Why Aren't My Girls Laying?

GoldenChicks16

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 12, 2013
203
16
93
Winder, Georgia
This will be my first full year of having my chickens, I started last year in the beginning of February. In one pen I have:
21 Golden Comets/Golden Sex Links
2 Black Astrolorps
1 Gold Laced Wynadotte
1 OEB
2 Silkie Juveniles (a breeding pair)
1 Brahma Rooster
2 Golden Comet Juveniles (a pullet and a cockerel)
So 30 chickens in one pen (25 that should be laying). They have two coops between the both of them, 18 nesting boxes, three waterers, and one feeder that is always full. There coops are medium sized and extremely large so everyone has plenty of room to sleep. Every chicken has at least 4 feet of room each (large run). In the other pen I have:
3 White Leghorns (two hens and one rooster)
3 ducks (one hen and two drakes)
2 White Brahmas
So eight chickens in that pen (5 that should be laying). One coop for the chickens with the ducks sleeping under neath the coop in the straw together. The ducks have a pool, the chickens have one waterer, and one feeder. The problem is that I am only getting 6 eggs at the most every day! Everyone gets layer feed, scratch feed daily (not much), and scraps that I deem okay for them to eat. Yesterday I checked the vents of most of my girls to see if they had layer vents (where its looser), and they did! Everyone one of my girls had the vent of a healthy layer! I know everyone that should be laying has layed an egg before.. So what am I doing wrong? How can I encourage them to lay?
 
Only thing I see missing is 14 or so hours of light. Add a light on a timer and you should get some eggs soon, of course in the next couple of months we should be increasingly naturally.
 
They could be molting. Being near a year old they could have gone into a full molt where they will barely lay for two months. Also it's short winter days, you could add artificial lighting to promote more eggs. It doesn't take much, I use to use a compact florescent (60W equivalent) on a timer to turn on at 5 am then off at 7, on again at 4pm and off at 5pm. It gave them 12 hours total daylight and they never skipped a beat laying all winter with that excepting a few weeks in late January when temps went blow 0F for that long period.

I no longer add lighting and let the girls have a few months off, getting enough eggs to bake/cook but no breakfast. I know that mine will pick up late January and be in full lay naturally end of February.
 

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