She's not laying any eggs!

[fahad]

Hi I've recently bought a hen and a rooster. The pet shop guy told me they're a year old and she lays an egg every alternate day. Its been six days and i'm still waiting for her to lay.

I don't know much about chickens so here's a list of things i've done:

1. I've prepared a room 10' x 12' for them. I filled it up with sand, they seem to like that sand, they take baths in it n all. I've put a cardboard box in the room filled it up with hay straws (I thought she'd lay eggs in it). I've also put a lot of straws on the floor for them to sit or sleep on them. But they only sleep on the cemented floor.

2. They eat chicken feed (it is supposed to be protein enriched... it stinks!), I also give them freshly chopped greens (spinach and onion leaves) and grains (red rice, millet).

3. They roam about in the open for 1-3 hours a day.


They seem healthy i don't know why she isn't laying any eggs. I remember when I was little my grandfather kept 4 or 5 hens and they laid eggs every other day.

Help me!

 

[catfish/okie]

She may be just a little stressed from being moved into a new enviroment. She will probably start back in a few days

 

[goldielocks]

Those look like cochins to me, are they? Very Pretty. I dont know if they are great egg layers or not. They will need time to adjust. I use Purina Layena for feed. Lots of fresh water and i also throw scratch to them along with left overs. You also will want to give them a 2x 4 to roost on, up off the ground about 3 or 4 ft. They need to get up to feel safe. She will also need a little oyster shell, its like $ 2.50 for a nice size bag. You can put a small hand full down when you throw scratch. Let us know how it goes.

The roost is pretty important.

 

[Danceswithchicks]

Are and feathers falling out? She may be molting.Take her and look at her vent

. If It's puckered and dry, she is not laying. If it is moist and open ,she may be hiding her eggs.

 

[M To The Maxx]

It looks like she is molting.

 

[fahad]

Thank you all for such quick replys.

@catfish/okie: I hope you're right!

@goldielocks: I'll try to get a roost fixed for them ASAP, throw scratch n I dont think we get oyster shells here in Pakistan. I'll go check the supermarket.

The guy i bought them from said they're Buff Cochins.

@Danceswithchicks: I'll take a look at her vent tomorrow morning (she runs away when i try to touch her)

Q: How long do they molt for? will she lay eggs right after?

@M to the Maxx: So that means no eggs for me?

 

[PortageGirl]

If she's molting, it may take a few weeks or as long as a 6 weeks or so before she starts to lay again. A change of living quarters, temperature, or feed may stress her out and cause her to stop laying, or cause a trigger for their molt. I agree that their feathers look pretty uneaven and as though they are 'shedding' them, which is what a molt is really.

Either way, plenty of fresh clean water, as good a feed as you can manage, any extra protein you can supply, (yes, chickens eat meat scraps too) and the main calcium source for laying hens is usually limestone and/or oystershell in the feed. You can also get them calcium by crushing up eggshells from any other poultry or restaraunt kitchens etc. Many people think that feeding eggshells causes them to become egg-eaters, but I haven't seen the evidence of this myself, but crushing them up pretty well will avoid it in any case.

Good luck with them, they're very handsome!