chickens not laying eggs!! help please

[devin mctaggart]

my husband and i just bought a house in the country and the people we bought it from left us there chickens!! we were so excited. we moved in on feb 27. on the 27 we checked them and they had a couple eggs in there nest. then there was a really cold spell. since the 29 we had one egg! and they havent been laying since. i dont have a clue what i am doing, or what i am doing wrong.
i know the previous owner cleaned out there chicken coop once every 4 months-ish. eww. so we cleaned it out really nice for them. put down some abosrant stuff/sawdust/haw. and i've been cleaning it out (kinda like litterbox style- just picking it up as the poop ) i have no idea what she was feeding them, so we asked what was the best for laying chicken - or chicken we want to lay we have 5 chickens and one rooster. so we bought the mesh and one other kind. that was 14 days ago. and still no eggs?? so what am i doing wrong? do they need more attention then once or twice a day? is that to much? are they really sensitive to change and we just have to wait it out?

 

[highpointfarm]

Actually alot of times chickens will do this when the first cold front comes through.. I dont know where you live, but in the northeast it was VERY mild winter, but when a cold front came through a few of the chickens stopped laying.. Think about it.. Chickens lay eggs to hatch babies, Babies cant survive in the middle of winter, So they wont lay eggs.... They should start laying once the temperatures get into the 50's reguralry, that is not a definite number.. our last chicken just started laying again and it is in the 70's....

Hope this helps
-Caleb

 

[devin mctaggart]

thanks! it kind of does. we live in alberta so its been averaging about 4 or 5 there the day. not sure what that is the other way but not much i dont think i will have to look so ya its pretty cold, but they do have a heat lamp. i was helping that would help because the previous owner was getting eggs.

 

[highpointfarm]

Well not only is it temperature, but also daylight.. is the heat lamp on all night?

 

[Den in Penn]

Not knowing the history of the chickens I'd guess that they are older chickens. The older they are the longer breaks they take. Chickens dislike change. I know they didn't move, but they changed the person who feeds them, they may have different feed. Did they have a heat lamp before? It may take a while for them to adjust to the new regime. They may be taking a break while adjusting. They don't really need the heat lamp. Chickens survived in climates like yours for hundreds of years with out. Frozen water now that's a problem. Chickens are sensitive to the length of day. The lengthening day light should prompt them to start laying soon.

 

[devin mctaggart]

yes the heat lamp is on all the time, it was there and on when we moved in. but it could of been because it was REALLY cold like @-35 ish. then it didnt work for about a wk or so. once we fixed it its been on around the clock
they also have a heated water thingy for in the winter.
but ya i was thinking about the change and the fact that nobody really likes change. i am just making sure i am not missing something that they need that i havent though of etc as i have never had chickens before

 

[devin mctaggart]

is having the heat lamp on all night a bad thing or good??

 

[highpointfarm]

Umm i think it is a bad thing because it makes them think it is day all the timee... although im not sure..... i suggest you get one of those ceramic light bulbs that put off heat not light and put that in at night... The optimal amount of daylight is 15 hours i believe....

 

[SassyKat6181]

If the heat lamp is red, then it shouldn't bother them at night. But, chickens do need about 15 hours of daylight to produce well.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

You're providing grit and oyster shell for them, yes?