Egg problems

[JNLVD]

Hey guys I have another question for ya. So I originally had 6 chickens that are now just starting to lay eggs. Then my family friends call and say they have to get rid of there 3 , 1year old chickens. They were previously already laying as well. My problem is that it's been a week and I haven't had one egg from them. They have their own coop and free roam around the yard because my other six have a big chicken run. Originally I thought they weren't laying because I put them on a slightly different food type so I watched and waited a couple days no eggs. I also today covered part of their coop so the sun doesn't shine in their coop as much because there coop is badly built based on the fact that the entrance is infront of the nesting boxes. Any advice on what I should do???

 

[bobbi-j]

It can take several weeks and up to a month for chickens to start laying after a change like that. With the shorter days (if you're in the northern hemisphere), your new hens may not even start laying until the days get longer - closer to spring. They need approximately 14 hours of light a day. If you have electricity to your coop, you could add light for the winter to get them laying. When I use supplemental light, I put it on a timer to come on in the morning. (My personal preference.) If you do decide to add light, you might want to start off adding 1/2 hour a week until you get to 14 hours a day. Something I read on here - not sure what would happen if you go right to 14 hours a day immediately.

May I ask why you don't want the sun shining into their coop?

 

[JNLVD]

It can take several weeks and up to a month for chickens to start laying after a change like that. With the shorter days (if you're in the northern hemisphere), your new hens may not even start laying until the days get longer - closer to spring. They need approximately 14 hours of light a day.  If you have electricity to your coop, you could add light for the winter to get them laying. When I use supplemental light, I put it on a timer to come on in the morning. (My personal preference.) If you do decide to add light, you might want to start off adding 1/2 hour a week until you get to 14 hours a day. Something I read on here - not sure what would happen if you go right to 14 hours a day immediately. 

May I ask why you don't want the sun shining into their coop?

 

[JNLVD]

Thank you so much!! And what I meant by that is that the run part of the coop has no roof and let's a lot of sun light into the nesting boxes which seems to also bother the hens