best thing you can do is wait, and remember how “chickenless” people feel when they have to buy store bought eggs!
