New hens....no eggs.

[twhgait]

I know you all get tons of these threads and I tried to find one similar to my question but didn't.
We bought 4 ex-battery hens a week and a half ago. I was told all 4 were already laying and they are around 6-8months old. These hens are a cross-breed, the lady called them Concords (can't find anything on google regarding "concord" hens). They are black with either gold spots or gold heads.
We were told they would start laying in about a week, after the stress went down. They went from a production farm to our coop (a former kids playhouse) with a run. They all seem pretty happy and have all defintely settled into routines, they even roost in the same spots. BUT, when do the eggs come? I'm starting to wonder. They've been with us 10 days.
We're going to jack up the playhouse tomorrow to double check no one is laying under there (they REALLY like under the playhouse..it's nice and cool under there)...but nothing in the hen house, nothing in the nest boxes, NOTHING!

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[devora]

Are you free ranging them? And welcome to BYC!

 

[karlamaria]

Since they have never had nest boxes they would not know to lay in them, if you free range well they are some where in the yard,or maybe under the coop? Also if there pretty torn up they could be taking a break, feed them real well lots of protein and play the waiting game until they heal. Try putting golf balls in the nests if you have not already, this way they can get the hint to lay there. Do you have any more then these guys ?

 

[Kevin565]

. They could still be stressed from the change of a new home

 

[twhgait]

Thanks for all the welcomes! I didn't know much about chickens a month ago, but I must say thanks to this website I learned TONS! Just love it here!
To answer the questions:
they aren't free range but we fenced off an area for them around their coop (to keep them corraled and to give them protection from predators)....I'd say they're in a 15ft square area. I've searched around outside and there is no eggs
These are our first ever chickens, don't have any others. I bought them some layer feed (Nutrena I believe) and grit and scratch...I have done reading here and it sounds like I still need some DE and some oyster shells for a well-rounded diet and for additional protection.
We're going to jack up the playhouse today to see if they are laying under there...we've had another hot/humid spell and that seems to be their favorite place to go..the dirt under there is very cool and obviously it's all shaded. Gosh I hope they're not laying under there! it's a perfect size for them to get under, but not us LOL
I didn't know about the golfball idea, I'll put some out there! Maybe that'll give them a hint to start laying too? My husband is ready to buy some eggs and I really really want him to hold off...although it might be like anything, spend the money and surprise! eggs! I was hoping the stress level had come down by now seeing as though everyone is in a routine and all "seem" happy, but now that I think about it I'm sure everytime I go in to clean or whatever, I'm probably stressing them all over again (although they don't run as fast or as far away as they used to!). I figure they didn't have much human interaction as production hens

 

[karlamaria]

you might want to close off the under neath if there is eggs there. put a cover over your run, or a partial cover for shade and add ice to there water. you may very well have eggs under there. I do hope they were telling you the truth about how old they are. golf balls in the nest boxes, a good start hon good luck.

 

[twhgait]

Thanks karlamaria! I also hope they didn't fudge me on age...trust me, the thought crossed my mind! Sure I'll sell you chickens! You can have these...they never lay! LOL, such would be my luck!

 

[karlamaria]

Well hon, you can always get a few more, I wanted 5 got 10, gave to mean girls away and am now hatching out eggs with a broody hen lol. There so much fun to feed goodies and watch them fight over worms or bugs. You are going to enjoy this so much! I call it chicken therapy lol. I need it for my sanity! It helps to have kids pick up the poop on the lawn every day to lol . I'm praying for your girls ! You did good to rescue them!

 

[twhgait]

I have fallen head over heels with these girls, it's amazing and I never expected it! Even if I never get a single egg, they're here til the end! We STILL haven't gotten under the hen house but as soon as I let them out this morning that's where they all ran....SOMETHING is going on under there! They also had fun finding worms this morning after the rain we got last night, what a hoot! I'll keep you all posted. I will for sure be getting more chickens if these girls end up unable or unwilling to give me eggs! Thank you again karlamaria!!

 

[twhgait]

**UPDATE**

It took about 6 weeks, but now all the hens are laying! We got 8 small eggs in about a week. I've thinking these hens were younger then we thought, from my research these look like pullet eggs....but they are coming pretty regularly now, averaging 1 a day!

On a sad note I think one of my chickens is sick. I'm off to browse the forums to see what I can find out