Four 22wk old hens and only 1 egg! Could it be due to shorter days?! Help!

[cutlerfam7]

I have four 22wk old hens one is a salmon favorelle, another is a polish puffy head one and then two golden bantams. On saturday Sept 8, I found one very small white egg in the nest box and was super excited! My chickens free range so I followed them around the yard for the rest of the day to see if anyone would lay an egg outside but found nothing! So I put them to bed saturday night and woke up sunday morning to NO EGGS! So I looked around the yard on sunday and once again found nothing! Woke up this morning Sept 10 AND FOUND NO EGGS!

Now the first egg was in my eye perfect. It has a nice hard shell and it just had all the right aspects that a chicken egg should have! Could it just be that they days are shorter and are messing up the chickens? It has gotten really cool here in Central MA at night!

I even put some golf balls in the nest boxes to help them figure it out but now i am thinking the balls freaked them out because they are no longer going into their coop at night to roost but now prefer the butterfly bush in my gated pool area.

Any suggestions!!

 

[mnferalkitty]

Yes shorter days and this is the time of year when chickens molt.

 

[cutlerfam7]

Yes but don't chickens start molting in their second fall. this is my chickens first fall.

 

[mcjessen]

Sometimes it takes a day or two for them to lay another egg after their first. My little speckled sussex just started laying on 9/1 and I've gotten six eggs from her as of last night, and they were about golf ball size. So, I'd say the chicken you're talking about just isn't up to full production yet. It takes a little while.

 

[cutlerfam7]

Sometimes it takes a day or two for them to lay another egg after their first. My little speckled sussex just started laying on 9/1 and I've gotten six eggs from her as of last night, and they were about golf ball size. So, I'd say the chicken you're talking about just isn't up to full production yet. It takes a little while.

Is the specked sussex the one in your profile picture? I've got two of those
I'm hoping that the other three girls catch up to though because i've been dying for some eggs! I guess its just the antipation of having them for about EVER and just wanting eggs so bad that I just want to make sure I am doing every right thing to make the process easier for them

 

[Bernie56]

I have four 22wk old hens one is a salmon favorelle, another is a polish puffy head one and then two golden bantams. On saturday Sept 8, I found one very small white egg in the nest box and was super excited! My chickens free range so I followed them around the yard for the rest of the day to see if anyone would lay an egg outside but found nothing! So I put them to bed saturday night and woke up sunday morning to NO EGGS! So I looked around the yard on sunday and once again found nothing! Woke up this morning Sept 10 AND FOUND NO EGGS!

Now the first egg was in my eye perfect. It has a nice hard shell and it just had all the right aspects that a chicken egg should have! Could it just be that they days are shorter and are messing up the chickens? It has gotten really cool here in Central MA at night!

I even put some golf balls in the nest boxes to help them figure it out but now i am thinking the balls freaked them out because they are no longer going into their coop at night to roost but now prefer the butterfly bush in my gated pool area.

Any suggestions!!

I don't think the golf balls would be a problem. I use them as well to get them laying in the nest boxes. Different breeds mature at different ages as well. The larger dual purpose breeds (usually brown egg layers) are generally later maturing. Also when they first start laying they will generally go several days between eggs. You shouldn't expect an egg every day from them even when they are mature. Different breeds vary greatly in annual production as well. Most dual purpose breeds lay between 200 and 250 eggs annually. I have Ameraucanas and Swedish Flower Hens, and I find that generally after they are laying well they will lay two days, and then a day off. Sounds like you are on the right track. Give them a few more weeks and you should be getting eggs. They are just at the age to start, so no worries. The eggs will start out small but in six weeks you should have nice sized eggs. Maybe not large, but good sized, depending on the breed. I find that if they start laying before really cold weather starts, they will generally lay through the winter. If they don't start before cold short days they will probably wait until spring. That's why I always try to hatch in January/February. Good luck!

 

[DanEP]

The golf balls aren't a problem But the sleeping in a bush is.It sounds like you need to lock them in the coop for a couple of days to remind them were home is. I would just make sure there isn't a reason they don't want to go in the coop at night like extra critters of some kind then lock them up till they got used to the coop again. I had a small flock of leghorns and ee's that did the same thing, at 18 weeks they decided they should sleep in the tree's and I had to lock them up for three days to retrain them.Also while their locked up your pullet will probably lay in the nest box again which is the best way of getting the rest of the girls to lay in them they like to lay where somebody else has already layed.

 

[cutlerfam7]

I don't think the golf balls would be a problem. I use them as well to get them laying in the nest boxes. Different breeds mature at different ages as well. The larger dual purpose breeds (usually brown egg layers) are generally later maturing. Also when they first start laying they will generally go several days between eggs. You shouldn't expect an egg every day from them even when they are mature. Different breeds vary greatly in annual production as well. Most dual purpose breeds lay between 200 and 250 eggs annually. I have Ameraucanas and Swedish Flower Hens, and I find that generally after they are laying well they will lay two days, and then a day off. Sounds like you are on the right track. Give them a few more weeks and you should be getting eggs. They are just at the age to start, so no worries. The eggs will start out small but in six weeks you should have nice sized eggs. Maybe not large, but good sized, depending on the breed. I find that if they start laying before really cold weather starts, they will generally lay through the winter. If they don't start before cold short days they will probably wait until spring. That's why I always try to hatch in January/February. Good luck!

Thank you very much! That was very helpful!