Chickens aren't laying eggs yet. Can you tell me why?

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RiverRooster

RiverRooster

Hatching
5 Years
Oct 11, 2014
2
0
7
We just bought 6 hens and a Rooster about 2 weeks ago. They are suppose to be of laying age. They have obviously been moved to a new location, but we're concerned that they are not producing yet. The chicken house is in the pasture where the horses are; is that an issue?
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


Congrats on your new flock! It can take weeks for them to relax and start laying. The stress of moving will clamp off those eggs even up to a month. Also, if you are free ranging, they can start laying in the field somewhere in some secret nest. So you might want to keep some fake eggs in our nest boxes to lure them into laying in the boxes instead of out in the pasture. If you do start to find some eggs out there somewhere, you can lock your birds inside during the morning hours when they are most likely to lay to train them to use the boxes.

But for now, keep the stress down around the coop. Move slowly around your birds, talk quietly, and go sit with them each day. Helps to keep them calm. Make sure they are on layer feed now, oyster shell on the side near the food and water and keep the treats down to a minimum so they are eating plenty of their chicken feed.

Good luck and I sure hope they start laying soon!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2 it takes a while for chickens to settle down. And yes, if free ranging or in a large run they could be hiding their eggs.

Make sure your nests are cozy, dark, have fake eggs, have comfy bedding and are somewhat isloated. Herbs can also help soothe hens into laying. Here's a link on that. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/nest-box-aromatherapy

Try and keep stress levels down as much as possible. Don't scare your birds and don't let other animals or people scare them either. Talk softly and cuddle them. Make sure they have appropriate food and water available at all times.

Best of luck to you!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good advice from TwoCrows and Mountain Peeps. Hope some eggs show up soon. Are you feeding them a commercial chicken feed? If you can post pictures of your flock, people might be able to tell you how close they are to laying also. The horses should not affect the chickens. Are the chickens free range, able to go out in the pasture?
 
Welcome to BYC! Everyone has given you great advice. Let us know when you get your 1st egg, until then, all you can do (other than what has been suggested) is be patient, they'll lay when they are ready. Thanks for joining us!
 
You say they are meant to be of laying age - does that mean the seller reported them to actually be laying at the time of purchase or just that they are of an age where laying might be expected?
 
On the issue of horses - shouldn't be a problem. I have never had chickens at a time that they were not housed pretty much "with" (coop in the pasture and free ranging in the pasture when out of the run) horses and have never had an issue.
 

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