Why arn't my hens laying?

[MyISAbrownhens]

I have five ISA brown hens that should be laying. I got them in late June and was expecting eggs by now but havn't got any. I'm worried it's because of the cold but it hasn't gotten too cold in VA, but I have no way to warm it electrically or with a heat lamp because my coop is nowhere near an outlet and my husband doesn't want to run a huge cord across the front yard. Any idea why my girls arn't laying and what I can do about it? They look pretty healthy and act normally.

 

[besorto]

It's probably because of the lack of light they're getting. All of my hens have just about finished laying for the year because of the shorter days.

 

[venymae]

It's not really the cold, but the shorter days and lack of light that causes hens to not lay in the winter. Many hens who don't start laying by autumn will wait until the longer days come back in spring.

 

[Chelseyb123]

How old are they? I got a 6month Sussex in sept she is a week older than my leghorn and she hasn't layed at all since I've had her. My leg horn though lays everyday. I live in maine andits defenitly dropped to freezing at night and daylight ending at about 430pm. And only my two 1.5 austrolops that were laying everyday and have stopped for the season. But my five other hens still lay everyday. Im not having lighting in my coop I feel its not necessary. But I also have the coop an pen all facing the sun.

 

[Peeps61]

I am almost certain it's the length of the days. Hens need around 16-18 hours of light a day to lay consistently. Some breeds, though, are not as sensitive to this as the OP with the leghorn noticed. My 32 girls are down to about 11 eggs a day now from the 23 to 28 that I was getting. I live in north Florida, and the days are still around 13 1/2 hours here.

 

[MyISAbrownhens]

How old are they? I got a 6month Sussex in sept she is a week older than my leghorn and she hasn't layed at all since I've had her. My leg horn though lays everyday. I live in maine andits defenitly dropped to freezing at night and daylight ending at about 430pm. And only my two 1.5 austrolops that were laying everyday and have stopped for the season. But my five other hens still lay everyday. Im not having lighting in my coop I feel its not necessary. But I also have the coop an pen all facing the sun.

They are about 21 weeks old

 

[imnukensc]

My six month old BRs just started laying a week ago.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

We sometimes forget that hens don't lay eggs to keep from disappointing us, but rather hens lay eggs in order to perpetuate the species. This fact dictates that hens lay best in the Spring so that the chicks produced have instant access to mega amounts of tender bugs and forbs, enabling the chicks to grow up strong and fast.

ISA hens are a hybrid species that was originally developed for battery egg production. Therefore I would expect these hens to be especially sensitive to low light conditions. If my fingers counted correctly your hens are currently about 5 months old. This is a little young to expect many eggs. However young ISA hens have the potential to produce 300 +/- eggs each per year. Hang in there and your patience will be rewarded.

 

[alfalahi]

I have five ISA brown hens that should be laying. I got them in late June and was expecting eggs by now but havn't got any. I'm worried it's because of the cold but it hasn't gotten too cold in VA, but I have no way to warm it electrically or with a heat lamp because my coop is nowhere near an outlet and my husband doesn't want to run a huge cord across the front yard. Any idea why my girls arn't laying and what I can do about it? They look pretty healthy and act normally.

try this vitamin E with Sel . I could not find this product in amazon but you can find from other companies

 

[aart]

try this vitamin E with Sel . I could not find this product in amazon but you can find from other companiesView attachment 1199191
View attachment 1199189 View attachment 1199190

There is no need for supplements for pullets on the cusp of laying.