My chickens aren't laying, how do I get them to lay?

[chickenfarmer25]

I have all kinds of chickens and I have tried everything from red meat, oyster shell, red pepper, and it is about 68 degrees outside most of the time, my chickens are about 8 and 9 months old and I have some older ones and none of them are laying so I don't know what to do, help! And I have also used laying mash.

 

[chickenlover09]

When did you start giving them layer mash?


What state/country do you live in, or how much light do they get each day?

 

[drumstick diva]

Are you sure they are all hens?

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on drumstick diva's question. We frequently get new members who want to know why their hens aren't laying, and when they post pics of them on the site, it turns out that their "hens" are actually "roosters." If you want to post some pics of them, we can take a look at them for you. Other possible reasons your hens aren't laying include stress from a move or a predator in the area (even the family dog), illness or internal parasites, inadequate lighting (a far more common cause than temperature), something eating their eggs (including possible the hens themselves which should leave some shell evidence), or they may be laying their eggs in a hidden nest somewhere other than the nest boxes. Many times new members have thought that their hens weren't laying only to find the eggs in a hidden nest somewhere else (sometimes a good distance from the coop). You should do an evaluation of all these factors, and then please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your hens laying.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined the flock! Have a look here for possible causes:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/why-are-my-hens-not-laying

 

[jdilapi]

Were they laying before and then stopped? They may have been upset by something in the coop or bullying out of boredom if they're not free range. If they are free range, they also may have decided to lay in a warmer place. Check barns, sheds and any other buildings that they may feel are going to be warmer in winter. One other thing to try is Purina Layena. It seems that whenever we change feed, our chickens stop laying. We go back to layena and they lay like crazy. Good Luck

 

[chickenfarmer25]

They aren't free range and the old ones used to lay and the newer ones when I bought them they were bought as pullets, not roosters.

 

[chickenfarmer25]

Also all I feed them is laying mash I give them about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of it a day. And they get vegetable scraps

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

Is it possible that they are beginning to molt (lose feathers)? Eight to nine months is early for this, but I have had a couple of birds begin early molts. During molting, many birds stop laying.

Another thought is, could they be eating their eggs? Or, could some predator like a snake be eating the eggs?

Because they free-range, I might also suspect that they may be hiding eggs.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I agree with the advice given by ChickenLover09, Michael, Sumi and Wyandottes7.

It might be because they are molting. This time of year is when they lose and re-grow their feathers. Do they have proper feed, water and calcium? Are they hiding their eggs by any chance? Has there been stress going on?

Hope they start laying soon!