I bought two hens ( don't know what kind, just white and supposdley hardy and good layers) They were laying eggs before I bought/moved them to their new home. (They were born/hatched around Easter and I have had them at their new home for 4-6 weeks) They have stopped laying eggs! Their previous envirnonment was different (they came from a farm that housed and kept a lot of chickens crowded together and were fed bread and laying mash.) LOL They have gone from the slums and moved to a chicken Country Club IMO. I just have two and they have it made!! They have done their hen pecking order and get along great, they are very friendly and come when I call them. BUT they have stopped laying eggs??? I have tried almost everything but still nothing. (I have had chickens through my life as pets and they layed eggs) PLEASE HELP ME???? Here are the living arrangements (not the best but better than where they were) I do not have a coop yet, a two seater or smaller coop is hard to find BUT they do have: a fenced 12x12 foot area, big sideways pots, boxes, etc on the ground and up high. hay in the pots, etc plenty of water, fresh greens everyday, laying mash and garden leftovers they are safe and secure and know it a dog cage that they love and roost in at night Until I find a good coop) A good half a day or more of sunshine and then a street light at night (either lights they can be sheltered from. I put two chicken eggs from my neighbor's chickens in their beds to entice them. Tried a golf ball this week. What am I doing wrong!! They are healthy and have gotten bigger and prettier than when I first got them. Thanks for any advice and feel free to email me personally! Paige
Less daylight = less eggs. It's just a hormone thing. You can supplement light in the early mornings in the coop to boost production, but I just accept this is part of the natural cycle.
shorter days and molt plus a move can lock up egg laying for a while. With shorter day light they will stop laying altogether during the winter, if not lighted
Yep...another person telling you that it's the lack of daylight. It takes approximately 14 hours of daylight to produce eggs. I'm not sure where you are, but in my area we're down to about 11 hours or less on a good day (not cloudy). If they're young, they probably won't stop laying entirely, but it'll be hit-n-miss. You can put a light on a timer (once you get their coop built) to give them more hours of light (most have it come on around 4 in the morning).
Thank you all, you have eased my mind that I wasn't doing anything major wrong. One thing I should have made clearer is that they get "sunlight" from 7 in the morning til seven at night. I am in eastern NC. When I say "sunlight" I mean light, bright, suntanning sunlight. I worried more about them getting too hot a few weeks back. My small bed of tomatoes are still growing in the same light. I love the "hormone" comment, yes us ladies don't like to be changed {or have our feathers ruffled) I am a newbie to this site and you guys are AWESOME! Thanks, Paige
