Chicken won’t lay

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Charles Strader Jr

In the Brooder
Nov 4, 2017
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My chicken are 6 months old I cans can’t get then “ upstairs “ to my tractor coop and they aren’t laying. I am new to the chicken scene but I’m a fast learner. I put their food and water upstairs to see if they will be willing to go to get their food and water. With no results. Please help
 
Charles Strader Jr said:
My chicken are 6 months old I cans can’t get then “ upstairs “ to my tractor coop and they aren’t laying. I am new to the chicken scene but I’m a fast learner. I put their food and water upstairs to see if they will be willing to go to get their food and water. With no results. Please help
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My chicken are all types I have one Rhode Island 2 dominates and one long horn and one mix not sure the type and a silky rooster
 
Hi Charles! You are welcome to join us with our group of duds ;) you aren't the only one who has chickens old enough to be laying that aren't, it's natural, it's common, a bunch of us have joined together here to try and make light of it and shame our chickens into laying by publically calling them out on the internet

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-contest-for-the-duds.1206150/

Another tip to get them upstairs, sometimes going into the dark pop hole is intimidating so a night light or flash light inside might entice them. I had to do this for awhile and now the girls go in on their own, no light needed. A few rocks the size and shape of eggs in the nest boxes can help them get the idea of the best spot to lay too. Good luck, I hope your girls lu soon!
 
To get them to use the coop, you need to 'home' them to it. Shut them in for a few days, then let them out to the rest of the run.
As for why they aren't laying, could be a number of things. How big is your tractor and coop? Overcrowding stress can factor into how productive birds are. How long have you had them? Moving to a new environment can be very stressful and cause them to stop laying. What are you feeding? Could be that they just aren't quite mature enough to be laying.
It should be noted that since you do have a rooster, layer feed should not be fed to your flock. Layer feed is for ACTIVELY laying birds only. The high calcium content can be fatal to birds that aren't using it up for egg production.
 
I am new to raising chickens and have one 16 week and 4 9 week old Easter Eggers. I started free ranging them 3 weeks ago and they seem to go in and roost just fine. I go out at dark to shut it up for the night and all five are on a roost. So I'm thinking the light must help.
I was told not expect eggs until the days are longer. I was also told that putting a light in the area could be helpful. I keep a small 20 watt red bulb in the coop all the time.
 
I think some birds do not like the two story type coops- I'm not sure if that is what you have. Generally birds have to go up a steep ramp to get to the top floor and into roosts or nest boxes. Especially if it is dark in the top they are reluctant to and prefer to stay on the ground.

A regular one story coop with pop door for them to enter or exit is better tolerated. There is usually a short ramp to the door. The nest boxes are low to the floor and roosts higher up for them to sleep on. You can try tricking them by putting a golf ball in each nest box.

It either case to get them to come back to the coop at dusk, you need to lock them
inside for 2-3 days, with food and water. This way they realize the coop is their home.
Afterwards they will automatically file in at dusk.
 
Charles Strader Jr said:
My chicken are 6 months old I cans can’t get then “ upstairs “ to my tractor coop and they aren’t laying. I am new to the chicken scene but I’m a fast learner. I put their food and water upstairs to see if they will be willing to go to get their food and water. With no results. Please help
Click to expand...


Clearly they hate you. They may never lay, unless of course they do, which will likely be in the spring as the days get longer. If they decide to stop hating you of course. What did you do to them to make them hate you? Lol

Good luck

Gary
 

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