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

[SHRIVERFARMGIRL]

MORE GOOD NEWS! Yesterday we are up to 6 eggs!!! Decreased the flock of extra Roos and a couple older hens last week. Going to have my son change the timer to come on earlier in the morning and turn off a bit earlier at night. (So they get to bed earlier and he can close them up earlier too.)

Have 24 hens....but we are up to a half doz a day more or less.

The Brahmas dont start off with too small a pullet egg, which I like. One hen the other day musta saved hers up for a couple days, cause if was a monster three yoker! She wont do that again, I bet!

Keep em' coming girls!

 

[Tylers Chickens]

Hello my chickens stopped layin in July and has never layed again and im wondering if it might have something to do with the location of the chicken house and run it is always in the shayed so does that have something to do with my egg production ps. my chickens are all different ages so thought you should know).

 

[Cass]

Hello my chickens stopped layin in July and has never layed again and im wondering if it might have something to do with the location of the chicken house and run it is always in the shayed so does that have something to do with my egg production ps. my chickens are all different ages so thought you should know).

Try adding light inside the coop ...on a timer to come on early enough to make their "daylight" equal to 12 or more hours. If they start laying after 2 - 3 weeks, then you have your answer....if they don't then you should investigate other problems that can cause them to stop laying.....parasites, mites, worms, lice, poor diet, lack of calcium,

IF I needed the eggs to feed my family and feeding the flock was weighing on my budget I would investigate all things at once. I would put wood ashes out for them to dustbathe in OR dust their little butts and underarms with Sevin powder. (use breathing protection)

Then I would worm them with whatever wormer the feed store recommends. Since they aren't laying anyway, this is the perfect time to worm them....won't matter if the product recommends "egg withdrawl" (meaning you can't eat the eggs for 10 days after worming)

Then I would go out and buy the best layer feed available (preferably with 20% or more protein content). And I would get some oyster shell calcium to mix in with the feed.

Then I would wash my waterers with bleach water (not too much bleach....1/4 cup to gallon of bleach is PLENTY) and refill them with a mixture of water and Apple cider vinegar with "Mother" in it....it's organic, usually....so look for Apple Cider Vinegar in the Organic section of the supermarket or Food Co-op. Regular Apple Cider Vinegar won't work...has to have the "mother" in it....making it cloudy to look at , but great for chicken's digestive system. 1 - 2 tablespoons per gallon of water is fine....if your waterers are smaller than a gallon add less, if they are bigger, add more. (it's not an exact science, but it does regulate their digestive system quite nicely)


IF, after all that, they didn't start laying by the end of March, I would order some more chicks at the Feed Store, butcher the ones I have, eat them and keep all the stuff I bought for when the new chicks grew up and started to lay. (Apple Cider Vinegar is good for everyone's digestive system)

 

[zmelli]

Great posts, love this website. I have a question for everyone. We have 3 chickens that are about 3 years old. They are no longer laying. We are in the middle of moving, and when we get settled, want to get about 9 chickens. I am aware that most chickens stop laying after a few years. If we do not want a rooster, what is the best way to always have eggs? Buy new chicks after our new chickens are a few years old? We are fairly new to chickens so I am not sure what most people do. I think most people have a rooster so they always have eggs that hatch for more chickens. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[flocksalot]

Hi Zmeli,

Most people I know will get a few new chicks every year. Some will do the out with the old and in with the new and some don't rotate. Instead they just accumulate. That's the problem my son keeps falling into. He loves his girlies. I must admit I get fairly attached to some of them too though. That is the problem that most people keeping small flocks have. They become attached and are limited with the number of birds they can have. We don't have that issue. We just build more coops.

Now since that doesn't work for your average person I would suggest deciding on the number you would like to keep and go from there. Keep your good layers and move on your lazy/old girls once you have replacements ready to go. That way you shouldn't end up with too many beaks and not enough eggs.

One thing you can do if you have a broody hen is get a few fertile eggs from someone in your area. The hen can do all the work for you. The only problem with that is you may end up with roosters, but that's always a possibility anyway. I find letting the hens take over the chick care makes my life much easier. I can always count on a broody. You can always go to your local farm/feed store and purchase chicks when they have them. People have been known to sneak them under a broody and let her do all the remaining work too.

Another is purchasing young pullets when you are ready to weed some of the older girls out. There are many sources for pullets from CL to local farm extensions. I prefer to stay within my comfort zone and go with chicks though as then I know how they were raised.

Hope that helps

 

[zmelli]

flocksalot, thank you so much for the advice, that sounds like a good idea. Can't wait to get more chickens. My daughter will love raising chicks too.

 

[859007]

does anyone know what will make chickens lay faster

 

[Maggiesdad]

smaller eggs?

 

[flocksalot]

does anyone know what will make chickens lay faster

I'm not sure what you are asking here. If you are looking for chickens to lay eggs earlier in life or more eggs a week you may need to look at the breeds that are known for laying more eggs like White Leghorns. Some breeds are known for taking longer to become mature enough to lay. Ameraucanas are an example. I would do some research and pick the breed that will suit my families needs.

 

[Cass]

does anyone know what will make chickens lay faster

It takes 25 hours for an egg to go from A to B. Simple biology. Can't change it.

Like another poster said, you need to do your research to find the breed of chicken that fits your needs. Find a breed that lays young and often and get enough of them that it won't matter if every bird doesn't lay every day, because every chicken does not lay an egg every day. Every breed takes a break once in a while....some take longer breaks than others. (I have one that takes every Sunday off. LOL)