Why Aren't My Chickens Laying? Here Are Your Answers!

MamaBoats said:

I have been having the same problem....I am sure I am doing everything right but getting no eggs at all from my Buffs and my Americanas...

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mmgillan said:

My chicks just laid their first eggs ( 3 oout of 5 chicks) 4 days ago and since I have only gotten 1 egg (the same color & size) a day. Is this normal? I have RI Reds, 2 Black Sexlinks & 1 Golden Comet. Fan in the coop, egg layer pellets, fresh water, scratch & just started Oyster Shell.

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First off how old are your hens/pullets? They will start laying when they are ready to with some starting earlier than others. Just because one starts laying doesn't mean the others are mature enough to also. My latest bunch of girls that are just begining to lay were from my easter hatch. A few of those girls have developed hugh swollen red combs and big fluffy butts. I've found a few new eggs in that house. My three week older girls are still in the process too, and some of them haven't even started. They will start laying when their bodies are ready for it. Be patient those tiny little eggs will appear soon enough.

My hens won't get in their boxes and one is setting on the yard everywhere it goes but no eggs. She is a young buff orp

I moved my flock into a new coop......I noticed a decline in egg production.......is it cause of the new location? We went from 7-10 a day to 4-6.......?

FogHorn79 said:

I moved my flock into a new coop......I noticed a decline in egg production.......is it cause of the new location? We went from 7-10 a day to 4-6.......?

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Yup, the move will do it, but give them a few weeks and they should be back up to normal. Stress will disturb a hens ability to lay and moving will cause stress. They have to be comfortable with their new suroundings and then they eggs will come.

Last night the windy storm we had ripped a hole in the greenhouse that the turkeys sleep in, so today they will be moved to a new location. I'm not looking forward to catching 34 turkeys and carrying some of those lard butts to their new location. Some of the young girls have just begun to lay too. Oh well they will figure it out soon enough.

Codyneal11 said:

My hens won't get in their boxes and one is setting on the yard everywhere it goes but no eggs. She is a young buff orp

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Hens will lay where another has layed an egg, so the easiest sollution is to use a fake egg. They will get the idea when they are ready to lay.

Hens will look for a dark quite place to lay their eggs. They won't usually lay where every other chicken is running amok, so if the nest boxes are too brightly lit or right in front of a window they are less likely to use them. Some people even hang a curtain to give the hens more privacy. Try the fake eggs first and then look for other issues such as light and noise. There is a reason they have chosen to forgo the nest you have so diligently provided.

Now if they aren't yet laying then they won't bother with the nest boxes until they get the urge. Once instinct kicks in you should have no problems there. As for the young BO if she's not laying eggs she may just be resting or pretending she's the golden queen and all the others are her minions.

I like the golden queen thing!

So am I to understand that I was blessed that my Sussex hens laid pretty much every day even through winter? They may have missed maaaybe 3-5 days out of that first year. They are free range they have a nice fenced yard to roam in but they are not dropping their eggs any where in the yard. We kept feeding them the chick starter, because we did not know better, along with scratch and lots of green leafy vegetables, tomatoes and watermelon. They would also go and help themselves to the grubs in the mulch pile.

Our new hens RIR/Buff Orpington mix have been laying every day since Aug. 1st with the exception of one, then we get one huuge double yoke egg. This is a very gentle mix they are super friendly but do leave the fenced area when they feel like it and come back to lay their egg in the coop. The older birds would chase us down to get a good jab at our legs.

Love this site and hope that I will be educated on my hens.

I'll be reading this one.

i purchased 2 golden comets 2 weeks ago and they still havent laid the first egg.. but yet they were laying before i purchased them. They have plenty of space; Plenty of food and seem to be very happy. i let them out while i feed everyone else and they follow me around. I can pick both up with no fuss so i would think theyre not still stressed? whats the deal?????

ChikChikBoom said:

i purchased 2 golden comets 2 weeks ago and they still havent laid the first egg.. but yet they were laying before i purchased them. They have plenty of space; Plenty of food and seem to be very happy. i let them out while i feed everyone else and they follow me around. I can pick both up with no fuss so i would think theyre not still stressed? whats the deal?????

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How sure are you that they were laying before you bought them? How old are they? Are they getting enough light to lay? Days are getting shorter and chickens will begin their winter molt this time of year for some people, so does it look as though there are a lot of feathers in the coop? Also are you sure they aren't finding someplace else to lay their eggs? My young turkeys are just begining to lay. One lays in the tomatoes, one in the raspberries, one next to the greenhouse, two I have no idea where and Eva the old girl has taken to laying in the brush by the road as it's closer to my house and she loves me. They have perfectly fine nest boxes, but some are young a dumb and Eva will use the nest box over the winter just fine. Sometimes it takes a bit of training. Are you using fake eggs to lure them into the nest box? Also the stress of getting uprooted and put in a new home can send them into a molt. Do they squat for you? That's usually a sign they are ready to lay or laying. Hope this gives you some ideas.