Fed Up with My Free-Loading Chickens!

[Dreammaker]

Here in MA, it's obviously cold and dark which I know can inhibit laying, but at the moment I haven't a single laying hen out of my 8, including 3 9-month old pullets who've been teasing me by squatting and singing egg songs for at least 2 weeks. They have nice red wattles and combs too. I had 2 older girls that laid a few eggs about a month ago, now nothing. They all appear healthy and acting normal, at the moment. *Knock on wood*

Am I missing something?? They're on a mix of all-flock and layer (75%/25%). We started adding layer when the two older girls began giving us eggs after their moulting break, so I thought maybe that boost in calcium would help. Now, I'm realizing it's probably not necessary, since the eggs have stopped again. They get very occasional scratch and treats.

I want to make sure I'm not missing something critical. In past years, the older girls would all resume laying by now. And I've never had pullets take this long to lay (coming up on 10 months).

The pullets, fwiw, are a Blue Cuckoo Marans, a Green Queen, and a Cream Legbar, all from MyPetChicken.

 

[SourRoses]

You're missing the sun.
Coming into lay is a delicate dance that can be ruined by one party running away.

Let's say we have two pullets with the same genes. Twin sisters, for the sake of this...

#1 hatched in April
#2 hatched in May

#1 is 6 months old in October, when there is still 13 hours of light in the sky (depending on location). Bloop, she comes into lay!

#2 is 6 months old in November, and suddenly there's only 11 hours of light a day (depending on location).
Her comb reds up, her body is mature, calcium storing bones are charged... but the hormones that control the growth and release of Ova are not being triggered by the pituitary gland which is not being stimulated by the sun.

Basically, the hen is charged up, but no one pushed the "lay" button.
If you want them to lay asap, push the lay button by adding a few hours of light to the coop (moonlit level).
If you can wait, the sun will come back out in sufficient quantity in a few months (depending on location).

So it's kinda like "business days".
It's annoying, but we all know we have to subtract the weekends / federal holidays from "business day" estimates.
Hens have "sun days", but exactly how many of those days they need is genetic (sensitivity of the pituitary gland to light levels) and some breeds, even hyped up layers, require more than others. Also, individuals differ.

Once they make the genetic deadline to start laying, a first year pullet will stay in lay regardless of what the sun then does. Her hormones are strong enough.
A second year hen is affected by molt, and the hormone change doesn't make it easy for her to lay in winter. Some can, depending on timing of molt, location, and her genes, but the majority don't.

 

[wrathsfarm]

You're missing the sun.
Coming into lay is a delicate dance that can be ruined by one party running away.

Let's say we have two pullets with the same genes. Twin sisters, for the sake of this...

#1 hatched in April
#2 hatched in May

#1 is 6 months old in October, when there is still 13 hours of light in the sky (depending on location). Bloop, she comes into lay!

#2 is 6 months old in November, and suddenly there's only 11 hours of light a day (depending on location).
Her comb reds up, her body is mature, calcium storing bones are charged... but the hormones that control the growth and release of Ova are not being triggered by the pituitary gland which is not being stimulated by the sun.

Basically, the hen is charged up, but no one pushed the "lay" button.
If you want them to lay asap, push the lay button by adding a few hours of light to the coop (moonlit level).
If you can wait, the sun will come back out in sufficient quantity in a few months (depending on location).

So it's kinda like "business days".
It's annoying, but we all know we have to subtract the weekends / federal holidays from "business day" estimates.
Hens have "sun days", but exactly how many of those days they need is genetic (sensitivity of the pituitary gland to light levels) and some breeds, even hyped up layers, require more than others. Also, individuals differ.

Once they make the genetic deadline to start laying, a first year pullet will stay in lay regardless of what the sun then does. Her hormones are strong enough.
A second year hen is affected by molt, and the hormone change doesn't make it easy for her to lay in winter. Some can, depending on timing of molt, location, and her genes, but the majority don't.

Outstanding explanation!!

