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

[Spartan22]

Oh Glory be! Finally!!! My first egg!!!

Congrats!!!!

one of many many exciting days. My hens had layed 6,671 to date and still excited to see eggs every day.

 

[Chicfan]

So thrilled - my Barred Rock has laid 5 eggs so far (ate 4 of them for breakfast yesterday, they were awesome!) and although the other two haven't layed yet, my RR is squatting so it shouldn't be long. I switched to layer feed for all of them about a month ago, right after my barred rock started squatting - since the other two aren't laying yet (even though they are all roughly the same age), should I add some grower feed back in?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I never feed layer. I just put out a separate bowl of oyster shells after the first egg. I feed either a non medicated grower or an All Flock ration.

 

[Chicfan]

I never feed layer. I just put out a separate bowl of oyster shells after the first egg. I feed either a non medicated grower or an All Flock ration.

Thanks!

 

[ChickenbTrippin]

Can you guys help me out?! The hens just will not lay for me! I have two houses for my chickens; a large one (capacity of approx. 20) with a run and a small one (my original with a capacity of 3/4) that hasn't got a big run so I let them free range around the farm. I have four purebred leghorns in the larger one with my purebred R.I.R. rooster and two purebred Marans. In the small one I have A purebred maran and one pullet (mixed breed) and a young cockerel (mongrel which I plan to dispatch). I was wondering if you guys could help my out...might my R.I.R. be distracting the leghorns from laying. It sounds unlikely but I think it's possible. I am thinking of get an incubator and starter pack for Christmas and maybe keeping my R.I.R. rooster out in the small house with the Marans so I can collect their eggs to use to breed Speckeldies for laying. Should I keep the rooster in the small house with the marans for fertile eggs for incubating or should I leave all in large house, just collect maran eggs for hatching and then have small house for chicks when they hatch?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Can you guys help me out?! The hens just will not lay for me! I have two houses for my chickens; a large one (capacity of approx. 20) with a run and a small one (my original with a capacity of 3/4) that hasn't got a big run so I let them free range around the farm. I have four purebred leghorns in the larger one with my purebred R.I.R. rooster and two purebred Marans. In the small one I have A purebred maran and one pullet (mixed breed) and a young cockerel (mongrel which I plan to dispatch). I was wondering if you guys could help my out...might my R.I.R. be distracting the leghorns from laying. It sounds unlikely but I think it's possible. I am thinking of get an incubator and starter pack for Christmas and maybe keeping my R.I.R. rooster out in the small house with the Marans so I can collect their eggs to use to breed Speckeldies for laying. Should I keep the rooster in the small house with the marans for fertile eggs for incubating or should I leave all in large house, just collect maran eggs for hatching and then have small house for chicks when they hatch?

@ChickenbTrippin

I'm going to flag your post so that the moderators will move it to a new thread on an appropriate forum...like Flock Management.

I will respond to your question here, but you'll get other responses if it begins its own thread on the appropriate forum.

Having said that....

You have a lot of different questions and variables in your post.

If you are certain none of your hens are laying eggs, it isn't the rooster. That has nothing to do with the biological factors causing a hen to lay eggs or not lay eggs.

Why hens don't lay eggs can be caused by age (too young/too old), amount of light, molting, or overall health.

Leghorns are typically laying machines, especially their first 2 years, so they should be laying practically every day large white eggs if they have reached maturity. If you aren't finding eggs, I suggest looking somewhere other than the nest boxes as they may be laying them elsewhere. (I can't tell if they also are free range...if so, go on an egg hunt).

Marans are more seasonal layers. Mine often take the winter off laying sporadically until spring/summer when their numbers increase. A Marans will never lay as prolifically as a Leghorn, even in her prime. And, if you have darker brown layers, they will lay even less prolifically. The specialty layers often lay only 3 to 4 eggs a week in prime season.

You don't mention their ages, so if they have been laying regularly and are about 1 1/2 to 2 years old, they are likely molting (losing feathers to regenerate their health). Hens will leave feathers everywhere when they molt, so if you see feathers loose in the coop and run, and a bunch of birds running around like pin cushions in various body areas, you've got a molt.

