Why won't my chickens lay eggs ?

[ejdear]

I have approximately 20 hens 1/2 are new hampshire reds and not sure what the other breed is and they are 9 months old. They are not laying eggs at all. I feed them 16% pellet feed and give them oyster shell and plenty of water. They have plenty of room in the coop and I even put a light in there. I've tried putting golf balls in the nests to promote laying and none of this is working. Is there anyone that can help me?

 

[bigchicken56]

Some hens just start laying eggs at different times. So just be patiant. You will walk out to the coop and find eggs very soon. Could your hens be stressed about anything like preditors?

 

[PaintedHearts]

I'm new to chickens this year but have learned a lot from this forum. One thing I noticed and then read about was the squatting. Do yours squat if you go to pet them? When I noticed this they seemed to lay pretty quickly.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Layer pellets don't MAKE a hen lay, then merely provide a calcium laced feed to help hens that are laying have strong shells. Same with the oyster shells.
How long have you been providing supplemental lighting? When does it come on/go off? Are they kept in the coop and run or do they free range?

 

[coldupnorth]

Is it possible that they are laying but eating them? They will eat the entire thing and leave no evidence.

 

[cchardwick]

9 months old, they should be laying like crazy. My chickens never did very well on the pellet food, are they actually eating it? I would try 1/3 layer crumbles mixed in with 2/3 scratch. The scratch make it a bit cheaper and chickens will lay like crazy on that mix. I tried straight scratch once and my chickens nearly stopped laying. I'm not sure why feed makes so much of a difference. My father in law just bought some chickens and he said they laid like crazy the first few weeks and then stopped, he was feeding straight cracked corn.

 

[ejdear]

I have tried leaving the light on all day and turning on in the mornings and evenings but none of these seem to work. As for the predators I have them in a coop now that has chicken wire for a roof so nothing can get in. And I haven't seen any hawks lately. They also don't squat when you pet them.They love the pellet food and eat every bit of it when I feed them. And theres no evidence of them eating the eggs. I am puzzled. I have had chickens for several years in the same scenario and had no problems getting them to lay. Another weird thing is I have 2 roosters and Haven't heard them crowing in a while. They used to crow all day. Thanks for any help you can provide

 

[Den in Penn]

It takes about two weeks for any added light to take effect. Are they acting normally, any signs of infections or parasites?

 

[HalfAChanceFarm]

What you have been doing is a good thing to do, but be patient. Also make sure they have enough heat to lay the eggs. If there are predators they could be eating the eggs or scaring the chickens and they will not lay. If you are selling chickens or had any chickens die/disappear that could also affect their laying.
Hope that helps,
Half A Chance Farm

 

[ejdear]

Thanks for all the help. Still no eggs but I am hopeful. I don't see any signs of unhealthy chickens they all look really good. They are eating well and drinking well also.I gues I'll just wait a while longer and see what happens. it does seem kind of wierd though that the roosters haven't tried to jump on the hens like the chickens I have had previously owned has.