No eggs, but hen and pullets are are in and out of the coop all day. Also how do I get them to love me?

[gengargirl]

Hi all,

So it's winter in Australia at the moment and we've been having some cold and windy days. My three new chickens are black bantam Araucana pullet, lavender Araucana pullet and an isa x wyandotte hen. Nobody is laying, but they spend the majority of the day eating scratch, foraging on and off in the backyard and taking themselves in and out of the coop. Is it likely they're just hanging out where it's warm, going broody (but pullets??) or ..???

When in their coop they will let me catch them but I'm 100%, not their fav person. They have a feeder and waterer and I have a dish I put treats in. When I put the treats in they come out once I've closed the coop door. I've been trying to find the happy medium of handling them and just letting them hang out in the backyard with us but none of them will come up to me if I've got food. Any help on getting them to love me would be much appreciated!

 

[Jenessa_09]

Hi, to get your chickens to love you more your should hand feed them treats, on your first issue I honestly don’t know what that’s all about. I think @Kiki can help you.

 

[Mmfarm119]

Hi all,

So it's winter in Australia at the moment and we've been having some cold and windy days. My three new chickens are black bantam Araucana pullet, lavender Araucana pullet and an isa x wyandotte hen. Nobody is laying, but they spend the majority of the day eating scratch, foraging on and off in the backyard and taking themselves in and out of the coop. Is it likely they're just hanging out where it's warm, going broody (but pullets??) or ..???

When in their coop they will let me catch them but I'm 100%, not their fav person. They have a feeder and waterer and I have a dish I put treats in. When I put the treats in they come out once I've closed the coop door. I've been trying to find the happy medium of handling them and just letting them hang out in the backyard with us but none of them will come up to me if I've got food. Any help on getting them to love me would be much appreciated!

Hello -
I am not experienced with your breed of chicken but it is very possible that your chickens are not cold-weather hardy, meaning they will not lay eggs in the winter. They should begin or resume laying once the weather warms up. In the winter I have noticed my birds don't prefer the cold or the wind. Mine tend to do the same thing, going in and out of the coop most likely to stay warm Broody is when they are protective over their nest/eggs and stay at their nest for days in order to hatch the eggs. I am sure you can look up signs of chickens being broody if you would want to check it out more and see if that's the issue. I think what your doing to get your chickens to like you is great and exactly what I do. I use treats as well. I actually have mine in a routine to come up to the porch to be feed at certain times in the day. Some chickens just don't like or prefer to be held and some love it. It's all in the personality of the chickens and how much time you put into loving on them! Good Luck with your feather friends!

 

[aart]

My three new chickens are black bantam Araucana pullet, lavender Araucana pullet and an isa x wyandotte hen. Nobody is laying, but they spend the majority of the day eating scratch

How old are they, in weeks or months?
Scratch should only be a small part of their diet.
What is their main feed?

I am not experienced with your breed of chicken but it is very possible that your chickens are not cold-weather hardy, meaning they will not lay eggs in the winter.

Most chickens will not lay thru the winter after their first winter.
It's not about cold hardiness, but about the amount of sunlight in a day.