Not sure why they aren't laying? Only 2 eggs in 3 weeks

[hope4mejanet]

We have one barred rock and one golden sex-link. We had one egg the second morning after we brought them home. Then one more egg about 3 days after that.
We purchased these girls and were told they are almost 1 1/2 years old. We know at least one of them can lay (obviously) BUT what could we be doing wrong?
Is it something we are doing? My husband built they nesting boxes and wonders if they are too small? They fit in them but not a lot of room for movement. Could this be the problem?
Is it the time of year they stop laying? We are lost. We were so excited about the prospect of going out and finding eggs.
We feed and water regularly. Hummm? Any ideas?

 

[Judy]

They may still be adjusting to their new home. Also they could very well be heading into a moult. That is the age they generally moult, then lay fewer eggs. How many feathers are you seeing on the ground? It's not always obvious when looking at the bird that a moult is in progress, at least not for a while.

Regularly? Are food and water not always available? They should be. You might tell us what you feed them, as well. And the actual size of the nest boxes, though if they go in them, they are probably fine.

 

[Morgan7782]

I hate to be on the other side, but after reading your post I am wondering if they are not older "burnt out" hens...? I hate to jump to such a conclusion.. But did you get them from a reliable source? I would post some pictures of them, if you can, and maybe somebody here can tell you approx. age. Also, look at their vents, much older hens will look sort of puckered I think (at least from what I have read).

Anywho, hopefully it's just a molt or adjustment period, but 1 1/2 years is a hard age to judge and I hope somebody didn't make them sound younger then they really are.

 

[Judy]

If they told the OP 1 1/2 years, I'd guess they were being honest, since that is about the age that commercial operations dispose of their hens because they will not lay as often after that.

Relax, we are not commercial operations here, and they will likely lay for some time to come. After the 1.5 year moult you typically get fewer but larger eggs.

 

[Morgan7782]

LoL Sorry, the people over here in Sacramento have me pretty skeptical. More people then I can count have purchased laying hens and had them lay 3-5 eggs before dying of old age or natural causes.

ddawn is probably right, do update us though if anything improves or changes. I am curious

 

[TheReidHomestead]

How long ago did you get them? It could be stress from moving, going into molt as a previous person suggested, or it could just be the shorter days. Chickens need 14 hours of light a day to lay and the days are getting shorter. You can put a light in the coop to add some extra hours of light for them and that will keep them laying better during the winter.

 

[Judy]

Quote:

. I have no doubt this happens frequently -- but I would have expected them to live a few more years and simply lay fewer eggs, not drop dead in a few days or weeks! Maybe when that happens, the hen is really a lot more than 1 1/2 years. Or maybe commercial operations wear them out that badly in 1 1/2 years. At any rate, I was under the impression they pretty much always got rid of them one way or another at about 1 1/2 years. Maybe I'm all wet.

Anyway, I am also staying subscribed and hope the OP updates us.