when will my hens lay

[tingle]

At a risk of keep repeating myself I am VERY new to poultry,I bought my first birds a month ago 2 hens and a pullet and a young cockerel,The next morning I got an egg and another in the evening so I know the hen and one of the pullets are laying,then nothing for 2 days and another egg I am assuming its from the older hen by the size but I have had nothing now for 3 weeks,these are serama.My other birds (modern game bantams)were bought 2 weeks ago again one of the hens laid the next day then another egg 3 days later and nothing since,I was surprised that I got any eggs so soon because I thought the new enviroment would knock them off,is there a reason they have stopped and when can I expect them to start to lay regularly Thanks

 

[JennsPeeps]

Some reasons they may have quit:
- something spooked them
- molting
- broody

Is it possible you have any egg eaters?

 

[tingle]

Egg eater is something I never thought of would they eat everything or should there be some evidence left,I havnt come across any broken shell.

 

[jlmann]

The move could have possibly made them stop. Another thing to consider is temperature and daylength in your area. If whoever you bought them from had supplemental lighting you would have had to continue it for them to continue laying,however with days getting longer here I suspect yours should get back to normal soon unless they are molting. Also, have you seen any snakes around? or mice/rats? Lots of animals love eggs so try to check several times a day. A couple of years ago I killed a 6 ft. black snake in one of my nesting boxes and I suspect it had been getting at least 2 or 3 eggs every couple of days
The stress of moving combined with a new enviroment is probably the cause though. The first several eggs were already "in the oven" so they came on out but your girls probably stopped ovulating right around the time you got them. They may molt before starting to lay again,so it could be a while. Best of luck with your birds and I hope you get some eggs soon!!!

 

[tingle]

Thanks jlmann we dont have snakes here in England but we do get rats and mice although they wouldnt last very long with the dogs but something I will keep my eye on Thanks