pen shake up

[ga_goat]

I finally decided to do somthing in this management aera this week . have some silkies that for the last 3 months none hatched after trying 3 times with 10 to 12 eggs each time. I figured that sence the hens are laying eggs then the roosters ( older) must be shooting blanks so I got rid of both old roosters and got a younger one , also have one smaller pen that is just behind the big pen and barn , so because I am not getting but 2 to 4 eggs a day out of 9 hens , I am goimg to move 1 hen at a time to the smaller pen alone , plan to leave her/them there for 3 days to see if they are laying or not , if they lay an egg then I will paint a toenail with red polish and move them back to the big pen and try another one , no egg - soup or sale . Question,,, is 3 days long enough to tell if they are laying or not ??
none of the hens are more than 2 years old yet . most are around a 1¼ years old .

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Are you sure they aren't going into molt? Most hens will stop laying when they do this. The first hard molt comes about 18 months old, or thereafter around this time around the beginning of fall. Another issue is that chickens are flock animals. If you put a single hen in a pen by herself away from the flock, most likely she'll be stressed and you might not get an egg from a stressed bird. Look up the thread about adding cayenne pepper to their feed. I'd try this before singling them out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3563156

Fertility - What type of chickens do you have? Cochins and other fluffy butted chickens can be a little harder to fertilize. This might not be your case, but if your chickens have heavily feathered butts, you might try snipping some of the feathers around their vents.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I would say they're just on strike. Since the days are getting shorter then hens shut off the laying machine.

I don't get more then 3 eggs aday from 20 hens.