I just might buy a bigger freezer.. but dont want that.

[leslie]

I have 20 hens,, they gave me as many as 5 eggs a day on average. I was not satisfied with that number and so I hatched more chicks. The new ones hatched out on halloween day last year. two of them gave me an egg every once in a while this summer. the older hens, who are only 2 years old did very little this summer except eat.
Now I hvae them all together in a 10 acre pasture wiht cows and plenty of laying mash 22 percent and a huge treat of scratch each after noon. they hvae a wonderful hen house to go to and a nice galvonized nesting box with clean hay in it often. they have no predators that i know of. my dog and my cats ignore them 99 percent fo the time. the one percent they just look at the chickens while i feed.
the problem. these huge beautiful and healthy chickens apparently healthy do not lay at all now. i gave them the benefit of the hot summer but now its 80 in the day time and 6o at night.
other than blow up the chicken house some night...what can I do? What could be wrong.
most of the hens were hatched here at home with the same daddy.. but several of t hem were from other blood other farms.
I felt t hey might be laying in the pasture so i locked them up once for 36 hours and again for 24 hours and no eggs. what have I dont wrong. ?>? p[lease

 

[HuestisFarm]

Hmm ... maybe they need a little roo influence??

*lol*

I have no idea, hun... sorry.

 

[wateboe]

I keep reading about supplemental light being important to keep hens laying through the fall and winter (egg laying is linked to hours of daylight rather than warm temps.)

I haven't added lights to my barn this fall, mostly because my girls have been through some period of stress recently and I have decided to let them molt and rest this winter. They are, indeed, molting and resting! Almost no eggs coming these days.

Do a search about laying and light... you will find lots of information that will surely help. Don't give up!