Will my chickens ever lay?

[ochochicas]

My chickens have a yellow golf ball and a pink one. They lay in which ever nest boxes have the balls in them. LOL They will use the other boxes as well, but not as often.

 

[Garjzla]

I have some sultans, they're seven months, will they lay soon?

 

[sssharon]

My chickens kick the fake eggs out. The ones that actually look like eggs.

 

[song of joy]

Hi,

I have a nest egg in the box already. Nothing seems to be working. Perhaps as the days get longer? My new coop has a window to allow sunlight in from dawn to dusk. In the Spring I will take the tarp off of the run and there will be more light.

I worry that the 5 hens have grayish combs since the start of molt. I have seen no sign of parasites, I have the cleanest coop in the county and my hens are very healthy.

thanks!

I noticed in your earlier post that some of your hens are 3 years old. Typically, the older the hen, the longer the break they take during the winter. My 1 1/2 year old hens typically begin molting around October and start laying again in early to mid-January, taking 2 to 2 1/2 months off from laying.

However, my 3 year old hens usually stop laying in September and don't start up again until early March, so they take 5 to 5 1/2 months off. (These results are without supplemental light.) Based on these results, I'm reluctant to keep hens past 3 or 3 1/2 years of age, unless they're super good layers.

I suspect your older hens will begin laying again by early to mid-March.

 

[ochochicas]

One of my 22 week old pullets laid her first egg today!

My 11 month old hen still has not laid anything. The wait continues...

 

[SNJchickens]

For everyone who helped me with suggestions and information - THANK YOU MOST KINDLY!!

On New Year's Day the RIR pullet Emma Jean laid her first egg. I'm very proud of her.

The older hens have not yet started to lay again. I don't use supplemental light or heat which means I wait for nature to take its course.

The hens do have a nifty new home which I will document on BYC in the near future. My husband designed and built the coop and run to replace the small coop I'd purchased on Craigslist for $25 and the small run that DH had added to the coop for our first two pullets.

In the Spring I will start new chicks. The new run is designed to be able to be split into 2 runs and my DH built a broody coop that breaks down flat for storage when I don't need it.

 

[VA Raptor]

 

[DianaMallory]

Feed them oats, the kind we eat. Mix it with their regular food.

 

[peter98]

I put a light in my chicken coop in winter and its on a timer from 3 am to 8 am. The chickens lay everyday I think you should put a light timed from 3 to 8 if you want your chickens to lay in short daylight periods

 

[peter98]

what season is it where you live
have the days shortened