Greetings, I am in need of some guidance. I currently have 4 Americana pullets (6 months old). 3 of them came to me about a month ago now. When I got them, they were laying a little but after a week the laying ceased. Since then, I have not had any eggs. The 1 Americana I had originally has yet to lay. I thought maybe the problem was two pretty aggressive roosters that were temporarily sharing a home with them, but once they left (about 3 weeks ago now) still no eggs. How do I encourage these ladies to start laying? Are there other options besides extending the amount of light they are exposed to daily? Would really love to stop buying eggs from the store...
This time of year, it is usually the shrinking daylight. It is also possible that they are laying offsite, if you allow free ranging. Some birds are more susceptible to lack of light effecting them than others, it seems to me.
They will not lay without sufficient light. Are you feeding them a layer ration. Plenty of clean water grit and low levels of stress will help. They will lay when they are ready.
Some ppl swear by higher protein feed like 18%. Mine it seemed to work when I let them free range but might have been a coincidence.I do feel if they are happy and yes low stressed they lay