Chickens not laying, first time poster

[so lucky]

How old were the girls when you got them? If you know they were P.O.L. (point of laying) when you bought them, they should have another year or two of productivity before it starts dropping to the point that a commercial farm would get rid of their chickens (usually a production red or some type bred for egg-laying) (18 months to 2 years). If you don't know the age, just bought them as laying hens, they may already be older, may have been culled from someone's flock for non-production, may be slacking off due to the season. You can do a search for Henderson's Chicken Chart on this forum, look up your breeds and learn about their expected laying careers. If you decide to get all new birds, you may be able to find a new home for your one good leghorn, where she wouldn't be a problem for you with new birds. Chickens don't want to be solitary; they are social critters. Good luck. I bet you make a wicked-good barbeque chicken!

 

[GregInOhio]

oh yeah
they told me the hens were 6-7 months old when i got them.
good stuff, never heard of henderson's chicken chart. i'll look it up.
and yes, i make a wicked good bbq chicken, but my ribs are where it's at. hahaha.
thanks

 

[inputoutput]

My leghorns never skipped a beat. I'd stick with them as far as breeds go (and I'm in Western MD so I suppose our climates are a "bit" the same). My one leghorn I have now is still laying daily even when she spends most the day in the coop. I don't provide light or heat (saves on electric). But keep in mind if you don't provide at least light you may go a few months without eggs. Just depends on your girls. A lot of people switch to corn during the Winter months to save money. I couldn't tell you if thats actually a good idea or not, just a thought. Of course you can supplement feed by giving them table scraps. They'll eat a lot of different foods you would normally throw away or into the compost.

As for your leghorn, I wouldn't cull her just because you are getting a new flock (and there is nothing wrong with flock rotation, if you kill the hens young they are still pretty good meat so you get one last hurrah out of the money you put into them). She might be fine so its worth keeping her around to find out. I'm actually about to do the same thing myself, I have one leghorn hen and am going to get a few more hens. But I'll probably buy one-two at a time from the livestock auction near where I live.