Wrong Feed?

[chickenteen]

My chickens are laying weight my heavest is 5 pounds 14 1/2 ounces and has not layed neither did the others. I got them when they where about 2 mounths old and that was like 2 and 1/2 mounths ago. I have been feeding laying mash and let the freerange and some corn but not alot. Please help!!!

 

[journey11]

If they are 4 1/2 months old, they are just reaching laying age. It could happen any day. However, they also timed out maturity to the coldest, darkest time of year, which also affects their laying. Most hens will completely stop at this time. You can add supplemental light in the coop (which also adds a little warmth) if you want to coax a few eggs out of them. They need at least 14 hours daylight and 40 degrees or better to lay well. Come spring, they will be laying machines!

 

[PAJerry]

Journey11 is right about the lighting. Chickens seem to need 14 hours of light to be productive. If you go with supplemental lighting, I would suggest that you set your timer to bring the light on early in the morning and not add light to the end of the day. If you add it early, the birds are in the coop and will stay there until daybreak. If you add it in the evening, when the light goes off they will be left in sudden darkness and may have trouble finding the roost and become agitated. You will probably see an increase in the amount of food they eat when using extra lighting since they will have more usable time than without it.

You also do not need a lot of light. I use a 13w compact fluorescent in a 6x9 coop and it is plenty.

 

[michickenwrangler]

What breed are they? Some breeds take a lot longer to lay than others.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have two BO, one is quite a bit bigger than the other one, but the smaller one is laying. We raise cattle as a living, and sometimes a big fat cow is dry, as in not producing a calf. I am wondering if that is true about chickens too? I had a broody hen raise these chicks, so they are the same age and have had exposure to the same feed. mk