Five hens and no eggs in 5 weeks already

[kethichca]

I'm a newbie and just got my coop beginning of September. I got 3 bantams and 2 red sex-link. The 3 bantams are 18 months old and the 2 sex-links are 10 months old. It's been 5 weeks in and I still don't see any eggs. I let them free range during the day and I lock them up in the coop with 2 nesting boxes. I have clean water and pellets in the coop at all time. I regularly feed them oyster shells and get their food from free range for the rest of the time. Still no eggs.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'm a newbie and just got my coop beginning of September. I got 3 bantams and 2 red sex-link. The 3 bantams are 18 months old and the 2 sex-links are 10 months old. It's been 5 weeks in and I still don't see any eggs. I let them free range during the day and I lock them up in the coop with 2 nesting boxes. I have clean water and pellets in the coop at all time. I regularly feed them oyster shells and get their food from free range for the rest of the time. Still no eggs.

Welcome to BYC!
Bantam is a type (miniature, essentially), not a breed - different breeds of bantams have different expected production rates -- if you post photos of the birds we can help you ID the breeds of your bantams and that will help be able to tell you what sort of egg laying you should expect from them. Also, as the bantams are 18 months old they are at the age where you would expect them to go through their first big molt - a disruption of egg laying around molt is very normal. Combining the stress of being moved to a new location when you bought them to potential molt you have a recipe for a lack of production in your birds.
That being said - you mention that they free range during the day.....what sort of area are they in during that time? I am asking as often people think their birds are not laying but don't realize that the birds have setup covert nest sites during free-range time. This would be very likely with birds that had recently been moved to a new coop as they do not always automatically associate that new coop as being a good nesting place once production kicks back into gear after the big move.
Were all of these birds reported to be laying at the time you purchased them?

 

[kethichca]

here are my hens

 

[nikschickens803]

I think it mainly has to do with the type of bantam the age of the chicken and the time of year

 

[aart]

You might want to lock them in the coop for a few days to see if the RSL are laying and to habituate them to using the coop nests.

Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers.
Leaving them locked in the coop for 2-3 days can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests.
They can be confined to coop 24/7 for a few days to a week, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon.
You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[kethichca]

I have tried the following:
- When the bantams first arrived, I did lock them up for a few days and they had one egg every two days. Then I thought I wasn't free ranging them enough, then I let them free range, and so they stopped all together laying.
I will try aart's suggestion by locking all hens up for a week. The RSL never got the lock up treatment. Ever since they've arrived, I've always let them free range. At night, they would go back to the coop on their own and I would lock them up at night.
- The problem I find when locking them up was they would get bored in the coop and sometimes fight.

 

[aart]

I have tried the following:
- When the bantams first arrived, I did lock them up for a few days and they had one egg every two days. Then I thought I wasn't free ranging them enough, then I let them free range, and so they stopped all together laying.
I will try aart's suggestion by locking all hens up for a week. The RSL never got the lock up treatment. Ever since they've arrived, I've always let them free range. At night, they would go back to the coop on their own and I would lock them up at night.
- The problem I find when locking them up was they would get bored in the coop and sometimes fight.

You need to have enough space in the coop so they are not crowded while confined to coop, that can cause fights.
Having a run attached to coop can help give more space and outside time when they need to be confined.
Sounds like you may have gotten your birds at different times, then integration issues may be at play in the fighting.