egg laying/cold weather

[hvl25]

We just got our chickens about 3 weeks ago. We have 2 pullets that are Marans and not laying yet. We also have a Silkie that is about a year and a half and was laying almost daily or every other day. And we have a Dutch Bantam that also lays although not as much as the Silkie. We live in Central Ohio and our nightly temps have dropped into the 40's with day time temps about 60. I havent gotten an egg in about 4 days now. I have a light, not a heat light, in the coop and turn it off around 9. We are putting a heat lamp in this weekend for them. They have pine shavings in the nest boxes and in the bottom, doing the deep litter method. Is there anything else I should be doing that I haven't thought of? I am hoping the marans start laying soon. They were born in May.

 

[Sphinx]

I wonder if some of the issue is that the birds were recently disrupted.

I bought a laying hen over the summer. She laid two or three eggs the first week we got her, and then stopped laying for almost a month. I chalked it up to the trauma of getting moved to a new home.

It could be the temps and less light too.

 

[teach1rusl]

Combine new home for the chickens with the somewhat sudden cooling in temps. and the decrease in daylight, and I'd be more surprised if you WERE getting eggs...lol. Depending on when (early or late) in May your pullets were born, they might not be ready to lay even if you had the long days of summer going for you, as some birds lay as late as 26 weeks or so... But since the temps have dropped and the days are growing so short, you may get very few eggs before spring. It's just my opinion, but I do believe that adding a heatlamp (or other heat source) along with lighting will improve your chances of them laying more often over the winter, as their energy isn't all devoted to keeping warm. As for your silky, at that age moulting could be an issue with egg laying at this time of year. Is she dropping a lot of feathers??? You can always try upping the protein too...that may help.

 

[hvl25]

The silkie isn't dropping feathers. She was actually in with a rooster before we got her and her head feathers are growing back nicely and she is very talkative I think the Marans were born in the later part of May. I am just so excited to see one of those dark brown eggs!