[306james]

Good day all. About 6 weeks ago I rescued 2 battery chickens. They are now well having put on weight and a new set of feathers. They have settled in and free range around my large garden.After a couple of weeks one hen began to lay an egg a day.But the other one did not.
Now it to has stared to lay an egg a day.However 7 days ago the first one layed a complete egg without a shell in the garden.Since then she has stopped laying.She goes to the nestbox in the coup and sits for about 20 minutes but nothing.The other hen gets very excited when she does this(very loud squawking) until she re-appears. They get fed Layers pellets,
dandelion leaves, corn & grit with added codliver oil.
They don't get stressed.Can anyone tell me why the she has stopped laying.
Many thanks .306james
Ps The other hen continues to lay an egg a day.

[joyfull]

she will be coming to the end of her laying days so will lay less and less.

[Casey76]

I agree with Joyful.  At 80 weeks of age battery hens are considered to be "spent" so while you may get occasional eggs they will start to taper off.  You will also find that egg shell quality decreases, and you might see some eggs with wrinkled shells, and more eggs with have very thin shells, or no shells at all.

Check your hen which has stopped laying, does her abdomen feel soft and squishy,does she look bloated, especially in comparison to your other hen.

One reason to suddenly stop laying, is if they start laying internally, and this often happens with ex-bats.  If she is laying internaly then you will have to watch her closely for any sign of infection, as egg yolk peritonitis can't be treated very easily/at all unfortunately.