My chicken hasn't laid eggs in 5 days. Is this normal behavior?

If you just added in new birds it's likely stressing your hen a bit which can disrupt laying. I would give her at least a week or two before I worry about the fact that she is not laying eggs regularly. Making sure she is on a balanced layer feed along with being given plenty of fresh water and enough nesting space (usually 2-3 birds MAX per nest box) can also help ensure she feels comfortable enough to lay. Another possibility is that she is still laying but has moved her nest to somewhere else, especially if she is free-ranged. Searching for a hidden nest, and if found, keeping her cooped for a few days may help encourage her to begin using the nesting box again.

Thanks for your question, and it sounds like you have quite the situation going on. With that severe of a drop in egg production, I would be concerned about severe stress, nutritional deficiency, or some kind of an environmental issue. I would recommend evaluating the husbandry to see if everything is ideal. If you have had any changes in diet, with a focus on a lack of calcium, that can cause a drop in egg production for many birds. Also, if you have had any stressful events, that also can cause a short term drop in egg production. From what I can find, the stress pack should not be harmful to your chickens, but ensure that adding it to their routine doesn't cause them to not want to ingest the food/water that it is added to. I hope that gives you a place to start, and that the egg production starts to turn around very soon.

Thanks for reaching out about Ringo Starr. Laying imperfect eggs and sitting quietly could be a sign of egg binding or other reproductive diseases. If she is eating well and otherwise not looking in distress, then monitoring her is okay for a few days. Ensure her diet is adequate, to replace calcium that is being lost due to egg laying. If she continues to isolate herself or her signs of illness progress, an avian veterinarian examination should be scheduled. Good luck.

You may see a larger than normal amount of stool a day before or after a bird lays an egg, but it should not be diarrhea nor should it last a week. Submit a stool sample to your veterinarian or an experienced avian vet to diagnose intestinal parasites or bacterial overgrowth. If you supplement the diet with fruit or vegetables, discontinue temporarily and offer a commercial pelleted diet until the stool is normal. Monitor for lethargy, decreased appetite or continued loose droppings. See or recheck with your veterinarian if necessary.

I would be concerned if it keeps happening. This could be due to an issue such as the wrong nutrition -- a good layer feed along with an additional calcium supplement should be enough nutritionally to prevent this -- or an issue with the reproductive tract itself. Older hens can develop tumors and other reproductive issues that may cause chronic egg-binding, and other underlying health issues or illnesses may as well. Younger hens may not lay consistently-sized eggs yet which could cause problems or irregular laying, which may improve over time as they get used to laying. If the problem is persisting, having a vet evaluate her is a good idea.

Hello. It is very common to see reproductive disease in chickens including salpingitis & egg yolk peritonitis. If you could bring her indoors where it is a bit cooler, feed her nutritious foods such as cornbread, cooked eggs, even a bit ( not much ) of canned cat food & see if she perks up. Many of these birds are actually in quite a bit of pain, so if there is any way to have her seen by a vet, this would be best. X-rays are often taken in these cases to evaluate the internal organs or see if she is actually egg bound. There is a lot we know about chickens, but sometimes not much we can do to save them. Hope you can have her evaluated soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is possible that your bird is having symptoms of a contagious disease but there is no way to know this without seeing your chicken. I would be concerned especially if you have multiple chickens and would find an avian or mixed animal veterinarian in your area to see right away. I would recommend blood work and infectious disease screening if possible.