Disaster Recovery?

[mseely]

Hi all,

My chickens were just at egg laying age as a natural disaster hit my area. I live in the midwest and the derecho took out my chicken coop. No chickens were harmed luckily though! Anyways it's been 10 weeks since the storm and 7 weeks since I've built a new chicken coop. They are still not laying any eggs. They have plenty of layer feed and I keep them in an enclosed area so I can find the eggs.

I'm looking for ideas or an explanation of this, and ideas on how to get them to start laying!

Thanks!

 

[HappyDuckie]

How old are they? And what breeds, if you know.

 

[mseely]

I bought them from Thiesens on April 10th. Orptington, ameracuna, brahma, and polish. The polish I have seen 1 tiny tiny egg from.

 

[aart]

How long have they been on layer feed?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know they are young but are you seeing a lot of feathers flying around? A standard reason that aren't laying when you think they should is that they are molting. Sometimes a lot of stress can cause a molt even when they should not otherwise be molting. The storm and its disruptions, temporary housing, then moving to a new coop could cause them to stop laying for a while even if it does not induce a molt. It sounds like you have three not laying. That's not a lot. The more you have the more likely this would not affect some. Interesting that it is the Polish laying.

Hiding a nest is another reason we might think they are not laying. They can be pretty clever about hiding a nest. You are looking at them and seem to think it's not a possibility so that has to be up to you.

Something could be getting the eggs. Most critters that eat eggs leave traces behind, either shells or wet spots. The main critters that do not are snakes, canines, and humans. Snakes are inconsistent. They eat some eggs and disappear for a few days to digest them before they come back for more. So it's probably not a snake.

Most canines like coyotes or fox would probably be more interested in your chickens than the eggs., probably not them. Does a dog have access to the nests?

I'll let you consider the human aspect. It doesn't have to be a thief. Some people think practical jokes are funny.

Consider these things but my main suggestion is to be patient. That experience my have just messed the up. They may take time to get over it, maybe even be waiting for the longer days of spring. You can try supplementing their light to make the days seem longer, that might kick start them.