Aging and moulting.

Is it molting or moulting? You'd think I'd know. But it's confusing like mold and mould. English is a stupid language.

Do you find that as your hens age they take longer and longer to get back to egg laying after a molt/moult?

Many of my hens are 3 years or better and all started moulting at the same time early fall and most of them have yet to lay an egg. PErhaps this is an 'occupation', as in Occupy the Hen House, but produce no eggs. I have never had such low egg returns, always had solid winter production even without extra light (never do extra light). But I have never seen a moult like this followed by 10 out of 14 hens who simply haven't laid an egg in months!

Is this age related? Do older hens need a longer recovery time to get back in egg laying shape? I know there will be a production slow down in older hens, but a complete stop work order? Sheesh!

The older a hen gets, the less she will lay. Especially if you don't use lights. Depending on the breed, you might not see eggs until spring. That is when the days will be longer and warmer.

I had five year old Wyandottes a few years ago that only layed in the summer. They take longer to come back into production as they get older. I have 2 year old BLRWs that have produced only 1 egg in the last couple months. In their defence they are only on natural light and their coop is not ready so they are outside continuously. They do have some wind breaks and a tarp roof.