No eggs since October.

[AmyWho]

Everyone I know is starting to get spring eggs again, and I'm just sitting here wondering.
I've still got two girls from my original flock. They were laying steady until they both went into molt in early october.
Nothing since.

The woman I got them from last year said they were about 1.5 years old. I figure they're just over 2 now. I realize they should be slowing down, but to get nothing at all?
We didn't have an additional light through the winter.
I've wormed them with Ivermectin and nobody feels or looks egg bound.
Their replacements are in the brooder in the house. It's a race. If the old girls haven't laid by the time the new girls have, they're old-hen-stew. I only want an occasional egg from the to justify their existence.
Any ideas?
What checklist do you go through when your hens stop laying?


The two ladies in question (Blue Laced Red Wyandotte and RSL):

 

[sumi]

It can take several weeks for a hen to resume laying after a hard molt. All you can do is give them a good quality feed, extra high protein snacks and time. The short days over winter also slows down a lot of hens, especially older layers. Most hens like a minimum of 14 hours of good light per day to keep them in production. Here is a list of the most common causes of non-laying:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-behaviours-and-egg-laying-why-are-my-hens-not-laying

 

[AmyWho]

It can take several weeks for a hen to resume laying after a hard molt.

It's been 6 months.


They eat organic layer pellets. They get mealworm treats. We're still a week out from 12 hours of daylight, though. Our first 14 hour day is April 24th.

 

[aart]

Thus the beauty of winter light supplementation!

 

[AmyWho]

Thus the beauty of winter light supplementation!

Definitely noted. I've always been a bit against it for the added strain on their bodies, but I'm becoming increasingly frustrated continuing to buy them food with no return.
I'm gonna wait it out and see how they do after we start hitting 14 hours, but the once the new girls are up and running, we're absolutely going to introduce some light.