Added light- Still no eggs?

[krcote]

Hey all. I added extra light to the girls about 1.5 weeks ago. they get about 14 hours and day now. the egg production is not any better, may even be worse! I have 7 hens and 1 roo and I'm only getting about 1 egg overyother day. They are warm, dry, clean, fed, watered, LOVED... HELP!!!

 

[keljonma]

Patience .... every time you make a change, it takes the birds a while to adjust. Adding a light may not seem like such a big deal, but chickens HATE change....

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

how old are they? Could they be laying under the coop or outside (do they free range?) Are they eating the eggs? Just trying to think of other reasons they could not be laying. Sorry that your not getting many eggs. I know I'm getting frustrated with mine as well! They are 22 weeks and only one is laying so far! HOpe you find the reason soon!

 

[krcote]

Hangin Wit My Peeps I got them all at different ages, thay are all mature for sure, laying well in the past and all. I have looked for eggs in sneaky places but haven't found any. Maybe you are right keljonma, they just might hate change! I did add an addition to the coop around the same time, maybe it's all just a little too overwhelming!
So in short, what you are saying is do the impossible and .....wait?!

 

[Wynette]

Wait you must! Not much else you can do. I choose to not add light; it's nature's way of giving them a break. My production goes way down in winter, but come February, they start laying up a storm! Don't worry...they'll probably get with it pretty soon!!

 

[krcote]

If I could have more chickens I wouldn't add light either. I think with a larger flock, you can have a decrease in production but still get enough eggs for household use. But 1 egg everyother day?! I can not live! So wait and hope for the best I shall.

 

[Wynette]

Hang in there. I use the slower winter to my advantage and stay busy inside; I catch up on lots of reading, do projects around the house that I've been wanting to do for years, etc. Makes the time pass faster! I've noticed that if I stay relatively busy, before I know it, egg production begins to go up!

 

[dancingbear]

Are they moulting? There are many threads about moulting, right now, many with the subject line about not laying. If you haven't already read some of those. you might want to check them out.

Increased protein usually does the trick. A higher protein feed, or adding high protein treats like dry cat or dog food.

Check for internal and external parasites. Those can cause a hen to stop laying.

As for chickens hating change, mine don't. When I change anything in the coop, they seem to enjoy exploring it. They're very inquisitive about things. They love new nesting sites full of fresh straw.