Why Your Layers Stopped Laying — Seven Common Causes and How to Fix Them

Your flock was producing 250 eggs a day. Now it is 180. Nothing obvious changed — same feed, same water, same routine. But something is wrong, and every day at 180 instead of 250 costs you KES 910 in lost revenue.

Production drops always have a cause. Here are the seven most common ones on Kenyan poultry farms, ranked by how frequently they occur.

1. Water restriction

How common: The most frequent cause of sudden production drops. Many farmers do not realise it happened.

What happens: A nipple drinker clogs, water pressure drops, a pipe breaks, or the tank runs empty for a few hours. Hens that do not drink enough for even part of a day reduce production within 24-48 hours.

Signs: Drop is sudden (overnight). Birds appear restless or crowd around drinkers. Droppings become drier and more concentrated. If you fix the water issue, production rebounds within 3-5 days.

Fix: Check all drinkers daily. Walk the line and trigger each nipple. Ensure water pressure is adequate. In hot weather, provide additional water sources. A hen needs 250-300 ml of water per day — more in hot weather.

Prevention: Record water consumption if you have a metre. A sudden drop in water usage is an early warning, even before egg production falls.

2. Feed quality or supply disruption

How common: Very common, especially when switching suppliers or when feed mills have inconsistent formulations.

What happens: The protein content drops below 16%. Energy is insufficient. A key amino acid (methionine, lysine) is deficient. Or the feed contains mycotoxins from mouldy maize. The hens eat the same volume but get less nutrition.

Signs: Drop is gradual over 5-10 days. Egg size may decrease. Shell quality may deteriorate (thin shells, rough texture). Hens may eat more or become selective.

Fix: If you changed feed suppliers, switch back or find a better source. Request lab analysis of the current batch. Compare the nutritional label to the previous batch. If mycotoxin contamination is suspected, discard the batch — the cost of bad feed far exceeds the cost of replacement feed.

Prevention: Stick with a reliable supplier. Buy feed in quantities you will use within 2-3 weeks. Store in dry, cool, rodent-proof containers. Never feed visibly mouldy grain or mash.

3. Disease

How common: Common, especially in flocks with incomplete vaccination or poor biosecurity.

What happens: Viral diseases — Newcastle Disease (ND), Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS-76) — directly attack the reproductive tract. Bacterial infections (E. coli, Salmonella) cause systemic stress that diverts energy from production.

Signs: Varies by disease. ND: respiratory signs (gasping, coughing), greenish diarrhoea, nervous signs, high mortality. IB: watery eyes, rough-shelled or misshapen eggs, production drop without high mortality. EDS: sudden drop to 20-40% HDP, soft-shelled or shell-less eggs, no other symptoms.

Fix: Call a vet immediately. Do not wait to see if it gets better. Collect samples for diagnosis. Isolate symptomatic birds. Implement emergency biosecurity (foot baths, limit visitors, separate sick from healthy).

Prevention: Follow the recommended vaccination schedule. For layers in Kenya, this typically includes: ND (multiple doses from day 1), IB, Gumboro (IBD), Fowl Pox, and depending on the area, Marek's. Maintain strict biosecurity — no wild birds in the house, no shared equipment with other farms, visitor protocols.

4. Lighting problems

How common: Very common on farms without automated timers or backup lighting.

What happens: Layers need 16 hours of total light (natural + artificial) to maintain peak production. If your artificial lights fail, the timer breaks, or power outages shorten the light period, production drops within 7-10 days.

Signs: Gradual decline rather than sudden crash. Production drops 5-15% and stabilises at the lower level. Resumes when lighting is restored, but recovery takes 2-3 weeks.

Fix: Check your light timer. Replace bulbs. If you have frequent power outages, install a battery backup or solar-powered lighting system. Even a simple setup with a car battery and LED strip costs under KES 5,000 and prevents thousands in lost production.

Prevention: Walk through the house after dark to verify lights are on and covering all areas evenly. No dark corners — hens in dark areas lay less. Light intensity should be at least 10-20 lux at bird level.

5. Heat stress

How common: Seasonal. Most severe in hot, lowland areas of Kenya (Coast, Nyanza, parts of Rift Valley) and during the February-March and October dry seasons.

What happens: Above 30°C, hens redirect energy from production to cooling (panting). Feed intake drops because eating generates body heat. The combination of lower intake and higher energy expenditure means less energy for egg formation.

Signs: Hens panting with wings spread. Reduced feed intake (measurable if you weigh feed). Thinner eggshells (calcium metabolism is impaired by panting). Production drops 10-20% during heat waves.

Fix: Improve ventilation — open sides, fans, roof vents. Provide cool, clean water at all times. In extreme heat, add electrolytes to water. Avoid handling birds during the hottest hours. Consider feeding during cooler morning and evening hours.

Prevention: Design housing for your climate. In hot areas, open-sided houses with good airflow, reflective roofing, and shade trees around the perimeter make a significant difference.

6. Parasites

How common: Common in free-range and semi-intensive systems. Less common in well-managed cage or enclosed systems.

What happens: Internal parasites (roundworms, tapeworms) consume nutrients meant for the hen. External parasites (red mites, lice, fleas) cause blood loss, skin irritation, and stress. Both reduce production.

Signs: Gradual decline. Pale combs and wattles (indicating anaemia from blood-sucking parasites). Weight loss despite adequate feed. Visible worms in droppings. Red mites visible on perches and walls at night (they hide during the day).

Fix: Deworm with an appropriate product (piperazine for roundworms, fenbendazole for mixed infections). For external parasites, treat the house — spray perches, walls, and nesting boxes with an approved acaricide. Repeat treatment after 10-14 days to catch hatching eggs.

Prevention: Deworm every 3-4 months as routine. Keep litter dry. Clean the house between flocks. In free-range systems, rotate pasture to break parasite cycles.

7. Age-related decline

How common: Inevitable. Every flock declines eventually.

What happens: After peak production (weeks 26-32), hens produce fewer eggs as they age. This is normal biology — the rate of ovulation slows, and more feed energy goes to maintenance rather than production.

Signs: Slow, steady decline of 0.5-1% HDP per week after week 45-50. Egg size increases even as count decreases. No other symptoms — birds are healthy, eating well, behaving normally.

Fix: You cannot reverse ageing. But you can ensure the decline follows the expected curve rather than accelerating. Maintain nutrition, lighting, and health management at the same standard. When HDP drops below your break-even, plan replacement.

Prevention: This is not a problem to prevent — it is a lifecycle to manage. Knowing the expected decline curve lets you plan replacement timing, order birds in advance, and avoid the panic of discovering your flock is suddenly unprofitable.

The diagnostic sequence

When production drops, work through this checklist in order:

1. Water — check right now, fix immediately if restricted
2. Feed — inspect current batch, check supply continuity
3. Disease — observe birds for symptoms, check mortality records
4. Lighting — verify timer, check bulbs, confirm 16-hour schedule
5. Temperature — check thermometer records, observe for panting
6. Parasites — inspect birds and housing
7. Age — compare current HDP to expected curve for flock age

The first two causes (water and feed) account for over half of all production drops. Start there.

Track your HDP trends and catch drops early at shira.farm.