Should I put roosters back to hens?

[Harmonyfarmowner]

Happy new year!

I bought 6 chicks several months ago, and turned out 2 of them were roosters, so I have 4 hens and 2 roosters.

My question #1 is:
Many of you mentioned that the ratio is not good, so I made a new area for roosters, next to hens'.
Since they grew up together (they actually did not have any big problem so far being together), I think they want to be together. My hens are not eating well and roosters and hens look for each other all day. Should I put them all back together?

My question #2 is:
My hens are not laying eggs (not a single one yet). They should be by now. Is it mostly because of the weather being cold? I provided a nesting box, oyster shells, 16% feed, and worms as snack. Am I missing something?

Thanks always for your help!

 

[GodLovesU]

How old are your hens? If they were too young when winter rolled around they may not lay until spring. Can you post a picture of your setups? As for the hens looking for the roosters, I’d say they probably want their boys back. I would possibly get rid of one rooster (or get a lot more hens), move the rooster(s) in with the hens, and get more hens either way. If getting more chickens is not an option, and/or you want to keep the roosters, I would keep doing what you’re doing.

 

[sourland]

Shortened daylight period and breed of pullets may be affecting the onset of egg laying. I would move up to an 18% or better protein level on my feed. I would not put the roosters back with the hens.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

it mostly because of the weather being cold?

It is not temperature that determines whether hens lay or not. It's the length of daylight hours. Even though your pullets may have reached an age when they could be expected to start laying, if that happened in the fall when days became short, chances are good that they would delay onset of laying until spring when days become longer. Commercial coops, I've heard, provide 14 hours of light to achieve optimum production. I've been giving mine two extra hours of light since they finished molting, so they're getting a total of 12 hours of light. This was experimental and it's working for me. You may just have to be patient a little longer. It's not due to anything you're doing or not doing.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Incidentally, roosters are not necessary for hens to lay eggs.

 

[Mrs. K]

Don't add the roosters to the hens, until they are laying.