UPDATE - now almost 6 weeks after getting new laying hens, but they are still not laying!

[icemanabk]

How big is the coop.
How big is the run.
How old are the chickens roughly?


Sounds like theyre just molting. My buff Orpington is molting and has been for almost two months. My old rhode islands would be done within a few weeks. Give them more protein to help them molt. I use to give my reds whole grain pasta which had extra protein added. I think it was around 1.25 a box. Just make it let it cool then drop it outside and theyll go crazy over it.

Only other thing i could think of is that theyre old. Over four year old chickens start to lay less, some just stop laying total. Unless she was a special chicken to us, wed start culling the old hens. Though the older ones typically make good broody hens or become the wallflower. Seems mine would faten up at this point.

Last, could be a stress issue from a small coop or run. Some breeds are more tollerant of being packed in tightly, but most want 4sq ft coop per adult chicken and 10sf ft of run space.

Still though, its probably just the molt.

 

[raisechickens]

The coop is 4x8 not counting large nest boxes, and the run is 8x12. I will check for molting and report back.

 

[JulieAGill]

I live in California and our weather has been up and down lately again. At night the low 60's during the day mid 80's. Over the last two weeks we have averaged one egg a day from my 5 older hens. They just turned a year the end of July. One hasn't laid an egg since March when she first went broody (I do not have a rooster inside my coop). She is a little bantam and was the only one that laid tan eggs. The others lay various colors of green. Because the eggs are so close in color I don't know which one is laying. I have actually thought about putting a video camera inside their hen house.
I feed them the laying food, they get feather fixer because they all went through a small molt though one of them seems to be going through a normal molt as there are black feathers everywhere and one of them is looking bald around the neck, they also get oyster shells for harder egg shells and I was told it also helps with parasites. I have also recently started giving them flock raiser per the suggestion of a friend of mine who has raised chickens for years. I don't tend to give them table scraps except in the summer, once in awhile they get a cabbage head to peck at so they leave each other alone. So, as far as food I'm not really leaving anything out.
I have a younger hen who has her own little section of the coop and her own little house. Her sister had to be put down because she had a severe crooked beak and was not thriving. She recently started laying but is averaging one a week. The funny thing is she will not lay them inside her little house, she lays them on the ground in the corner of her run.
We are in the process of buying the house we live in and will actually be building a new and bigger run for them and a new hen house and hope to put all 6 of them together. I think I got bit away from the subject though, sorry.
Anyway, the little bantam who stopped laying is not acting egg bound, her feathers are nice and fluffy, she eats, drinks, and acts perfectly normal, she just doesn't lay eggs. I am also not one that can kill my chickens to eat them. She's a happy hen and behaves herself.
I recently put a timer on the light inside their coop but it is not hanging directly above the roost. It shines in that direction, but, so far that does not seem to be helping with the laying. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I also notice that the wild chickens running around my backyard don't seem to be laying much either or they are hiding them quite well from me, which has happened since we have about 23 babies and three mama's running around right now. 8 of which are only about 3 weeks old. Because there are so many wild ones running around my backyard I do not let my 6 hens run around outside the coop, that is one reason why we are building a bigger run for them.

 

[wamtazlady]

Red combs and faces are a good sign that a pullet is getting close to lay. Those look rather pale on the pictures. Another thing to check is the distance between the pelvic bones. If there isn't a 2 finger wide opening then there is no room to pass an egg and they are not ready yet. Goldie, my Buff Orpington is turning 8 months old this week and it still not laying.

 

[JulieAGill]

Oh, no, the bantam who hasn't laid an egg since March is over a year old. She turned 1 the end of July. She was laying on a fairly regular basis and she was the only one who went broody more than once. In March was the last time she went broody, got her over that, went through a mini molt but hasn't laid an egg since.
My Americauna had an infection in her eye and so she was inside for a few days. When I went to check on her she would poof her feathers out and cluck like she was telling her "babies" there was food. Mind you she has never gone broody, she seems to be over that phase and is actually back out with the rest. She is also very close to the bantam as they were raised together since they were 3 days old.
I have strange chickens and when I go to our local feed store they always get a kick out my newest adventure with the hens.
I know about the brighter combs, but have never really checked the back ends too closely. They are goofy.

 

[Happy Chooks]

It takes time while they are molting. While they are broody, they lose weight. When they molt, they also lose weight. So once the feathers are grown back in, they have to get their body weight back up before they can start laying again. I have had hens molt that have been off of laying anywhere from 2-5 months, depending on how hard the molt is. All you can do is be patient, and give them extra protein to help them through it.

 

[raisechickens]

I looked closely at them today and it does appear they are molting. I could see some pin feathers in the neck area.

One may be finished molting. Her neck feathers are very thick. I also witnessed my barred rock rooster chase her all around my yard and eventually caught and bred her. He didn't chase any of the other Easter Eggers. Does this behavior indicate she is about ready to start laying again?

 

[JulieAGill]

My little bantam that hasn't laid since March has no signs of molting, she is as full as can be with feathers, her back end is nice a fluffy and full. She looks great, just doesn't lay eggs. Like I've mentioned, I am not worried about her, she's healthy, happy, etc. She does get curious when one of the hens does go in to the nesting box but doesn't herself. They get lots of protein. I have read that there are some that for some reason totally quit laying for no reason at all. She may just be one of those little hens, but she is my baby and the one who started this whole chickens in a coop thing so, she will remain a pet. No way could I even think of culling her much less eating her.

 

[raisechickens]

Update - I finally got an egg out of this batch of hens on Wednesday 12/2/15. It took almost 3 months from the date I purchased these already laying hens until I got my first egg. Turns out they were molting as some on this thread suggested. I am new to raising chickens and I am learning that you really have to be patient sometimes...well, a lot of the time.

 

[Happy Chooks]