5 Hens won't lay!

[1980dawgsSC]

we have 5 hens: a blue Orpington, a Dominique, a welsommer, and 2 Rhode Island reds. The Welsommer and Dominique have never laid and were hatched May 2. The blue Orpington used to lay every day and 9 weeks ago just stopped. A little molt but it's over. The Rhode Island reds came to us just over a month ago. Laid for 2 days and stopped! We haven't had any eggs in over 9 weeks. They all act fine. We feed them layer feed and scratch. Added more grit a week ago. Why won't they lay??

 

[The Phantom]

My guess is molting or the move to the new home. Where do you live late fall through winter they normally stop laying.

 

[aart]

we have 5 hens: a blue Orpington, a Dominique, a welsommer, and 2 Rhode Island reds. The Welsommer and Dominique have never laid and were hatched May 2. The blue Orpington used to lay every day and 9 weeks ago just stopped. A little molt but it's over. The Rhode Island reds came to us just over a month ago. Laid for 2 days and stopped! We haven't had any eggs in over 9 weeks. They all act fine. We feed them layer feed and scratch. Added more grit a week ago. Why won't they lay??

Welcome to BYC!
Knowing your location would be good,
putting it in your profile is easy, then it's always there.
I will assume that your are in the northern hemisphere,
shorter days slow laying.

Tell us about their housing, size of coop and run in feet by feet.
Pics will help even more.

Are all these birds the same age as the Wellie and Dom?
Those 2 may be a little young yet to lay, coming into lay in the fall can delay the onset of lay because of low light.
Gonna assume the Orp is older as she molted...she may not lay again until after the winter solstice when they daylight begins to increase again.
The RIR's are probably affected by the move as well as low light.
The 2 days of eggs were in process before the move, after that....moving stress.
How do the new birds get along with the existing ones?

What is the percentage of protein in your layer feed?
How long have you been feeding layer feed?
How much scratch do you give per day?
What do you mean by 'grit'....oyster shells....is it mixed into feed or in a separate dish??
Molting and growing birds need more protein than actively laying layers.

 

[1980dawgsSC]

I am in SC. Days are about 70-75 degrees right now. The Orpington and the RIR’s are a little over a year old. I feed them layer pellets and scratch daily as well as a few scraps here and there. I just added grit but have been giving oyster shell. Coop is from tractor supply and holds 10 (although that would be crowded). We added a Chunnel this past weekend because we lost one to a hawk in august while they were free ranging. This our first go-around with chickens and they are so much fun but I feel like I am doing something totally wrong!

 

[1980dawgsSC]

Oh! And birds are all getting along fine. I introduced the 2 new ones slowly. They get about 2 cups of scratch a day. I’ll post pics later today. Y’all are awesome!

 

[aart]

Day length is what triggers molting and laying, not temperature.
Your TSC coop may even be too small for 5....crowding causes stress.
4sqft per bird in coop and 10sqft per bird in run is bare minimum.

What is the protein percentage on your layer feed?
2 cups of scratch for 5 birds is too much, unless your layer feed is high protein.

Is the 'grit' you added granite grit?
Both digestive granite grit and oyster shell should be in their own separate containers, not mixed into feed.

 

[1980dawgsSC]

I keep the granite grit separate. Our food is 16%. I bought a red light for light/warmth that I will put in today.

 

[Chickassan]

I'm going through the same thing, the molt makes them not lay. They use resources usually put into eggs for growing new feathers. Laying at least here should commence soon as most of my girls are looking close to normal now. It's been nine weeks easily since i got eggs from one of my girls and a good six weeks for the others. Just my opinion but i don't think light or heat are necessary to get eggs from your girls, mine laid through the winter last year the only reason they've stopped now is molting. Is there any way you can post a picture of your coop and run,the TSC coops are usually tiny even the big ones so I'd like to see if space is maybe an issue.

 

[aart]

I keep the granite grit separate. Our food is 16%. I bought a red light for light/warmth that I will put in today.

Good the grit.
Stop feeding scratch, except just a handful a couple times a week.
Red light and/or warmth will do nothing to help laying.
Heat lamps can be detrimental as well as downright dangerous-especially in a tiny TSC coop, and certainly not needed in SC.

Quoting centrarchid:
"Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it."