Why aren't they laying

[cmgunn5]

Okay.... I started out with 9 chickens. 7 Rhode Island and 2 Americaunas. Gave a friend 4 of them,(because her birds got shredded by a pit bull) 3 Rhode Island and 1 Americauna. Got the chickens when they were just a couple days old in April. ALL the ones we gave her are laying and OURS are NOT.. what am i doing wrong?

 

[ChickLover98]

Hello! How is the temperature where you are? How old are the chickens?

 

[cmgunn5]

I am in Virginia and right now it is in the high 80's. My friend is only 15 min away from me and the ones I gave to her are laying and mine are not. I got them in April and they were only a few days old when we bought them. Got them all the same day. We recently got a speckled sussex that was already laying to maybe encourage the other girls to lay.. not working.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

That only makes them 4 months old and since they aren't a high-production breed such as a Leghorn, it's normal that they are not laying yet. I don't expect ours to lay until 6-8 months of age or a little longer if the weather cools.

No worries - just wait a little longer.

 

[maxxsmommy]

I'm having the same problem.. i have 2 Silver laced Wyandotte's and 2 Production Reds. I live in Minnesota and right now the temps range from 80 to 90's.. They are around 20 weeks old now, got them in the beginning of May.. not sure why they are not laying yet.. I hope they will soon though.

 

[cmgunn5]

I did hear that, however the ones I gave my friend out of our flock, the ones I got the same day; are already laying and have been for 2 weeks now. The Reds and Americauna. Does it have something to do with the hen house at all. How many nesting boxes do i need for 7 hens? I'm very new at this and I want to do the best I can to make sure this is a happy bunch.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Could they be laying eggs somewhere besides the nest boxes? Sometimes they does happen - look all around the coop, under the coop, anywhere that looks "cozy" and where you would want to lay an egg if you were a hen.

 

[cmgunn5]

Okay....if I were a hen, where would I lay? Got it. I will go out and look around, didn't think of that before. Thanks for idea. How many nesting boxes do I need for 7 hens?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Quote:
Just a couple or 3. They will share nest boxes. For 15 hens, I have 9. They only use the outer 2 on either side.

 

[cmgunn5]

Okay thank you soo much, that really helped out a lot.
I found out that one of the chickens..the newer one, is laying her eggs in the "dog house", any reason why that would be when she has a perfectly good hen house with a roost and cozy?