WHY??

[peeps7]

Why aren't my hens laying? My leghorn hen layed her first egg about 6 days ago, she hasn't layed since. My other hens should be laying in the next couple of days. Why hasn't she layed again? If I have a rooster doing his job will they lay? I have a rooster (3-4 years old) that , I don't think, is doing his job. So if I had a good rooster would they have to lay?

 

[rooster-red]

A rooster fertilizes the eggs, he has nothing to do with laying eggs.
Hens will lay even if there is no rooster in the flock.

 

[speckledhen]

Roosters have nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not a hen lays. A new layer will sometimes lay one egg then not lay another for a couple of weeks. She's just gearing up her system. Dont worry.

 

[peeps7]

That's what I've heard but why isn't she laying? I know she can't keep that egg in there forever. If your in the chicken coop with them alot will that keep them from laying?

 

[silkiechicken]

It's not that she's holding the egg, she is jut not making them. Unless your being in the coop is stressing them, she's just taking her sweet time. What's your roo ratio? If you don't have enough hens for your roo, they may also be stressed.

 

[peeps7]

Trust me, I have 10 hens(soon to be 11) and 1 Roo. The rooster is more like a father to the hens than he is a mate. I wish that hen would quit taking her time, LOL! Should I just keep my roo now and not get another one( I do want babies in the future).

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, if your roo is nice, keep him. He's probably seeing you as top roo so doesn't dare do his deed in front of you. That is a good thing.

 

[peeps7]

LOL! I highly doubt he thinks I'm top roo but maybe your right he just doesn't do his work in front of me. He kinda acts like he doesn't even like the hens when I go out there. He has one hen that he seems to baby(my fav, cinnamon) but that's about it. I just don't know.

 

[rooster-red]

How old is this leghorn hen?

It took a couple of weeks after my leghorn first laid for her system to straighten out, now she lays almost every day.

 

[peeps7]

I think she is about 25 weeks old but her comb is red and starting to lay over so I know she should be laying. (she is not a rooster, I had an expert tell me that.)