How long until I expect my hens to start laying again?

[drp1ckles]

My 3 Plymouth Rock hens haven't laid eggs since November 2019 due to the days getting shorter, but daylights savings day was back on the 8th of March, and it has been a couple weeks since then. My hens are over a year old (not entirely sure how old they were when we got them, but they were extremely small chickies and we got them on August 4th, 2018, and they started laying during December of that year, if I can recall correctly) and they're pretty healthy. We haven't seen any eggs and we're getting kind of worried because we can't keep buying eggs from the store (due to the pandemic, it's very hard to find eggs at times).

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Do you free range full time? If so, there may be hidden nests where your flock may already be laying.
What are you feeding your flock?

 

[drp1ckles]

Do you free range full time? If so, there may be hidden nests where your flock may already be laying.
What are you feeding your flock?

I usually let them out everyday, or every other day (because it's been raining a lot lately) for a couple hours. I also feed them DuMOR 16% Layer Feed Pellets. This is the brand that we've been getting them for as long as they've been eating adult chicken food, and they were laying last year eating this exact type.

 

[drp1ckles]

Actually, the weirdest thing happened today. I went to go check on to see if there were any eggs again from the hens when I went to go let them out, and there were TWO EGGS!!

 

[GC-Raptor]

they were extremely small chickies and we got them on August 4th, 2018, and they started laying during December of that year,

Congrats on the two eggs.
What is the Sunrise and Sunset time where you are?
Does the coop have windows?
What time do you open the coop?
Do you provide additional light?

My 19 months old Barred Rocks started back laying Groundhog week. Yeah I know! I think they heard spring was coming early.
Laying came on strong by the end of February when Sunset happened after 5:30.
I do add light at 5 am year round.
So from my experience if you're Sunrise and Sunset is more than 12.5 hours apart and the coop has plenty of windows or additional lights inside bright enough to read and of the proper spectrum of 2700 to 3000 K.
You should be getting eggs.

My 5 Barred Rocks and 1 Golden Comet gave me 6 eggs yesterday and 32 for the week.

Many Pullets lay through their first winter without additional light. My first Flock of 5 Golden Comets laid through 2 winters when available light dropped below 12 hours.
My Barred Rocks stopped laying their second winter when available light dropped below 12 hours and went through a hard molt. GC

 

[drp1ckles]

Congrats on the two eggs.
What is the Sunrise and Sunset time where you are?
Does the coop have windows?
What time do you open the coop?
Do you provide additional light?

My 19 months old Barred Rocks started back laying Groundhog week. Yeah I know! I think they heard spring was coming early.
Laying came on strong by the end of February when Sunset happened after 5:30.
I do add light at 5 am year round.
So from my experience if you're Sunrise and Sunset is more than 12.5 hours apart and the coop has plenty of windows or additional lights inside bright enough to read and of the proper spectrum of 2700 to 3000 K.
You should be getting eggs.

My 5 Barred Rocks and 1 Golden Comet gave me 6 eggs yesterday and 32 for the week.

Many Pullets lay through their first winter without additional light. My first Flock of 5 Golden Comets laid through 2 winters when available light dropped below 12 hours.
My Barred Rocks stopped laying their second winter when available light dropped below 12 hours and went through a hard molt. GC

Thank you!

The sun rises where I live at about 6:30am, and sets at around 7:00pm.

The coop's nesting boxes/area is in a little room, but the chicken's entrance is big enough to provide light inside the coop, and there are two little windows that we keep open but I don't think they're too big enough to make it super bright.

I usually allow them outside during noon. I don't really make a specific time to let them out.

I do not provide additional lighting, but we do put a heating lamp in the outer part of the coop whenever it gets extremely cold in the winter here where I live.

 

[GC-Raptor]

The sun rises where I live at about 6:30am, and sets at around 7:00pm.

That's 12.5 hours. Your chickens have started back to laying right on time. The eggs are gonna be coming now.
My 5 Rocks.

GC

 

[aart]

but daylights savings day was back on the 8th of March, and it has been a couple weeks since then.

You do realize that daylight savings time does not change the actual length of the day,
it only changes the clocks.

 

[drp1ckles]

You do realize that daylight savings time does not change the actual length of the day,
it only changes the clocks.

yes, but during daylights savings time my chickens weren't laying.