no eggs

[schellie69]

From Kansas

I bet the move has them off their game, Also they are 2 which is where some hatchery birds start to slow down. Be patient and you shall soon have eggs.

 

[BANTAMWYANDOTTE]

I have six Golden Comet hens myself and let me tell you what I did (advice from my vet):

1. I left all the hens confined together without a rooster for four weeks. Roosters can add stress to hen by badgering her to breed and make her not lay longer. Hens do not respond well to change. Take the Rooster out until all the hens are laying agian

2. Try not to handle them too much if they are not used to it. The distress call they often make while being handeled stresses the others as well.

3. Hens are not machines, they are mothers they will only lay in a place they consider safe enough for the chicks survival. If the toof leaks alot or the nests get wet or have old or no bedding in them. The hen will not lay. The maternal instinct in chickens is so strong that they will shut off there body systems in order to ensure chick survival. They must feel safe, secure and be healthy to lay.

4. Sex-Link chickens, like the Golden Comet prefer to nest in a place that is fairly private and dark. Try adding a top to the nest box to darken it.

5. Provide them with a 16-20% protien Layers Pellets. Also provide them with free choice Oyster Shells and avoid layers scratches because it often is wasted more than consumed. Remember, if your hens are confined, they need as much fruits and vegatables you have left from meals. Even treat them with some worms for added protien. I also pick green grass for my girls. Try to provide everything they would get if they were free-ranged.

6. After Four weeks (or after they all start laying agian) let them free-range, if possible, during the day and leave the coop open. If the hens go into the coop to lay then you did well, This means they feel like the home you provided is safe and secure and they are happy with it. At this point you can return the Rooster.

I hope this helps!

THIS WORKS! I PROMISE! MY HENS WERE TWO AT THE TIME AND THEY ALL STARTED LAYING AGIAN USING THIS TECHNIQUE.


Passing on the best advice I ever got!

Timothy from KY

 

[Niss]

Thank you!
We got some 2yo hens from a nieghbor last weekend. They were laying well for him. The first day (with all the chickens running wild bc they were acidentally released) we got 8 eggs but it's dropped sharply even though most have been recaptured and are housed in a nice-ish (but slightly over crowded) coop and run (the run should be more than big enough going by the 4/10 rule, and we'll let them free range again once we feel sure they'll come in at night).

So far we've added artificial light and upped the quality of the feed. Plans for the weekend included putting in a window and upgrading the "nest shelf" to individual boxes. However, I'll discuss the info above with hubby, or maybe it's just all the changes that have them so upset (including me counting them 2x everyday and looking for eggs when they were use to being compleatly ignored).

 

[BANTAMWYANDOTTE]

One more quick peice of advice...If these hens are afriad of you and scurry away when you enter to coop, stay out of there unless it is absolutley nessisacary because this will only feed the idea that the coop is unsafe. If they are afriad of you it is because they few you as a threat. Don't handle either. Just stand back, improve their environment and let mother nature take over.



GOOD LUCK!

 

[Niss]

We added blown out nest boxes on Saturday...which was a record egg day at 10. Yesterday we got 9, but three had gone back to laying outside after the comotion in the coop

BTW, 4 are refusing to sleep in it, but 3 of those are laying inside--all my Silver Speckled Hamburgs and one I've yet to identify will hang out in the area and eat the food, but they really want to sleep in the trees. I'm just letting them at this point. I really need to be a less intrucive presence--I have a compulsion about counting them at night I need to get over, and I will make a point of not going in. The help and support has been invaluable!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Their first winter as pullets they usually lay well through the shorter days of winter. After that, you should add supplemental lighting in the winter, if you want them to keep laying. They need the longer day length and you should keep the day length consistent, every day. If the extra light is on part of the time and then not on, it will mess up their laying. Pick a lighting schedule and stick with it.

Adult chickens should not need a light bulb for heat in the winter here, so you shouldn't need to worry about that. Just make sure they have a draft free area of the coop to shelter in and that they aren't roosting in a draft. Mine still lay in cold weather. Sometimes I even get frozen eggs in winter. We do provide supplemental winter lighting.

Moving to a new coop, changing owners or adding new chickens to a flock are all changes that can be disruptive and stressful enough to cause chickens to stop laying temporarily. Give them a month and they should start laying again. Molting or being broody can also stop egg laying, although this doesn't seem to be the current issue for anyone posting in this thread.

I hope everyone gets more eggs soon. I know it's hard to wait.