Chicken laying.........not so good. :(

[4H gal]

Recently my chickens have not been laying very many eggs. We had a broody hen, but she is over that now. But now my other hens are just not wanting to lay at ALL! A few are molting so that MAY be one reason. But what i am asking is there any way I can get them to start laying a little better???
Thank You

 

[Attila the Hen]

how old are they and what kind are they ? My 3 year old hens don't lay very often at all. They are Buff Orpingtons I don't depend on them--they have a reputation for being poor layers after 2 years old. The three youngest are very reliable because they are a year old now and in full production.
I have found that giving them extra protein has helped in the past such as cat food or meat of any sort.
Hope that helps.

 

[4H gal]

Thank You for the advise. My Buff Orpingtons are fairly young, I would say their not even a year old but very close.

 

[Attila the Hen]

They may not be in full production yet. Give them a chance.
I am not an expert, but isn't it sort of early for them to be molting? I thought it was usually in the fall that they molted. My Buffs did not molt the first year and molted at age 2 if I recall correctly. You might want to run this by someone else.

 

[4H gal]

Thank You very much.

 

[Choco Maran]

Chickens will molt twice a year. Once in the spring and again in the fall. Fall is the heaviest. Spring can be light or heavy. since this is there first spring they will molt lightly most likely.

 

[4H gal]

Thank You Very Much

 

[Cindy in PA]

Chickens molt a year or a little more or less after they start laying. So if you got your chickens in January & they started laying in May etc., they could be molting now. An excellent layer will lay more than a year before molting and a poor layer may lay less than a full year. Not every chicken molts in the fall. I never heard of 2 molts a year, but who knows?? I get mine in April, they start laying in September & usually molt October-December, depending on how good a layer they are. Of course there are other factors that could affect them also.

 

[4H gal]

Thank you very much!