Still no eggs...

[PacasNChicks]

I give my chickens spaghetti that is slightly warm and yes.... They slurp it up like they do worms and steal from each other and run! Tooooo funny!!!

 

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,
I am new the chicken world. I got chicks 4 months ago when they were a day old. I love my girls. I have two Silver lace wyandetts, two Golden lace wyandetts, two golden buffs, two buff orlingtons and they threw in a leghorn.
I have been reading the different post and just want to go back and ask a few questions just so I am clear in what is needed for them to lay.

1. I read were feeding treats will inhabit the egg laying? I feed my girls treats everyday-- bananas, seeds, and cabbage so is that bad???
2. Living the the south we have daylight from 6 am to 6 pm. So is that not enough light for them? Do they need a light to go off at 8 pm of so?

Thanks Martha

I don't know about the "treats", but it seems to me that a happy chicken is a happy producer.

My late FIL's stepson ran an "egg farm", in Western Maryland that sold eggs to McDonald's restaurants. They had 90,000 chickens (white leghorns), auto-feeders/waterers and lights were on a timer. The lights went off for ONE HOUR a day. They laid ONE EGG a day, each. When they missed a day, they went into the "virtual soup pot". They didn't feed chickens that didn't produce. That's just business.

Every so many months, and they all went to Campbell Soup and a new batch of pullets was introduced.

You don't need those stringent rules, so I'd give them at least a couple hours sleep/rest. Chickens aren't like people, they don't really care if it's night or day, but they need as much awake time as possible to be good laying chickens. If they're just "pets", then all this is moot. If you want an egg-a-day, be persistent and keep a tight schedule.

 

[ispydmc]

My understanding is that laying hens require a higher percentage of protein than non laying hens. I mix some plain yogurt and water into their food crumbles and serve it warm in the mornings. Stand back they will come running!

 

[Robert M]

That's a conflicting scenario to me. Yogurt is WAY more expensive than buying eggs. We get ours from the Mennonites. They are also non-refrigerated if we want to hatch them. But my home-made incubator isn't finished yet and my coop and run are in the building process.

(I wonder if chickens like coffee grounds. We could feed 'em for free. LMAO)

 

[egay]

We moved to a new house in May which had a beautiful coop and two barnevalder chickens who were about a year old. Thu started laying a few weeks later and have us an egg every other day throughout the summer. They started molting about 6 weeks ago and haven't laid since. We live north of Seattle so the weather has really started to change. One is totally full feathered again but the other looks a bit scraggly still. Is it normal to take this long to molt and have no eggs the whole time?

Also, we got chicks in May who are 23 weeks old. They have not yet started laying. Should we be concerned there too? Since the whole flock isn't laying? I've been looking around the yard to see if I can find eggs and haven't seen any laid inappropriately but have just been looking in surface areas.

Lastly, it finally got in to the 30s last night. Do we need to do anything special with the coop for cold weather besides making sure the water doesn't freeze?

 

[Phoenixxx]

We moved to a new house in May which had a beautiful coop and two barnevalder chickens who were about a year old. Thu started laying a few weeks later and have us an egg every other day throughout the summer. They started molting about 6 weeks ago and haven't laid since. We live north of Seattle so the weather has really started to change. One is totally full feathered again but the other looks a bit scraggly still. Is it normal to take this long to molt and have no eggs the whole time?

Also, we got chicks in May who are 23 weeks old. They have not yet started laying. Should we be concerned there too? Since the whole flock isn't laying? I've been looking around the yard to see if I can find eggs and haven't seen any laid inappropriately but have just been looking in surface areas.

Lastly, it finally got in to the 30s last night. Do we need to do anything special with the coop for cold weather besides making sure the water doesn't freeze?

I'm in a similar climate. Research the breeds you have; if they're cold-hardy just block any large vents on blustery days. If they're not, or you aren't sure, you can spoil them with some insulation and/or a heatlamp Also, I've come across some threads here about "deep litter method" or DLM where you heat the coop with the chickens' droppings layered with litter. I'm giving that a try this winter - no need to clean the coop until spring? I'm ALL over that! Some breeds are also more prone to frostbite than others. The roo I had until recently got frostbite quite badly on his comb last winter, but when spring rolled around it healed back to normal. I think I read somewhere here that people rub vaseline on them to keep them from freezing?

As for the laying (or lack thereof) bit, can't help you, sorry! It's my first year with young ones, too. I did finally get a first egg from Hedwig the other day, though! If you do have a sneak-nest happening, it will likely be very well hidden; I have a hen that does this and man, does she ever make me hunt! I'd try a more thorough search

 

[pwand]

Here's an interesting video with the Chicken Whisperer making a house call. This lady in the end did start getting her eggs again from his recommendation.

 

[TheCoopMama]

Don't fret! The same happened to my girls when we got them back in August. It took about two and a half months for them to begin laying, and then once one started laying, the rest followed suit within the next week or so. I was super anxious and even tried putting a ping pong ball in the coop (old wives tale, did NOT work!) but it turned out waiting was all we needed to do. For bullying, try hand tossing your food and spreading it throughout the run, making sure to get it in a few different spots. I found this helps a little. The bully will always go to where the weakest bird is, but they will figure out their own pecking order and get settled- don't worry. Hope it helps and be patient!

 

[MLovesChickens]

for the no laying problem put a heating mat under some straw
for the bullying problem rub pinetar on the one that is being bullyied's neck

 

[Falkel]

That may be because they are scared of the change of location. Just wait a little while and they will probably come out. If that doesn't work then sprinkle s bit of food right outside their door every day.