Chicken ain't laying what's up with dat

[Sasquatch]

So you're selling them?
How much?
Dead or Alive?
How much extra for shipping?

With the price of eggs the way they are now hell no I'm not selling them. Well if they don't start laying we can talk.

Also check around the area where they go to see if they decided to lay someplace different too. We had a couple that decided they did not like the nesting boxes for a while and decided to lay in Mrs Inor's strawberry patch. It was a week or so before we figured it out and by then, there were over a dozen eggs in the strawberries.

Ours aren't free ranging yet. Too many hawks around.

We don't push our chickens to lay in the winter. Right now, our of 13, we have 2 laying. Another one might be starting. Towards the end of last year, most were molting, and with the cold and the short daylight hours, none were laying. We're just starting to get eggs again. We buy Organic Scratch & Peck layer feed from a local Co-Op...I will do egg glassing again in the fall of this year to better prepare for storing eggs through the winter...

What is this egg glassing you speak of?

[Michael_Js]

With the price of eggs the way they are now hell no I'm not selling them. Well if they don't start laying we can talk.

Ours aren't free ranging yet. Too many hawks around.

What is this egg glassing you speak of?

We had an entire thread on storing eggs - in water & hydrated lime. Last time I tried it, I had 4 dozen eggs over 12 months to test and all were great! It's around here somewhere...There is also tons of info online for water glassing...

i.e. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrysi...-term-storage/

[Sasquatch]

We had an entire thread on storing eggs - in water & hydrated lime. Last time I tried it, I had 4 dozen eggs over 12 months to test and all were great! It's around here somewhere...There is also tons of info online for water glassing...

i.e. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrysi...-term-storage/

Okay this is a storage thing. I was thinking it was something for the chickens to keep them laying. I think I have heard of this before. Thanks for the link I'll check it out.

[Prepared One]

I have found that a veiled threat can be very effective.

[Piratesailor]

All good reasons above!

Change up their feed, add some lights, let them free range...other than that, don't sweat it. They'll figure it out!

This pretty much covers it. We drop from 8-10 per day n summer to 0-2 a day in the winter. Mainly light issue.

[hawgrider]

Beast, if your length of daylight is similar to this-
Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Los Angeles – California – USA for January 2023. ... Daylight. 6:55 am – 5:14 pm 10 hours, 19 minutes ...

Get a cheap timer plug in a cheap light add the artificial light and dont burn the coop down. Or feed your chickens all winter and get no eggs. Its not the feed!
We have always used TSC feed.

Chickens stop laying for the most part under 12 hours of daylight.

[KnuteFartne]

Beast, if your length of daylight is similar to this-
Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Los Angeles – California – USA for January 2023. ... Daylight. 6:55 am – 5:14 pm 10 hours, 19 minutes ...

Get a cheap timer plug in a cheap light add the artificial light and dont burn the coop down. Or feed your chickens all winter and get no eggs. Its not the feed!
We have always used TSC feed.

Chickens stop laying for the most part under 12 hours of daylight.

Yeah I already has electrical run to the chicken coop. Gonna buy a light and timer this weekend.

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[hawgrider]

Yeah I already has electrical run to the chicken coop. Gonna buy a light and timer this weekend.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

It'll take about 2 weeks or so to get their internal clock going again.


FYI remember by running artificial light in the winters you will shorten the hens egg laying life.

That said nobody eats for free at my place so I would rather replace the hens every 4 years give or take then have to feed them all winter for nothing. Feed prices have doubled here in the last 2 years.

My wife will argue with me about it she likes it to be natural for the hens.....
That was until store bought eggs stink, taste like shit and are now 4 or 5 bucks a dozen. Your mileage may vary.

[1skrewsloose]

I'm going with the messed up feed thing, they're bound up, just give them all suppositories and things will back to normal.

[bigwheel]

Not sure the causative factor here but my daddy in law said if they stopped laying feed them roasted crushed up egg shells with black pepper.
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/...lay-more-eggs/