Hybrid Not Layed For Months

[Anonymous]

I have a two and a half year old Miss Pepperpot hybrid hen, and I keep her with a ten-month old buff Orpington pullet and my recently acquired bantam black Orpington pullet. My hybrid is supposed to be laying almost an egg every day, but we haven't had one egg since about early spring, only soft shelled ones!
We have tried everything we know of to help her: grit, ground-up baked eggshells, cuttlefish bone, supplement in the water, cod liver oil, you name it, we've tried it, but it's had no effect whatsoever. We feed her layers pellets, and she has a healthy mixed diet with frequent scraps from the kitchen.
Her eggs were delicious, with the deepest orange yolks, some won prizes at our shows, and we are desperate for her to start laying again. Can anyone help us?

 

[victorias poultry]

She isn;t laying somewhere else? Is she happy being with the orpington bantam pullet as stress will stop birds laying.

 

[foxy]

I would imagine if she has been laying consistently, by her age I would guess she came into lay the year she was hatched...early spring so POL autumn. If she layed through winter and through the next season she may well be having a long break now and I doubt she will come back into lay until spring next year.

It is worth mentioning that hybrids have a finite number of eggs, like all chickens have,so by laying every day without a break, she will use her egg cells far more quickly than a pure breed hen, who may only lay half as much in a week but will continue to lay for twice as long if that makes sense. It is better for your hen to have a break from laying, to replenish her calcium levels, and allow some energy for her autumn moult. Naturally birds will lay less as the days draw in, cockerels are also quieter, and less active this time of year.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help!