Overfed chickens not laying

Hello permies! Ive been reading this forum for years, finally I got an accout

There is one problem ive got. I was out of my farm for a while and my friend was taking care of my chickens. He overfeeded them and they dont lay any eggs anymore...
Do you have any advices how can I solve this problem ?
Chickens are living together with ducks (moscovy ducks , sussex chickens )

Hi Bartol, welcome to Permies.

I'm going to guess that while overweight chickens do seem to lay less than regular chickens, could there be any other things that are stressing the chickens? What part of the world are you in? Is the weather exceptionally hot? It is here where I live, and my chickens almost stop laying altogether, but not completely stopping. Maybe ration how much feed they get each day if they are really fat. I think they will start laying again.

I would need a bit more information in order to help.

What is your location? The amount of daylight and the temperature has a bearing upon egg laying. Days are growing shorter, so some hens have slowed down on production or even stopped completely. Where I am, my 40 layers have become freeloaders. I'm lucky to get a couple eggs a day, and some days zero. And it will be that way until January. Older hens lay for about 6 months in my location, regardless of the breed. Breed...they vary. Some breeds are noted for laying eggs in the autumn, some do not. Older...that's another factor. The older the hen, the less apt she is to lay eggs and the more sensitive she will be to temperature, shortening daylight, and nutritional changes. Ah, nutrition. Changing a hen's diet can also cause the problem......too little food, too much food, different brand of feed, irregular quality of feed (such as lots of veggies one week and zero the next), skipping a day feeding them here and there, or letting them run out of feed for too long. Water..... a must for good egg laying. Run out of drinking water = no eggs.

People serious about having eggs year around will add fresh pullets to the flock each year. So just about the time the older hens are taking a break, the younger birds start laying.

It could be that they have started to molt as well, I always free fed my hens and they never over ate (they were also in with muscovies)

Thank you all for respond.
Iam living in central europe - Poland .
like a amateur I cant say much but ... From the begining Ive got 3 chickens and 6 ducks. Then I got 4 more chickens some months ago. They were laying eggs but not so many from the begining , same ducks. They are not free run chickens because I live in the forest. They mamy run away. But their run is big enough - 45m2. And Ive made it bigger .
I feed them with grain with comes from local farmers. They are getting fresh greens everyday . Fresh water everyday.
Maybe i should devide chickens with Ducks?
I think they are overfeeded but it may not be the only reason. Im taking care of them right but no eggs in a week whatsoever.
Thanks

Some pictures of them

My laying hens are currently on a diet because they got way too chubby, but they still lay eggs. I think there's something else going on with yours.

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:My laying hens are currently on a diet because they got way too chubby, but they still lay eggs. I think there's something else going on with yours.

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How does their diet Looks like ? It may help

Bartol your chickens looks completely healthy. I have several that are chubbier than the two in the picture and still lay eggs. Have they been getting too many treats maybe? I have noticed in the past if I give my flock too many treats such as bad tomatoes, old squash and melon rinds it can totally throw off egg production. Could it be their diet has become unbalanced?

If you are only feeding grain and greens that might be the problem, that diet won't have a lot of protein in it so they may stop/slow down laying. Try buying a bag of commercial feed and giving them that if that fixes your problem then you know you need to look at the diet.

Bartol Rat wrote:

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:My laying hens are currently on a diet because they got way too chubby, but they still lay eggs. I think there's something else going on with yours.

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How does their diet Looks like ? It may help

Still mostly 18% pellets for now, with a treat once a day of whatever's handy (greens, seeds, fruit, whatever). Plus what they find scratching in the yard. I've cut way down on the amount I give them for treats, and put a little less in their feeder than I used to. But they still get some yummies when I check for eggs.

They are very spoiled chickens. I'll admit that.

I'm hoping after I move to the farmhouse I'll be able to feed them all homegrown stuff. I'm still researching to figure out how to get all the nutrients they need in a homegrown diet.

I give my laying hens as many feed pellets as they want, and they do not get fat. However my hens are starting to molt, and that means that their egg production is not very good. The 2 big things that stop my hens from laying are days that are too short and them having their yearly molt

Lack of protein will also  cause chickens to lay poorly. Grain tends to run about 11% protein and chickens need to have a diet that is about 18% protein.  The feed that I am able to buy is only 16% protein and so I give my hens treats of high protein foods. It may be that your hens were getting enough insects in the summer to give them enough protein but now it is getting close to the Fall and they might be getting fewer insects