Oh god why won't they lay??!!

[traceyj]

I have 9 ladies. Two were laying, six are ? Maybe still too young but I didn't hatch them and was lied to about them being POL (three months ago)
The two who were laying stopped to moult. That was a month ago and they are fully re feathered. I have added light in the coop this last week so they have 15 hours guaranteed of light.
I live my chickens but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with their freeloading!

(Ps wormed them a month ago after the last three I added to the coop had worms eugh!) they all look healthy, eat and drink well.

 

[aart]

I have 9 ladies. Two were laying, six are ? Maybe still too young but I didn't hatch them and was lied to about them being POL (three months ago)
The two who were laying stopped to moult. That was a month ago and they are fully re feathered. I have added light in the coop this last week so they have 15 hours guaranteed of light.
I live my chickens but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with their freeloading!

(Ps wormed them a month ago after the last three I added to the coop had worms eugh!) they all look healthy, eat and drink well.

Is that where they sleep at night?

 

[Spangled]

... was lied to about them being POL (three months ago)
The two who were laying stopped to moult. That was a month ago and they are fully re feathered.

Yikes! Sounds like the two who were laying that stopped to molt are probably way beyond POL. My understanding is that POL means that they are 3.5 - 5 months old and at the point where they will start laying for the first time--although some breeds/varieties don't lay until maybe 8 months old. A hen that molts, losing all feathers in the fall, is usually over a year old. So those 2 may not lay again until sometime after the solstice (around Dec 21/22, 2014) and maybe not until March, 2015 (without added light). However, you are adding supplemental lighting, so ... usually it's around 2 weeks after them being settled-in that they will start laying if all other needs are met. So, after 2 - 3 weeks of the 15 hours of lighting, you'd think they would start laying. Fingers crossed.

 

[jtn42248]

I have 9 ladies. Two were laying, six are ? Maybe still too young but I didn't hatch them and was lied to about them being POL (three months ago)
The two who were laying stopped to moult. That was a month ago and they are fully re feathered. I have added light in the coop this last week so they have 15 hours guaranteed of light.
I live my chickens but I'm not sure how much longer I can deal with their freeloading!

(Ps wormed them a month ago after the last three I added to the coop had worms eugh!) they all look healthy, eat and drink well.

There is an excellent article on Point of Lay located at http://www.yourchickens.co.uk/home/what_s_the_point_of_lay_1_1483574

In addition, if some of your birds did a full molt then they were way beyond "point of lay" and were/are in fact mature hens that may be taking the winter off.

I do not use additional lighting on my birds simply because I want them to have the most natural life possible. I would hate to "force" them to continue laying simply because I wanted fresh eggs year round. So, I dropped from 22 eggs a day to somewhere between 8 and 10 eggs per day. That is fine. They earned the time off and deserve a vacation from their work. Are they freeloading? I don't think so. I had several months of 2 dozen eggs approximately each day and probably should not have expected that.

Give them time. Let them have a little break in laying. Continue to use supplemental lighting if you wish but remember that other things come in to play in egg production. Proper diet, calcium, weather conditions, etc.

 

[traceyj]

Hi, two hens who moulted are 15-18 months old barred rock ish. And I'm not trying to force them to lay- they laid every day from when I got them in August till the moult so I'm not lighting for them, I'm lighting for the other six (one other hen was bought at same time as older two has never laid so she is just a pet)
Three orpingtons were supposed to be 5 months when I got them in August but me knowing nothing I got taken in, three months on and one had a reddened face and skinny bits so I think they are due soon, but we will see.
The three mix'n'matc birds (best guess is one australorp, one EE. And one Americana or auricana. Apparent all will lay coloured eggs, apparently they were all either laying of just about to- the lady lied, they were underfed, frightened and had worms and red mite. I quarantined them and treated them and eventually integrated into my (coop 10'x8' about 5' high and they all chose to sleep on that one log on top of the cabinet!!)

I guess my rant/ query is more of a cautionary tale to know how old your chooks are, either by hatching your own or by a trustworthy seller.

As I said yesterday I noticed one of my orpies has a red face so maybe she will show her sisters how to do it. I don't mind the older ladies taking a break, just farcical to have 9 chickens and no eggs.

 

[aart]

Even if you know how old they are.... first year pullets.......and use supplemental lighting....they might stop laying..... like a few of mine have.

 

[traceyj]

I know, and I'll keep them fed warm and safe all winter even for no eggs, but it would be nice...