Hens not laying

[daisyacres]

I have a flock of 47 hens 41 of which are 9 month old New Hampshire Reds and the others are 3 y/o RI Reds. I have one Rooster in with 1/2 of the hens. These new hens are just not laying. The older hens lay reliably and have through the summer. We were letting them free range but because of the lack of eggs we decided to keep them up for a while to see just who was laying. So, half are in a big pen area in the barn and the other 1/2 are in a chicken tractor.

We were feeding the local feed store brand of layer feed 16%-I thought maybe that wasn't so great so switched them to Layena crumbles and will be starting the second bag today. We feed 1/4lb per hen. We also started adding Fetrell Nutribalancer 2 days ago. Yesterday I got 4 eggs and the day before, 8. Is it possible I'm not feeding enough? I do split the feed into different feeders so everyone gets some.

I checked them for mites and didn't see any. They look really healthy and active. The one thing I haven't done is deworm them. Do they possibly need that and how do you do it?

I'm really at my wits end here but need these girls to start laying, they are getting expensive!

 

[chicmom]

I have always kept my feeders full, and never ration the feed. They can eat as much as they want. Chickens usually don't overeat. Has it been unusually hot where you are? Heat can be a factor....Here in Ohio, our daylight hours are getting much shorter already. Is it getting darker earlier for you? Light is definitely a factor.

Worming is a great idea now, because they're not laying much. You have to disgard the eggs for 2 weeks after the treatment. Valbazen is a good choice, because it kills lots of different types of worms.

 

[darin367]

i agree with daisy......... give them all the food and water they want..... i fill my feeders and they eat whenever they want.... also put a light in your coop, put it on a timer, 14 hrs of light a day....