Pullets not laying.

[Plsc]

Hi kokomoms2!

 

[kokosmom2]

Hi Plsc. good to see you

 

[Plsc]

Thanks! My Americana rooster says thanks too!

 

[aart]

I sent him a link to this thread and he read it. He is going to lock them in the coop Sun-Tues and see what he gets for eggs. Also going to stop the wormer every 6 months. Thank you all for your advice. I'll keep you posted next week after the "lockdown"

Why don't they just join here themselves?

They should need nothing but layer feed...there are other options for feeding.

Not sure just 3 days of lock down will do it if they have hidden nests.
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

Older pullets may still slow down laying with shortening of days.
Here's a way to tell...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Bettyboop7499]

I'm asking this for an internet friend of mine. He lives in TX and the chickens free range on 1.5 acres. He's walked all over and hasn't found any eggs hiding anywhere. The pullets are 8-11 months old. I've only had chickens for 2 years, so I'm not any kind of expert on this, plus I live in WI. Thanks in advance for any help.



===========================================================
Howdy folks,

I have 23 hens and a rooster right now. They are free range - only penned at night.

I keep two waterers full at all times, and when it's really hot one of them gets electrolytes added.

They eat a mixture of laying pellets and scratch. Again, if it's really hot I'll add "Rooster Booster" to the feed in order to help them along.

They are de-wormed at appropriate intervals.

The coop is ventilated, with a box fan blowing the hot air at the peak out two vents.

It's a pretty awesome setup for a chicken. Low stress, lots of area to free range.

But, in spite of all that, I typically get about 5-6 eggs a day from my 23 hens. That's really, really bad. This has held true for months - it was slightly better (maybe 6-7 egg average) during the spring.

At this rate, my average hen is producing about two eggs per week. They're mostly Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire Reds. There's a couple of Buffs and Dominekers (sp?) as well.

Hello, sorry to hear about your low egg return. It can be frustrating, you wait what feels like forever to get that first egg and out of 23 hens only 5-6 per day- Devastating! I would guess it is because only 5-6 hens are laying in the nest and the others are laying on the property somewhere. I'm curious how many nest boxes you have? I had this issue, I never found one nest and the other I found 8 bantam eggs under a push lawnmower! They will lay in crazy places! They prefer very private areas to lay. So, the more private you can make the laying area the better. If able, lock them up for a few days or if needed longer, this will retrain them to lay in the nest. Hopefully, they are not eating the eggs themselves but if they are you'll know it for sure. Good luck!