 

[Dreammaker]

Thank you so much for this! I really had never thought of the "primed and ready, just need to push 'start'" concept. I always assumed squatting/egg sons/reddenning = eggs in a couple weeks, as that is pretty much how it went with our older girls. I figured that because the past couple of winters I'd have gotten eggs by now, that at least the older girls would be producing at this point. But yes, I think I have to be patient during these shorter days and accept that my older girls' egg production has probably started a steep decline (they're going on 4 years old). Thanks again! Maybe March will bring eggs.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Sour Roses' explanation is outstanding! And at 4 years, your hens are nearing the end of their productive years. Oh, they may still lay occasionally for years yet, depending on breed, but their days of cranking out 4 to 6 eggs a week are essentially over. They are not freeloaders, they are just ... "spent." Commercial operations generally do not keep hens longer than about 2 years. They don't earn their keep.

Put all your birds on an all-flock formula and provide necessary calcium in the form of oyster shell constantly available in a separate dish. Layers will help themselves to what they need, non-layers will ignore it. Only the ones making eggshells need it.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I'd check for mites just in case as they can reduce laying significantly. And make sure they have access to crushed oyster shell as @BigBlueHen53 suggested.

 

[EdenElan]

You're missing the sun.
Coming into lay is a delicate dance that can be ruined by one party running away.

Let's say we have two pullets with the same genes. Twin sisters, for the sake of this...

#1 hatched in April
#2 hatched in May

#1 is 6 months old in October, when there is still 13 hours of light in the sky (depending on location). Bloop, she comes into lay!

#2 is 6 months old in November, and suddenly there's only 11 hours of light a day (depending on location).
Her comb reds up, her body is mature, calcium storing bones are charged... but the hormones that control the growth and release of Ova are not being triggered by the pituitary gland which is not being stimulated by the sun.

Basically, the hen is charged up, but no one pushed the "lay" button.
If you want them to lay asap, push the lay button by adding a few hours of light to the coop (moonlit level).
If you can wait, the sun will come back out in sufficient quantity in a few months (depending on location).

So it's kinda like "business days".
It's annoying, but we all know we have to subtract the weekends / federal holidays from "business day" estimates.
Hens have "sun days", but exactly how many of those days they need is genetic (sensitivity of the pituitary gland to light levels) and some breeds, even hyped up layers, require more than others. Also, individuals differ.

Once they make the genetic deadline to start laying, a first year pullet will stay in lay regardless of what the sun then does. Her hormones are strong enough.
A second year hen is affected by molt, and the hormone change doesn't make it easy for her to lay in winter. Some can, depending on timing of molt, location, and her genes, but the majority don't.

That's such a great way of explaining it!

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

You're missing the sun.
Coming into lay is a delicate dance that can be ruined by one party running away.

Let's say we have two pullets with the same genes. Twin sisters, for the sake of this...

#1 hatched in April
#2 hatched in May

#1 is 6 months old in October, when there is still 13 hours of light in the sky (depending on location). Bloop, she comes into lay!

#2 is 6 months old in November, and suddenly there's only 11 hours of light a day (depending on location).
Her comb reds up, her body is mature, calcium storing bones are charged... but the hormones that control the growth and release of Ova are not being triggered by the pituitary gland which is not being stimulated by the sun.

Basically, the hen is charged up, but no one pushed the "lay" button.
If you want them to lay asap, push the lay button by adding a few hours of light to the coop (moonlit level).
If you can wait, the sun will come back out in sufficient quantity in a few months (depending on location).

So it's kinda like "business days".
It's annoying, but we all know we have to subtract the weekends / federal holidays from "business day" estimates.
Hens have "sun days", but exactly how many of those days they need is genetic (sensitivity of the pituitary gland to light levels) and some breeds, even hyped up layers, require more than others. Also, individuals differ.

Once they make the genetic deadline to start laying, a first year pullet will stay in lay regardless of what the sun then does. Her hormones are strong enough.
A second year hen is affected by molt, and the hormone change doesn't make it easy for her to lay in winter. Some can, depending on timing of molt, location, and her genes, but the majority don't.

Thats an amazing explanation!!

 

[Dreammaker]

I'd check for mites just in case as they can reduce laying significantly. And make sure they have access to crushed oyster shell as @BigBlueHen53 suggested.

I will, thanks! I checked a couple of the friendlier ones a few days ago just out of curiosity but I'll look closer again next time I go out. I was worried it could be an illness or pests, since some of the older girls had started a few weeks ago then stopped. Hoping it's just a daylight/age thing though.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thats an amazing explanation!!

Maybe @SourRoses could be convinced to write this up as an article, since it's been so well received? The writing style is delightful and distinctive. How about it, Roses?