any tips for chickens that havent started laying yet?

[Silentraven37]

So my girls are now 5 months old and still no eggs yet? they free range every day plus have food in the coop and oyster shells. there are no hidden nests around the yard i check daily right now. 2 out of my 4 older girls combs have gotten very large and red. I try and keep the coop very clean right now so they wont refuse it. my 2 youngest ones do sleep in the nest boxes every night, snuggled together. and i have put fake wooden eggs in there to kinda get them thinking about laying eggs. im just wondering if there is something else i could try? a friend of mine who i gave 2 of my chickens to are already laying but the sisters of them that i have are not? and how do i discourage the two youngest from sleeping in the boxes at night? all i can think of is to block off the boxes but then im afraid it will put off the older girls from laying. the night have been dropping to the mid 50's should i turn on the heat lamp will that help them want to lay?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

At that age they won't need any heat, ever. I would block off the nests at night. Sleeping in them is a habit you want to break now. Are the youngest 5 months too?
20 - 24 weeks is normal for first eggs.
Temperature has nothing to do with egg laying unless they're stressed by extreme heat or periods well below 0F.
I'd feed them a grower feed till you start getting eggs.
The primary determinant for sexual maturity and commencement of lay is day length. Birds that approach POL late summer fall and early winter usually take longer to start. You can also add light to stimulate laying.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/09/supplemental-light-in-coop-why-how.html

 

[Silentraven37]

ok so i should block off that boxes at night and open them up when i open the coop in the morning. should i use a soild wall to block them off so the younger ones cant see it and want to sleep in there? or will chicken wire do just as well to keep them out?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Anything that will keep them out will work, whether they can see them or not won't matter.
Chickens like to sleep as high as possible. If your nests and roosts are close to the same height that will cause issues too.
Yes, open them up in the morning so if one wants to lay, they can do so. That's a habit you want to nurture.

 

[aart]

Agrees...no heat!
...and make sure the roosts are higher than the nests.

For the roosting in the nest problem, you can either block the nests off....

....or.....You can take them out of the nests and put them on the roost after dark when they are docile, might take a couple nights of doing that but I found it easier than getting out there early to uncover the nests for my layers.