Hens not laying

[Quackdaniel]

My chickens free range & I noticed lately that some of the hens aren’t laying their eggs in the nesting boxes anymore. I also have quite a few 21 week old pullets that have not started laying yet (at least that I can find). I looked online and some suggested keeping them cooped up for a few days to get them back to laying in their boxes. Most of them are still not laying & none of my pullets have laid an egg yet. What should I do?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Are they molting?

 

[nuthatched]

Are they molting? What's their diet?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

looked online and some suggested keeping them cooped up for a few days to get them back to laying in their boxes.

That's what I do. If I suspect they are laying "out," I will keep them confined in the run for a week to 10 days to "re-home" them to use the nests, especially in early spring if they haven't been laying for a while. It's a large run so they're not suffering any. This usually serves to remind them of their responsibilities. Then I start letting them free range for a few hours in the afternoon and gradually increase their free time over the next couple of weeks.