One Egg in 2 weeks

[ericalynne2005]

I live in MN a week and a day ago my chicken laid her 1st egg at 17 weeks. I have not seen another egg since is this normal? I got the first egg in the coop but my chicks are free range during the day the roam around my yard only go in when the sun starts to set. Any advice? I have searched my yard but I can't manage to look all over I have 5 acres that are wooded. I had thought about leaving them in the coop but mine does not have a run an would feel bad leaving them locked up.

 

[mrchicks]

It's perfectly normal. It takes awhile before they lay on a regular basis, and they still don't lay every single day.

Today my "slackers" gave me 3 eggs. There are 7 layers in that coop. The days are getting shorter, and they are molting, so they are laying a bit less.

 

[Kelsie2290]

It isn't unusual for new layers to be really sporadic with the laying, but since your birds do free range, I would consider locking the ones that should be laying up for a day or two and see if you get any eggs... Free range birds often do hide nests. You could also lock them up until later in the after noon and then follow them to see if anybody leads you to a nest.

 

[Temp]

My 12 have been messing with my head also with their hit and miss laying habits Here is my compromise free range solution that may work for you. My lights are programmed to come on at 5 AM I leave them in the coop until mid afternoon then let them go. It is getting dark around 7 PM now. I make sure the feeder is full when I shut them in for the night. I feel that getting them going early encourages morning egg laying and as yet I have not found a egg in the nest past 1 PM. Of course if no one is around mid afternoon to let them out this schedule will not work for you and at times does not work for me, I do however have a small run.

 

[ericalynne2005]

That does not sound like a horrible Idea However I have no timer but I could set my alarm I may try it in the morning

 

[Temp]

It may take them a few days to get accumulated to the new schedule, when I started running the light they stayed on the roost for quite a while after the lights came on.

 

[aart]

That does not sound like a horrible Idea However I have no timer but I could set my alarm I may try it in the morning

You can buy a household light timer at a hardware or drugstore for under $10.

It's best to add the light slowly, especially this late in the year, and it takes several weeks to have an effect on laying.
Pullets(first year layers) often will lay right thru the winter without supplemental light and might respond to added light sooner than older hens.

Here's good article to read about adding supplemental light.


Locking them in the coop 24/7 for a few days to a week is not a bad idea to get the used to laying in the coop. Even if you don't have a run, it might be good to test your 'cooping up' capacity because in MN they may be spending days cooped up during the winter due to weather.

 

[ericalynne2005]

I'm sure the month of January they will be spending most of the month in the coop. So after 2 weeks with no eggs I caught the chicken laying a egg in the nest box in the coop yesterday. She was really proud of her egg. Went and checked today and another egg So 2 weeks with no egg and 2 days with 2 eggs. However my EE/Amercauna laid a brown speckled egg I always assumed it was my Black Chickens laying the egg since it was brown.