My Hens are not laying, HELP!!

[CiceroChickenMan]

I have Buff Orphingtons, White Rocks, RIR and only 2 of the Buffs are laying, and not all the time.
All the hens are between 20 and 25 weeks old, I have 2 roosters, and only 2 hens want to lay. They only lay 1 or 2 eggs a week. What is wrong, We live in Indiana so the weather is starting to get cold, but I have a heat lamp on at night and early in the morning to help provide the correct hours of light required, the coop is insulated so they are not getting cold at night, they are let out during the day to range. I am providing the correct feed, and scratch, and grit. I am about ready to give up on them and make soup. I need help does anybody have any ideas? Sorry for the rambling, just upset.

 

[derby]

You really just need to give it more time. I have two girls that are 6 months old that still aren't laying yet.

 

[glassparman]

Every breed is different and also dependant on the environment.

Some breeds like the Brown sex links, lay all year long. Some will stop laying in the winter because in the wild, the chicks would not survice the cold.

Different breeds also start laying at different times although most start around 5-6 months

I remember my first batch of sex links. I first started seeing eggs around 5 1/3 months but they were not all laying until around 6 1/2 months.

Give them some time, even though you may use a heat lamp, GOD programmed them to know the difference between the seasons no matter how we try to fool them. It's only when we get involved with all that cross-breeding that these things change

Also, having more than one roo per every 12 hens or so may not be a good idea. I have seen in the past that a roo or two will cause stress in the flock because they are trying to be the head roo and the hens can sense the stress.

I actually built a spare pen just for my Barred Rock Roo when I saw the little cute chick turn into a rooster. I knew I needed to keep him away from the other roo but I wanted him around just the same. I think I'll give him a coulpe of hens next spring to keep him happy.