la fleche hens not laying

[bovine0001]

I have a flock of 7 hens that were all laying about a month ago or so. The list goes: 3 buff orpingtons, 1 barred rock, 1 black austrolorp and 2 la fleches. The la fleches are 8-9 months old. So I know the la fleche's aren't laying as they lay smaller white eggs. all the birds appear healthy. The la fleche are lowest on the pecking order, likely due to the fact they are a little smaller than the rest. I do not think they are hiding their eggs. The bright white is easy to see.

My run size is 10x 10 and the coop is 4x8. There are 2 feeding and watering stations. 3 nesting boxes, though only 1 is used.

I am kinda perplexed. They were laying great. They have no competition for food and water and space. I tried putting a light on them at night, but still no help.

Any thoughts?

 

[bovine0001]

I notice one of the feeders is eaten from preferentially. I wonder if the low pecking order birds aren't eating well. I may need to move the other one to another location to allow easy access.

 

[Den in Penn]

What ages are the rest of the hens? They molt at around 18 months. Extending the amount of time they have light takes two weeks or so for them to get used to and increase laying. Ditto with removing light, although that may induce a molt instead of laying.

 

[cgmccary]

Did your La Fleche pullets ever start laying? The La Fleche are a slow maturing breed but will have a long breeding life (i.e. lay better for more years) & longer than your other breeds. Also, give the La Fleche's some roughage -- if given the opportunity, they will graze rather than eat feed.