I'm new to this.... but my chickens have only laid 3 eggs in their 10 month lives

[hispoptart]

Are they molting? Have lice or mites? Mine started at about 18 weeks but I have different breeds then yours. They quit laying for about to months this winter when they started molting. They have just started back up. How many hours of light do they have? I don't add light for mine as I feel they should have thier break when thier body clock says too.

 

[sparrker]

Read the topic on giving them Cayenne pepper. I tried it, i'm hooked that it worked.

 

[mammat]

It is the Purina food. Did you start them on starter? Dont give them layer food until they are laying. The calcium level is way to high if they are not laying. We started using Purina when our local feed store closed and that was all we could get. Our chickens at the time layed everyday UNTIL we started on Purina. They laid sporadically and we had a lot of shell issues. We changed feed and never had a problem again. The chickens we have now are 5 1/2 months old and lay every day even in the dead of winter with no supplemental heat,or light or pepper. Try some different feed. You can also try some poly vi sol in the water. Do they seem thin?

 

[Maggie C]

They are probably EE's who are known for laying late. I would think it will be this spring some time. It may take till March or April. If they are roosters, it will take longer.

 

[PtldChick]

If you are letting them out to free range, then maybe they have one or more hidden nests and are laying there instead.

My two EEs that were laying this fall stopped in December and haven't resumed yet. Actually one stopped earlier than that, and I assumed it was because she was the top hen, but that may not be the case. I put a light in the coop starting a few weeks ago and now have lots of girls starting up, but not the EEs yet.

 

[poseygrace]

Mine did that last summer. Laid a few then stopped. Don't know why, but after 4 months they resumed. Good luck!

 

[gordonburrito]

If they are free ranging, you might want to look in flower beds and other "nest" like locations. You might find a huge clutch of eggs somewhere..... it happened to me once

 

[Wisher1000]

No hard feeling, Brianyc, just joking around. I would guess that it has to do with the timing of the seasons. Most hens slow down or stop laying in winter and start back in spring. That is why I said that I thought they would kick back in around the end of March. Sometimes, the assembly line tries to start once it is ready and then the days being too short signals the production to stop. I know it hard to wait, try to be patient. You'll have eggs this summer for sure!

 

[donrae]

Well, pictures of them would be a good start to be sure they are all hens. Breeds would be nice, also, cause some breeds just aren't good layers. Living quarters are nice to know, as mentioned free range birds often don't know they're supposed to lay in the nest box and get very creative on places to hide eggs. It is pretty weird to just lay for that short a time then quit for the winter, but I guess stranger things have happened. I'd wait and see how they do over the next few months or so.
Since you mention they're eating a lot, are you sure there isn't a predator coming in and stealing eggs?

 

[meshellrose]

Mine did that too. I waited FOREVER for my barred rock to start laying..she layed prolly 4 or 5 eggs (in a dog house, I took the doghouse away so she'd lay in the nest box) and she stopped laying. The de'uccle laid 2 (both on the ground, not in the nest box) and stopped. The other 3 have never layed any eggs, but I am assuming they weren't old enough before winter got here.