Hens Not Laying/Stopped Laying

[corinnesonja]

First time poster/new chicken mom here!

Need some advice, I’ve exhausted all options…

I have three hens. Purchased as pullets in March (they said they were 12 weeks, but I believe it to be younger). Only one is laying eggs (has been since early-mid August) and this week has stopped laying all together. The other two never started to lay.

• WATER- two water sources, cleaned/filled daily.
• COOP- coop is large enough for six hens. There is a nesting box. Exterior enclosed area is about a 12 x 12 space, maybe smaller.
  • They get to roam in the yard on the weekends and one hour of supervised play in the evenings (that is getting less and less frequent as we lose daylight). I say supervised because I live in the mountains and there are predators. I only let them out in the late afternoon if I/or dog is around.
  • There is no way for a predator to get in the coop itself so eggs are not being stolen.
  • Coop is cleaned every seven days.
• FOOD- chicken feed is 75% of food. Same brand I have been feeding them since day one, purchased from feed store (don’t know brand). Mealworms (a small handful every other day). Chicken scratch daily, just a little on top of food. Oyster shells. Food scraps- fruits, veggies, egg shells, etc.
  • Last week, shortly before the one laying hen stopped laying, I took the advice of a friend and stopped the scratch all together and switched to laying pellets. This was in an effort to get the other two to start laying. They don't love the pellets.
  • They eat their food outside in the enclosed coop on a ‘chicknic table’.
• PERSONALITY- they seem really happy! They are very vocal and love attention. They get along well with the dog and even let me pick them up from time to time. They are great fun and I love their personalities.
• SIZE- they all look full grown to me. One is slightly smaller than the other two, but by a hair.

So, those are the details! I really don’t know what I am doing wrong. A friend suggested I got a bad batch of hens that may never lay? I am new to the chicken world and this has been a lot of trial and error. Sadly, I started with more than the three I have now.

I would love any and all advice on how to get my girls to start laying! And figure out why one stopped laying suddenly. They are not acting sick or lethargic, they look great. I’m at a loss!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Could you post pictures of your hens?

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[aart]

Guessing it could be a feed thing.
Feed nothing but the layer feed.

May be to late in the year to get them back to laying....unless it's spring where you are.
Welcome to BYC! @corinnesonja
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[corinnesonja]

Could you post pictures of your hens?

Welcome to BYC!!

Pictures attached! These are not the greatest, but the most recent. The gray one is the laying one. And the largest one. The other hen (sitting on top of chair) is identical size. The third one is just a bit smaller.

 

[corinnesonja]

Guessing it could be a feed thing.
Feed nothing but the layer feed.

May be to late in the year to get them back to laying....unless it's spring where you are.
Welcome to BYC! @corinnesonja
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2390244

Thank you so much for the tutorial. I updated my location. I am in Northern California. Yes- we are losing day light. And my hen's egg loss does coincide with daylight sayings, so I was thinking that could be it (daylight savings is this upcoming weekend and she stopped laying last week). But what about the other two? Also- do hens not lay at all in the winter?

And just to clarify- I should switch to feed only? Or laying pellets only?

Thank you so much!