2 Barred Rocks Stopped Laying

[SierraMA]

I bought these 2 from a guy back in July and he told me that they were 9 months old. It took them about 2 weeks to settle and start laying. They both like to get into the box and lay their eggs. My 6 BO like to lay on the floor. One of the BR's molted in the fall and I know she stopped laying during that time and never resumed but the other BR was still laying. I would see her in the box. Then for the past month there have been no eggs in the nesting box. I am really not attached to these two chickens and I don't want to continue to spend the money on the feed if they are not producing. There is nothing physically wrong with them that I can tell and of course the one that molted looks beautiful now. Any suggestions?

 

[Mrs.Puff]

It's the short daylight hours that are causing the lack of eggs. Plus if they are cold they don't lay as well. You can try giving them a boost of protein and keeping them warm, or putting a light on them to get them to lay again. I think they say 14 hours is optimum daylight, and we're only at about 12 right now. Try giving them some catfood or a glob of meat scraps. They'll perk up again.

 

[doodledoo]

Try putting a light in the coop and see if that will help. All of ours had stopped so we put in a light on a timer that comes on at 2 AM and goes off at 7 AM. The egg production has gone from 0-2 eggs a day to 12+ a day in just a matter of a few weeks.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

NO WAY!!!!! How bright is the light? I have no electricity, but I can put those little solar landscaping lights in there. They're not very bright though. Do you think that would work?

 

[speckledhen]

Its natural for a hen to take a short break from laying in winter. They do several molts with the first big one about 1.5 years of age. You can add light to keep them producing artificially, but they will burn out faster, as it puts a real strain on their bodies and they are hatched with the makings of all the eggs they'll ever lay in their bodies.

 

[debilorrah]

We have lights, and every other gadget to make those girls comfortable. They are gonna lay eggs when theyare darned well ready to and not a moment sooner. My EE that lays olive green eggs has been on strike for over 3 weeks.

 

[SierraMA]

OK. Well it sounds that I should give them more time. But why are my BO's laying and the light or cold doesn't seem to bother them?

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Different hens have different genetic tendencies. Some molt later, some lay more often, some are more cold-hardy. Just depends. I have 3 banty hens, all about the same age, but different types. One has two chicks right now, one is finishing up molting and not laying at all, and one lays an egg every other day. And they all live in the same conditions.