Are these hens safe to buy?

Stress can be a contributing factor as well as recent molt, I saw a poll here that indicated after molt most hens will not lay for 2 to 3 months, combined with short winter days.

do you know how old they are?

Roberth

Do you have any idea how old they are?  Unless they are old, burned out hens, egg production should soon start to pick up -- daylength is increasing.  If the price is RIGHT, it's worth taking a chance on them.

What breed are they?

Ok, when it comes to chickens the most important factor is production. Some may disagree with me but I've been down the road of buying fancy chickens of all kinds, most overpriced and yeah they're perdy and all but when you need eggs and you are feeding a bird that consumes more feed than most any type of poultry, you need eggs, seriously. I raise ornamentals, turkeys, peafowl, waterfowl, ect and chickens are the priciest to feed. They may be too old, anything over a year and a half begins to taper off in production. Breed is very important also. You want Rhode Island Reds, Red Sex Links, Black Sex Links, and Black Australorps for brown eggs, Or White Leghorns for white eggs. Plain and simple a chicken should lay an eggs. If its that questionable, I would pass, but good luck Daniel.

Most likely they are just taking a break. Mine went almost two months with no eggs and now I get about an egg or two 4-5 days a week. I just have a small backyard flock.

My father found a woman who was tired of her hens not laying so he bought them for a great price. The hens have turned out to be some pretty good layers. I think it is all about environment...if they don't feel safe, if they are on a bad diet, if they just don't feel happy they will have problems laying. I say check out the situation, and if it seem like something is off thats probably the reason. You can usually tell if a hen is sick by just picking one up and giving her a good look. Probably the most common reason of the entire flock not laying would be a coccidosis outbreak when they were younger.