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

[The French Hen]

Thanks Cass for the moral support....but I do worry about my girls....I know it sounds silly but I actually just love those girls...I had them since they were 3 days old and I go talk to them several times a day

I was wondering..

Currently I have a very nice coop with an attached covered run...it's actually very nice and the guys who built are like experts and secured it from all directions so snakes could not get in no matter what....we check for holes or any other signs of mischief daily and nothing...

so I was wondering...at this stage of the game....what harm could come if I were to let them out a few hours a day to free range...

My worry would be would they all go back in the coop at night ?? How would I round them up...I have like 3 acres here...and a lot of it is all naturale....

We have predators like owls, hawks, racoons, possum, armadillos and GOD knows what else...but I usually don't see them in the daytime around here only at dusk or nighttime...

I guess I could try it and whatever happens happens but if they got one of my girls I would be devasted...I would feel like I feed them to the wolves so to speak...

Any thoughts ???

 

[speckledhen]

Sometimes there is no reason for why chickens do what they do.

Or, it's just impossible for us to know why. I'm getting only a few eggs (4-8) from 30 hens who should be laying (except one who is currently broody and raising her baby). I know they are getting good nutrition. Some have reproductive malfunctions, some are in various stages of molt, etc. I don't question why, I just collect what I get and keep giving them what they need to grow feathers and lay eggs.

These things go in cycles. Some choose to cull those who are not laying. I don't. Personal choice.​

 

[Cass]

Quote:
Sounds like you live next door to me and my SO built your place.

Yes, when it starts to get dark they will go inside. One or two might wait until it gets REALLY dark, but they will go in. I let mine free range daily and after the second day I have no had to "round them up"

I find that mine did not go further than 20 feet from "home" for the first few days. Now they are everywhere....LOL...but it is 6 pm and they are all INSIDE and door is locked. OK, I'll admit that the submissive (or beta) roo had to be coaxed inside with a piece of apple, but that's Jessie for ya....he is soooo submissive that some of the hens scare him, so he trys to wait until they are all on the roost and he has the WHOLE floor to himself. And the food. They don't let him eat much, so I have to put food on the floor away from the actual feeder or he would perish from malnutrition.

I always feed and water my chicken IN the coop. (I know, I know...rodents....but it's what I started and I can't change it) I strongly suggest that you do not change where their water and food is if you choose to let them free range, because they are creatures of habit and they will go to their waterer to rinse out the bug taste. LOL

 

[Cass]

Quote:
Or, it's just impossible for us to know why. I'm getting only a few eggs (4-8) from 30 hens who should be laying (except one who is currently broody and raising her baby). I know they are getting good nutrition. Some have reproductive malfunctions, some are in various stages of molt, etc. I don't question why, I just collect what I get and keep giving them what they need to grow feathers and lay eggs.

These things go in cycles. Some choose to cull those who are not laying. I don't. Personal choice.

Your henliness,

That is a much better way to look at it/phrase it.

I'm sure they have a reason for everything they do, we just don't know what the *&^) it is.

Personally, my hens are my pets and my beta roo is my favorite chicken. Not cuz he is overly cuddly (he's a PIA most days) but because he is the underdog and I always fall for the underdog.

If they happen to lay an egg I do a snoopy dance around the coop. (have to, to keep from stepping on poo) If they don't lay an egg I still feed them and laugh at their antics.

Most of them have names and they all have distinct personalities. My Brahma is gonna be renamed "Dinner" if she bites me again, but she is the only one who is laying real sized eggs. The rest are laying egg samples when they bother to lay.

I figure in the spring I'll be swimming in eggs and am hoping I have enough friends to give them to....so right now I am happy with 2 - 3 a day....But I do understand those who don't have unlimited funds to feed the freeloaders....Mine are my pets, others are feeding their chickens for "free eggs" or extra income to offset the cost of the feed for the eggs their family eats. To those people I say "off with their heads" and buy some RIR or Dels or some other production breed....

 

[Evelle]

thank you so much for this had to use it in many occations

 

[flocksalot]

Quote:
I think they were holding your eggs for apple ransom! They've been known to do that you know.

 

[sableboi]

Mine are moulting so bad...NO chance they would have been ready for the inverness shows...no eggs, just feathers...

 

[The French Hen]

Hey Chillin...

There is a Chicken show in Inverness ??? I live in Tarpon but my office is in Brooksville.... When is it ??


Thanks

 

[sunkistfarm]

I had 7 hens and one rooster in my coop. They are just over a year old and consistently lay 5-6 eggs a day. I hatched some of the eggs in June and ended up with 9 chicks. Around 3 weeks ago I started letting the older and younger chicks out in the yard to mingle and then after a week I moved the younger ones in with the older ones. They are almost the same size.
They are getting along pretty well but now I am getting 0-2 eggs a day. I am sure it is due to stress. Does anyone know how long it normally takes for chickens to settle and get back to the business of laying eggs? I notice that the older hens who had some bare spots on their backs are filling in with feathers. Would this stress affect the rooster also?
I miss the pretty green and blue eggs...

 

[flocksalot]

Quote:
If they are getting feathers in I would suspect that they are molting. Some chickens will continue to lay during molt, usually at a much reduced rate, while others will quit until they are fully feathered again. It's taxing for their bodies to produce both feathers and eggs. Molting can last a few weeks to months. Stress can also be a factor. Chickens take their own sweet time adjusting to change. Their is no clock, calandar, or schedule we can follow. They have their own set of rules that we are not privilaged to know. As long as they have the appropriate light needed for laying and are healthy without pests or disease they will once again begin to lay when they are darn go and ready. By the way how old are the younger ones? Easter Eggers I've noticed tend to lay a bit later. One of my young ones from last year didn't start laying her deep green egg until she was over 9 months. Her sister on the other hand started around 5 months with her blue egg.

Silly girls.

I am currently in the process of intergrating my last batch from June. They have been in the same house for months, but with a fence panel separating them. The older girls free roamed while the younger ones were let out into a pen. Now I just leave the door open so they can mingle and all can free range. even though they have seen each other for months and the big girls made a habit off jumping the fence and eating the little girls food, they still have flock position to work out. I haven't noticed a decrease in eggs, but there has been some spats. Soon they will all be settled and then they will be vying for perch position. I let them work it out and cuddle the bottom flock girls. It makes me feel better at least. That's really all you can do in my opinion.