I moved about three months ago and i have 8 hens in a checken coop with nesting boxes. Every since we moved, they completely stopped laying eggs! I am giving them the high protein feed for laying hens, and scratch mixed in with it, and i keep the pine bedding in the bottom and fresh hay in the nesting boxes. I even went and bought them fake eggs as a suggestion was made on here, but they just push them out of the way and bury them. What should i do? They are only a year to two years old. Im feeding them one cup of mixed feed per chicken every day. Should i try to free range them? Any suggestions would help. I'm out of ideas. I used to get fresh eggs every day.
Hello! Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. Stress can play a factor in their lack of egg production. I imagine once they settled in, they'll start laying again. Chickens adjust slowly to change. Good luck and have patience.
Its been in the 40's and 50's mostly. We've had a few cold days and a few warmer days, especially this last month or so. Previously it was in the 60's. But i would think that after three or four months that they would start laying again. The nesting boxes are well sealed and warm inside. I just bought a timer and some white christmas lights im going to put in to extend their daylight.
Greetings from Kansas and ! Great to have you aboard! I tend to think if they were laying and then you moved, it is a combination of decreased daylight, the move, and maybe the age of your birds. I have 23 hens and I am getting 3-4 eggs/day and have been for about a month. I think it is a combination of the factors I said above....and I know the few eggs I am getting are from my youngest hens...those who just started laying this fall. Hope yours and mine snap out of it soon! Best wishes!
six of the eight that i have are young ones. This is their first winter. The other two however are seasoned layers. been through a couple winters already and were putting out four or five eggs a day through the summer. Not sure but i started letting them out today and they did ok. Never left the immidate area. Im just a little worried about predators since we're kind of new to the area.
