NO EGGS FOR MONTHS

[barnyardgirl]

I got some new chickens a few months ago and they are about a year and a half old. We set up clean nests and waited a few weeks. After a few weeks, still no eggs. I then bought some white ping pong balls and added them to the nests and waited to see if that would encourage them to start laying again. I waited and waited and here we are months later, and still no eggs.Their previous owners said they laid everyday over at their house. We feed them a good amount of food that's nutritious and they free range all day. We have other chickens but they are too young to lay so we have had absolutely no eggs in our nests. Why aren't they laying? Do we need more nesting boxes. We have 18 hens but half of them are too young to lay yet so we will add more once they are a little older. We have 3 nests at the moment. We have never had so many chickens. I am not sure what the issue is. What do I do?

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Do they free range? If so, they may be laying and hiding their eggs elsewhere.

A method to tell if they are laying: feel her pelvic bones- if they are flexible and you can fit two or more fingers between them, than she is laying. If you can't fit two fingers between her pelvic bones then she isn't laying....

Most chickens lay less as the amount of day light decreases, so you could look at fitting artificial lighting to stimulate spring.

Also, what are you feeding them?

 

[barnyardgirl]

Yes they free range. There are not many places where they could lay a secret egg. Plus, they always like to stay in the same area of the property. They are fed fermented grains and fodder. Does the pelvic bone start to close up if they stop laying or does it always stay flexible once they start laying?

 

[rebrascora]

Where in the world are you? (It really helps if people include that info in their profile so we can see at a glance)
If you are in the northern hemisphere then it is perfectly normal for 18 month old hens to stop laying at the end of summer/early autumn, moult and come back into lay anytime between December and Spring. They will moult annually thereafter and the break in egg laying will get longer each time. This is why commercial egg producers cull whole flocks of 18month old birds and replace them with POL pullets because it is not cost effective to keep them until they come back into lay. That said, as back yard poultry keepers, economy is not the reason we do it and these hens should be pretty productive for several more years and their eggs usually get slightly bigger each year, so have patience, watch for their combs turning red again and hopefully you will soon start to see eggs now that we are past the winter solstice and the days are getting longer again.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Where in the world are you? (It really helps if people include that info in their profile so we can see at a glance)
If you are in the northern hemisphere then it is perfectly normal for 18 month old hens to stop laying at the end of summer/early autumn, moult and come back into lay anytime between December and Spring. They will moult annually thereafter and the break in egg laying will get longer each time. This is why commercial egg producers cull whole flocks of 18month old birds and replace them with POL pullets because it is not cost effective to keep them until they come back into lay. That said, as back yard poultry keepers, economy is not the reason we do it and these hens should be pretty productive for several more years and their eggs usually get slightly bigger each year, so have patience, watch for their combs turning red again and hopefully you will soon start to see eggs now that we are past the winter solstice and the days are getting longer again.

Yep.