Why Aren't My Chickens Laying? Here Are Your Answers!

[Ema]

Quote:
Have you tried the stock pot and wooden spoon rattle? Or feeding them less treats?

I feel for you. I have 15 hens and 1-2 eggs a day. Pretty darn expensive eggs at $15 a 50 pound bag of feed. I am hoping, come spring, I am whining "I have too many eggs".

LOL. welllllllllllllllllllll......I am about to get into that mode soon, a bag of feed here is almost 19 bucks and I got through 2 every week, usually selling my eggs takes care of the feed bill, but, not anymore. Only a couple of them are molting they are my older girls, I didn't count those in my chicken number, call it chicken math if you will, lol, but I am getting the eggs from the molting girls not the other ones. I have had nothing but issues with this flock, thinking I should have just ordered more rhode islands instead of a mixed breed flock. Oh well live and learn...but they are beautiful chickens for sure!! I will be reducing my flock to about 25 soon though, got too many chickens!!

Ema

 

[Evelle]

I'm there right with ya!!! My chickens get everything they want and I get one egg a day if I'm lucky 3.. But I saw my leg horns today and their combs are a lot bigger then they have been in months so fingers crossed they will all follow her!

 

[greenpixies]

I know it's been asked a zillion times... now it's my turn.

O.K. We are newbies. This is our first flock. We ended up with: 4 Easter Egger Hens, 3 Standard Brahma Hens, 4 Silkie Hens and 3 Silkie Roo's. They are ALL 27 weeks old as of yesterday. In my book that equals almost 7 months old. Where are zee eggs???

Let me say that I get that the following factors are a reality right now:

-shortened days
-cold days
-possible molting (I'm not even sure whether this is happening)

And to be honest, I'm far more concerned about our girls' health than our dirth of eggs. I am assuming that they are stressed. I would be too. It's been raining a lot off and on in the past 2 weeks and things are damp in the pen. The girls never really took to the coop which does remain dry and in tact. There are 4 nesting boxes with pine shavings. None of our chickens have ever spent the night inside the coop except for a few times we locked them in there when it was crazy cold -- but they REALLY did not like that, and we do not plan on doing it again. That said, they choose to sleep in the third of the pen that has no rain protection. Can't be good for them, right?

In the past month I have to admit that I have not checked for eggs every day -- that might make me a bad person/peep-parent/etc. I have only ever found 2 eggs at the same time in the farther nesting box. They were smaller than we expected from the Standards but bigger than what we'd expect from the Silkies, so we don't even know who laid them. I suspect Easter Eggers as they were almost white with the slightest pale pink cast.

Is it possible that I have an egg-eater among the group? If so, would I find any traces of egg or egg shells? Because there has been nothing. I thought, maybe they're just not quite ready with the weather and all, but a local poultry expert told me they should be laying anyway - just less. Wouldn't broodiness only be an issue if there was an egg laid and to be protected? And at worse, that would only be an issue for 7 of our of 11 potential layers.

Any ideas welcome. Especially if you think we should just give them more time. But if you can think of ways for us to reduce their stress, let us know. We are going to dig out the pen of all extraneous poop this weekend and add extra sand and a sand bath for them to help with the dampness. If y'all think it's a good idea we could also unfold the tarp that comvers most of the pen to reach the ends where they sleep. However it would not protect them entirely, and they would lose what little sun they get in the pen as well (it's in a corner of the yard surrounded by tall bamboo). Thanks for any help and Happy Holidays!

 

[Cass]

Quote:
OK. Wait. Everything you have expressed will lower egg production. Days will start getting longer soon and then they will start to lay. I have 2 Ameruacanas that are almost 9 months old and aren't laying, so 7 months isn't "too" old to not have started. So wait some more. Chickens lay eggs when they get ready to lay eggs. How red are their faces and combs? If they are not bright red then they are not mature enough to lay eggs. Hormones influence when they lay eggs and the color of their faces.

Pullet eggs are not as large as you think they should be. And when they first start laying they are considered "pullet eggs". It took over a month of regular laying for my girls (the 2 of 15 that ARE laying) to lay "real" size eggs.

I don't know who your poulty expert is, but a LOT of people are having "production" problems this year that they have never had before, so you are not alone in lack of eggs in the coop. Right now, in the dead of winter chickens are taking a break. Seems ALL the chickens are taking a break. LOL

You *might* find traces of eggs if you had an egg eater....you might not....if you want to test that theory, put some store bought eggs in each of the nest boxes....see if they dissappear. If they do, you have your answer. If they don't, then you have just wasted a buck or two to cross one possible problem off your list.

