Our first first flock, how long after a move before road island reds start laying?

[thegayhare]

hi hi hi all.

We are new to raising chickens and several of my question searches have brought me here so I thought signing up would be a good idea.

The basic question as above... We just got 6, 9 month, old road island red hens( no rooster)




We brought the girls home 5 days ago, the trip was an hour by car. They were laying before but haven't since.... Well there was one egg in the car but I figure that was brewing before the trip, and we found a crushed egg today.

The girls seem to be settling in and have stopped huddling together on the same corner perch and have spred out all over the coop.

I know it takes time, but the stepdad is getting impatient so does anyone have any guidelines about how long before they start laying?

Besides the above info is there anything else you folks think we should know?

We do have crushed oyster shells for calcium and they loved my beef stew.

 

[thegayhare]

also would an accidental scare from a dog set the schedule back?

 

[newchickmomma4]

Are you feeding them a good quality layer crumble or layer pellet feed? They need a well balanced diet besides the treats (beef stew). We adopted 4 2 year old hens in March. Got 3 eggs the day they arrived and 3 eggs the following day, nothing for 4 days, 1-2 eggs for about a week and half and then they all moulted. We had 3 eggs over the course of the next 4 weeks an just the past 3 weeks are getting back into the swing of laying. Right now we are getting 1-2 eggs per day, but I do believe we are only a little but away from 2-3 eggs per day.

 

[thegayhare]

We are using a pellet form poultry feed with powdered oyster shells with the occasional treats

 

[aart]

It can take a couple weeks for them to acclimate to their new home........and yes a dog scare, or any scare, that can cause stress and can affect laying.

You might try putting a couple fake eggs, or golf balls, in each nest to show them where to lay.

Chickens take patience and calm.