Why are my 9-month-old hens not laying?!

[chicken mama 0908]

A good way to check if your hens are getting enough is checking how full their crops are at night. They sound be nice and firm. If they feel loose then they're not getting enough.

Where is their crop?

 

[StinkyAcres]

Where is their crop?

It's at the base of the neck in the chest area. It's good to monitor their crops regularly to make sure they are filling during the day and emptying overnight.

 

[chicken mama 0908]

Should my chickens be eating more in the morning or evening?

 

[RoyalChick]

Should my chickens be eating more in the morning or evening?

Mine eat off and on all day. They eat, then they rest, then they eat again. Roughly every 45 minutes is my observation.
I find free feeding pellets is the way to take away the stress from me of making sure they have enough available. On days when they free range, or when there are a lot of bugs they probably eat fewer pellets.
Mine also seem quite good at eating the pellets they spill off the floor (though mice do inevitably get some of them).

 

[NatJ]

Should my chickens be eating more in the morning or evening?

If you feed them only twice a day, twelve hours apart, probably equal amounts each time.

But if you let them eat free choice, they will probably eat about 1/3 of the food when they wake up hungry in the morning, another third spaced out during the day as a bunch of small snacks, and the last third before bed so they have plenty to digest while they sleep (very rough estimates, but hopefully enough to give an idea of the basic pattern.)

 

[chicken mama 0908]

Today I am going to buy some higher protein feed for them. Hopefully that will help a little.

 

[NatJ]

Today I am going to buy some higher protein feed for them. Hopefully that will help a little.

That may help, but don't throw out the food you have. Feed the current food to them as well (so they are getting more total food, preferably as much as they want to eat.)

If they have not been getting enough, then they need more protein, more calories, more vitamins and minerals-- more of everything. So a higher percent protein may help a bit, but just feeding a larger amount of food should help too.

 

[chicken mama 0908]

I got All Flock feed that is 20% protein. If by free feeding them this and fermenting them some as well, I have fixed the problem, when will I start getting eggs?

 

[NatJ]

I got All Flock feed that is 20% protein. If by free feeding them this and fermenting them some as well, I have fixed the problem, when will I start getting eggs?

I would expect between 2 and 6 weeks for them to start laying, unless they have major health issues that no-one yet knows about.

It takes a hen's body a certain amount of time (a few weeks) to make a supply of egg yolks ready to go, then she can produce one egg every day or so by adding the white & shell and laying it, while also keeping up the supply of properly-sized yolks.

I am assuming you are in the northern hemisphere, so the days are getting longer. If you are on the other side of the world, with days getting shorter, they may take a bit longer.

 

[chicken mama 0908]

I would expect between 2 and 6 weeks for them to start laying, unless they have major health issues that no-one yet knows about.

It takes a hen's body a certain amount of time (a few weeks) to make a supply of egg yolks ready to go, then she can produce one every day or so by adding the white & shell and laying it, while also keeping up the supply of properly-sized yolks.

I am assuming you are in the northern hemisphere, so the days are getting longer. If you are on the other side of the world, with days getting shorter, they may take a bit longer.

Yes, the days are getting longer.