Hens not laying, detailed facts inside. Update inside 3/24

[sune42]

My ladies are a year old this month. They have not started laying yet this year.
The Facts:

* They are on layer feed with plenty of fresh water
* Free choice grit and oyster shell
* I did not supplement light or heat during my Kentucky winter, and they all stopped during that time
* I did not notice a molt last year, but I flipped them all over to check them out and I see some new feather growth, they have no bare spots at all.
* No signs of lice, mites and their poo is free of shed worms
* No one is acting funny/different
* They two orpingtons have pinkish vents
* The EE and the dominique have yellowish vents
* The vents are all clean and none look irritated
* The EE never laid at all last year. The dominique laid first of all of them going by how their vents all looked at the time of the first egg. The buffs were next, again based on vent and the fact that their eggs look the same. When I would get 3 a day I could tell which were the buffs and which were the dominique
* They get to free range in my yard, but I rarely feed scraps or scratch

Any idea why my girls are not laying?

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

How do their combs look? And have you kept them penned for a few days in case they are hiding the eggs?

 

[sune42]

Quote:
Ha, didn't think to say what their combs look like. They are clean and red, but with a bit of dusty white, like they are dry. I though about rubbing some oil on them. As for being inside, they don't get to go out unless we are in the yard, because of the fight with my neighbors. They got the city to ban chickens, but I am grandfathered in. For their safety they are in the coop unless we are out there. I have a pretty small yard anyway, and I don't thing there would be anywhere for them to hide 'em. Last year they picked up laying in the nest boxes before I even got a golf ball in there. I have 3 boxes for the 4 girls. Last year 2 got used, the third was always empty.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Do their combs look like they did when they were laying?
Surely we are getting enough natural light, by now, to have them laying well... but maybe put a light on them and see what happens.

 

[sune42]

Quote:
They are not as pale as when they were laying. I can try putting a light in and see if that helps.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

Generally the combs are redder when they are laying. I'd try the light. Even a CFL 13 watt bulb will work great. That's what I use in a 12 x 12 coop. Good luck, hope this gets them going. Maybe show them the crock pot to scare them...

 

[sune42]

Quote:
lol, I live next to a corner store that has fried chicken. I show them the sign all the time, " Look, that could be you if you don't stay out of my tomatoes!"

 

[chickintexas]

Quote:
Ha, didn't think to say what their combs look like. They are clean and red, but with a bit of dusty white, like they are dry. I though about rubbing some oil on them. As for being inside, they don't get to go out unless we are in the yard, because of the fight with my neighbors. They got the city to ban chickens, but I am grandfathered in. For their safety they are in the coop unless we are out there. I have a pretty small yard anyway, and I don't thing there would be anywhere for them to hide 'em. Last year they picked up laying in the nest boxes before I even got a golf ball in there. I have 3 boxes for the 4 girls. Last year 2 got used, the third was always empty.

That bites about your neighbors! I've got newish neighbors that were cool and laid back about us having birds and, recently added, horses. Now they are being horrible and even threatened to kill our birds if they came into their yard! I called the police to report the threat. We've been here for years. I think half of the neighborhood has chickens. Then here they come from the city and want things changed.

 

[Teresaann24]

Hello fellow Kentuckian!

My girls have not picked up on laying yet this year either. Out of nine hens one has began to lay they also quit laying during the winter months.

My girls are 2 years and 4 years old. Also on laying pellets and are kept in coop/runs.

Last year they did not begin to lay well till April.

 

[Ariel301]

Last year I know a lot of people (myself included) around the country bought chicks and they never started laying when they were supposed to. It seemed like the issue was only mail order chicks. My mail order birds that did start laying took 10-12 months to do so, and about half of them at a little over a year old now have still not started laying. I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm feeding 18% protein feed and I had a light in the coop at night all winter, which is hardly even a winter here in Arizona. I do have an egg-stealing rat that I'm trying to trap, but he's only taking about one a night. (I learned this by "baiting" my nest boxes with store bought eggs and seeing if they would disappear) Something weird is going on, but I don't know what. I'm loading up my incubator with local eggs from proven flocks and I'm going to make soup out of the non-layers.