to lay or not to lay....

[lilbreeches]

a couple of weeks ago, i got several white layer hens (previously from a chicken house). they were coming out of a moult and now all have grown all their feathers back. when can i expect them to start laying or will they at all? they are only year old hens. i have a RIR roo in with them and a RIR hen who is laying. but no signs at all from the whites. they totally ignore the nest boxes. please help....i don't want to eat them all, but cannot afford to feed them if they don't feed me eggs.........

 

[cherrychicken]

They will probably start laying again when it gets closer to Spring. Post pics if you can!
-jenny

 

[purecountrychicken]

My dad just went through the same thing. It took his chickens a cpl of months to restart laying again. Now he has been getting about 15 eggs per day but thats still low cuz he has about 35 hens. So some are still not laying.

 

[lilbreeches]

so even though they are not laying yet, should i continue with the layer pellets and oyster shell?

 

[purecountrychicken]

Thats really up to you. My dad and I talked about getting rid of his but wasn't sure what to do with them cuz we don't want to kill them and eat them. If you can't efford to feed them and not get eggs then you have to make that decision. But on the other hand,,your chickens may start laying eggs next week,,,ya never know.

 

[lilbreeches]

ok i don't want to kill them right now. i want to give them a few more weeks to get it together. what i need to know is do i just feed them the layer pellets or is there something else they need until they start laying.

 

[grandads]

Try this, two pounds cornmeal, one bottle cayenne pepper, two cups water. Works for me every time.

 

[lilbreeches]

Quote:
so if i feed this to the chickens, they will start laying?

 

[purecountrychicken]

I have heard of using cayenne pepper to help them start laying and heard it does work.

 

[lilbreeches]

ok so i can do that. do i mix it with their layer pellets or just give them the cornmeal, pepper, and water alone.