only one chicken out of three laying!

[mbomba]

I am a new chicken owner. I got my three hens from a poultry auction (yes, I know that's probably a no no, but that's what i did), so I don't have much information about their history. They are 3 fully grown barred rock hens. after settling into their new home for a few days, ONE of them began laying an egg a day. the other two lay nothing. i do believe they came from the same brood, as they were sold together and follow each other around--so stands to reason they are the same age. i feed them balanced chicken feed, some scratch, oyster shell, and occassional kitchen scraps (usually greens and vegetable scraps). they are free roaming. if the one egg-layer were more sporadic I'd say it was just age, but she's so regular i'm not sure what to make of the other two.

any thoughts?

 

[chickaddict]

I also had 3 rir my first year - most of winter I got 1 egg a day. I think it's the season.

 

[b.hromada]

I'm no chicken expert, but mine do the same thing here! I've got a couple "twins" if you will, and one will lay consistently, and the other, not so much. I wish I knew why myself. Someone on here probably has a closer answer for you.

 

[sciencechick]

In my experience, it could be several reasons:
- the stress of the changed location etc can make them take a laying break
- the age of the hens (any idea about their age?)
- it being winter (i.e. daylight hours, temperature)