Pink is the color of many silkie eggs. My silkie laid eggs about half way between the D'uccles (a true bantam breed) and my large fowl's pullet eggs. (now the LF are laying large to XL sized eggs. VERY irregularly) I thought her eggs would be as small as the Banties, but as small as she was, her eggs were larger than theirs. She isn't laying now. Nor are the 4 D'uccles. Or the 2 LF mutts that laid every day for 3 months at 4 months of age. Or the 2 Ameruacanas, but their faces are still pink. Nor the black one of unknown breed. Nor the 2 I hatched in August that SHOULD be laying, but they just cross their legs and refuse to cooperate with the information I have read and been told. So I sit and wait.

Do they free range at all? IF they do, they may be laying in places you aren't seeing.

I don't understand why they don't go in the coop to roost. Since they laid a couple eggs in there, they know HOW to go in the coop....perhaps you are going to have to insist they go in at night. Can you walk in your run/pen? If you can walk in there (I can't and regret that construction choice), once it gets dark, go in and bring them into the warm, dry coop and put them on the roost. You will probably have to do that every night for a week, but eventually they WILL take the hint and go in out of the rain, cuz you are right, they are NOT ducks and the rain can't be good for them.

You said you had 3 roos. Add "over breeding" to the "stress list". You might want to consider getting your flock more in a 10:1 ratio...which would mean getting rid of one roo in the spring. OR hatching more chicks. LOL

Spring is coming. Soon you'll be saying "what am I going to do with all these eggs?" Might I suggest you crack the extras, scramble them, put them in ziploc bags in the freezer? Cuz they are gonna stop laying again next year, right before holiday baking time too. Darn those birds. ( I measured how much scrambled egg equals 2 eggs, so I can add 2 thawed eggs to my recipe using a measuring cup) And don't forget to dry the shells, crumble them and feed them back to the birds--free calicum suppliment.

 

[DenverBird]

Quote:
Follow up to this question.

I did the test egg in the nesting box and it lasted several days so I assume there's not any serious egg eating going on.

I've got my timer set so the light comes on pretty early - is it possible that I'm giving them too much light? Should I look for little bags under their eyes?

Another question - how long after putting a light in the coop should the hens laying increase?

Thanks,

-DB

 

[greenpixies]

Dear "Cass"

Thank you sooooooooooo much for your insights and support!!!

Although I've neglected the gurls and boys somewhat since the weather got yukky, I really do love them all. I feel that if they aren't ready to to lay, I can understand and can be very patient.

Unfortunately the coop is a whole huge problem that is not going to get solved anytime soon. We paid a lot of money for a coop that I now realize did not make sense, especially for the number of chickens I have. I really need to build a new coop and am not sure that we can do that until the spring. In the meantime though, I am going to try to build some semi-protected roosting platforms for them.

What a great idea to figure out if I have an egg-eater! I will try this this weekend.

Regarding the Roos: well, they are all Silkies. Only one of them even acts like a Roo. His name is Gilligan and he is the biggest Silkie that we have and the only one that is able to fly. He sleeps up with the 'big gurls' on their bamboo roost everynight. He is a fabulous Crow-er. The other two Roos have never been observed to crow. And we've never seen any of the three try to mount any hens. Maybe they're still kinda young yet. We'll wait and see.

Thanks again, we're going to put some energy in to making improvements this coming weekend and week. Will report back with any progress!

 

[Cass]

Quote:
Follow up to this question.

I did the test egg in the nesting box and it lasted several days so I assume there's not any serious egg eating going on.

I've got my timer set so the light comes on pretty early - is it possible that I'm giving them too much light? Should I look for little bags under their eyes?

Another question - how long after putting a light in the coop should the hens laying increase?

Thanks,

-DB

I'm not sure that there is such a thing as "too much light"....but perhaps someone who knows more will chime in with a more definitive answer to that one.

I think that they should start laying the very next day after adding supplimental light. But you know how chickens are, they do their own thing.

If your livelihood isn't dependant on these eggs, you might want to wait until spring to worry about lack of production, cuz I have a feeling that all these birds are going to start laying about March and we are all gonna be swimming in eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

You'd think Cass was the assigned thread monitor for this one as much time as she spends answering questions on it. Thanks for keeping track of it, Cass!

 

[chiggerbit]

Has anyone suggested trying feeding them warm water instead of cold yet? My chickens, who all hatched on June 1, are laying really well, no additional light, no free ranging, no extra heat, in SE Iowa.

 

[Cass]

Quote:
You are welcome....but I do it because I enjoy finding out what others are doing, experiencing and trying....not cuz the thread needs a monitor.

AND cuz my durn chickens are NOT laying. Durn, darn, da** chickens. I thought they were vending machines...feed in, eggs out. LOL