no eggs

[BMD17553]

in mid to late September i let 3 of my game hens sit and incubate the eggs the nesting boxes that i had weren't cramped but they weren't huge either. i had two hens sitting on the same batch eggs. has anyone ever seen this? i split the eggs up and they separated. i had a few chicks hatch. i took a couple away and raised them by hand. the ones i left behind when they hatched the chicks i guess wanting to hangout and socialize with the others crawled into one box. which resulted in the hens all sitting in one box together. i left a few for the hens to raise naturally. that was late September now its January and i haven't seen one egg from any of the hens. how can i tell if they are either done laying for the year. i also don't know the age of them so what are some tell signs that they are to old.

 

[sourland]

In my experience, game hens have tended to be seasonal layers. Laying from early spring to late summer, raising 2 or 3 rounds of chicks and then taking the winter off. They have not been selected and bred for maximum egg production.

 

[BMD17553]

but do you think the fact that i still have the chicks with them is halting their egg process?

 

[sourland]

I doubt that 4 month old chicks are having that much of an impact on the hens. Day length is once again starting to increase. This will eventually spur egg production.