New to Chickens, not sure what breed or gender I have!

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Are you in a region where it's getting colder/days are getting shorter? Then it's a biological response and she might be going through a late moult. My girls lay off during that time.

About the only way to get up more egg production is scratch, a heat lamp, and patience.

A heat lamp will not cause a chicken to start laying again. Chickens don't stop producing eggs in response to cold, it's in response to declining light levels. They are very photo-sensitive. You have to add white light towards the warmer end of the spectrum to start chickens laying again. http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html

I would strongly recommend against a heat lamp unless you live in an area that routinely gets below -20F. Chickens will develop winter fluff and acclimate to the weather. In fact, they do far better in cold than summer heat. If you heat their coop, they are going from a warm coop to the cold outdoors and back again, and that can make them sick. Imagine if you went outside in the snow all day, then went back into your warm house and couldn't take your winter coat off. You'd feel terrible. And if you heat the chickens and they don't acclimate to the cold, then they are too cold when they go outside, and if the power goes out during a winter storm, you've got chickens that may not survive since they don't have the fluff to stay warm. Finally LOTS of coops have burned down because of heat lamps. Since they're not necessary, it's not worth the fire hazard.

I have no idea why you think scratch will get chickens laying again. Scratch is a low-protein food without proper nutrient levels--basically chicken candy. Scratch is good to give as treats and give them exercise scratching for it, but that's it. Mine never get any scratch at all. If you want your chickens to lay sooner after a moult, you want MORE protein to help them replace lost feathers, not less. Scratch is 6-9% protein, usually. The lowest amount of protein you want a laying hen to get is 16%. When they eat scratch, they are not eating layer ration. They don't eat treats in addition to their regular food, they eat it instead of their regular food. So feeding lots of scratch will lower their overall protein intake and throw their nutrient levels out of whack. Better to feed high-protein cat food, eggs, or even meat as a treat during moult than scratch.

 

[Mommylarson]

Thanks! I am on the Texas Coast. It is getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. I don't think I would put a heat lamp in the coop, thought about putting a light in there though. I will just patiently wait it out. May try upping the protein.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thanks! I am on the Texas Coast. It is getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. I don't think I would put a heat lamp in the coop, thought about putting a light in there though. I will just patiently wait it out. May try upping the protein.

LOL, you'll never need a heat lamp! My chickens go wander around in the snow, and mama hens will take week-old chicks foraging in the snow as long as it's not too deep.

 

[Mommylarson]

We did have a cold front blow through last night, and it is in the 40's today. It did make the girls a little frisky. They have been doing a lot of pecking at each other today.