If they are younger, 5 months or older, and you have been waiting for your first season of eggs, chances are they came to maturity after the daylight length was less than 12 hours a day. A hen needs at least 12 hours of daylight to stimulate the pituitary to release hormones for egg laying. 14 hours of sustained light is necessary for regular egg laying. You probably don't have that, so you won't see that first egg until the days lengthen in late winter or early spring. Leghorns are prolific layers so typically do better in lower light, but it still affects them especially for their first season. Marans often take up to 8 months to mature, and light level effects them more noticeably.

The final possibility is stressed health due to worm or parasite overload. Treatment for that varies on cause, and we'd need more information.

As to your rooster question, with that size of flock, assuming your assessment for the big coop is 20 birds (assuming 2 to 4 square feet of movement space in the coop per bird with a run that has about 10 sq ft per bird), I'd put all adult birds together in the main coop with your RIR rooster as long as he is behaving nicely (not hazing or being rough with the hens). You can read through this Rooster thread to see what a good rooster should do for his flock and what a bad rooster's behavior is like.

Since you've only got Leghorns and Marans, telling the eggs apart will be really easy. That rooster to hen ratio (1 to 8 of RIR to hens) should render good fertility on all eggs. I would then collect the brown Marans eggs (assuming you can tell them from the mixed breed hen's) and incubate them to raise the Speckeldy chicks until you can appropriately put the chicks into grow out in the small coop to then later integrate with the large flock through integrated free ranging. This type of system works really well for incubation, grow out, integration, especially if the grow out shares fence line and visual with the older birds.

I think I covered your concerns.

Bottomline...a rooster can't prevent hens from laying. That is controlled by their internal mechanisms. A rooster can harass hens enough so that they lay in odd areas, and if severe, could ultimately cause such poor health that the hen stops laying due to ill health...but that would be extreme. If you've got that big of harassment problem, it is time for freezer camp for the RIR rooster.

Good luck with your little flock. Once this post gets to the appropriate forum, you'll have input from others and the ability to correspond so that further questions can be followed up.
LofMc

 

[coop2cupcakes]

I have a RIR that was born Sept 2014 and a Crested Cream Legbar that was born Nov 2014 . They both started out great laying eggs but for the last 6 months or more the RIR hasn't been laying any eggs. The highest protein feed I can find here in So Calif is 16%. She is not broody and her vent looks fine although she always has poop on her feathers underneath her vent. I have noticed she is missing alot of feathers under her between her legs.

Any idea what to do cause my husband said she goes if she doesn't start producing again.

 

[Lyranonamous]

I want to reiterate that the production stopped-all at once and I have 6 breeds of chickens. I know they are all individuals -but why did all the laying age chickens stop at the same time? They are different ages and breeds..... If one or two had stopped I would understand. But 4 different breeds (of clearly egg-laying age) all stopped in the middle of summer. That is the strange part. I understand a slow down in winter-although they didn't slow down last winter and I don't use lights at all. And the Speckled Sussex babies from June, now 6 months old, aren't producing.
I got into this for eggs, but now I love them and won't eat them if they stop giving eggs-but this is really puzzling.

I will check for predators-maybe get a camera. I also have looked everywhere and now that they are within fencing there are a lot less places to hide eggs. Also would a predator take 3 eggs a day?
Maybe you are on to something with this year's chickens not producing for some reason.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029 Many reasons can affect laying. If your whole flock hasn't laid in months have you tried switching feed brands? Is it possible your hens are eating their eggs as quickly as they are laid? I have a speckled Sussex hatched last May who hasn't started yet. They aren't exactly great layers.

Source of your birds can also have a big affect on production. Birds bred for show often are poor layers, as well as ornamental breeds.

 

[Beekissed]

I want to reiterate that the production stopped-all at once and I have 6 breeds of chickens. I know they are all individuals -but why did all the laying age chickens stop at the same time? They are different ages and breeds..... If one or two had stopped I would understand. But 4 different breeds (of clearly egg-laying age) all stopped in the middle of summer. That is the strange part. I understand a slow down in winter-although they didn't slow down last winter and I don't use lights at all. And the Speckled Sussex babies from June, now 6 months old, aren't producing.
I got into this for eggs, but now I love them and won't eat them if they stop giving eggs-but this is really puzzling.

I will check for predators-maybe get a camera. I also have looked everywhere and now that they are within fencing there are a lot less places to hide eggs. Also would a predator take 3 eggs a day?
Maybe you are on to something with this year's chickens not producing for some reason.

Rats will....they live with family.