New hens not laying

[MissouriKid]

My new hens aren't laying and they were hatched out in April 2015, they are free range not caged but even if I leave them penned up for a week with food and plenty of water they still aren't laying. I have never ran into this problem with young hens, older hens yes but this has me perplexed. I have bought egg pellets and oyster shells to no avail. Any ideas?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Since their point of lay seems to have come in the middle of winter (when the days are shorter and theres less light) they may be delayed. It happens quite a bit with birds who should start laying this time of year. You'll either have to put some lights on them or wait them out.

 

[junebuggena]

How long have you had them?

 

[austrolover1]

You said they free range so maybe they have laid their eggs in the grass?

 

[dekel18042]

My new hens aren't laying and they were hatched out in April 2015, they are free range not caged but even if I leave them penned up for a week with food and plenty of water they still aren't laying. I have never ran into this problem with young hens, older hens yes but this has me perplexed. I have bought egg pellets and oyster shells to no avail. Any ideas?

How old are they and have they ever laid? If they had started moving them might have interrupted their cycle and you might have to wait for them to get back on track. Or some birds getting to point of lay in winter wait until the days start getting longer again to lay. Some don't.

 

[MissouriKid]

How long have you had them? 

I've had them since they were day olds.

 

[MissouriKid]

I've also kept them penned up for a week. The only time I've moved them was in August I added them to the coop. I had one of the new ones lay for a week then quit.

 

[junebuggena]

Do you feed a lot of scratch or corn?

 

[MissouriKid]

Corn but they only get a small handful same as what I feed my turkeys. I'm only giving them what they can cleanup to discourage the house sparrows.

 

[aart]

My new hens aren't laying and they were hatched out in April 2015, they are free range not caged but even if I leave them penned up for a week with food and plenty of water they still aren't laying. I have never ran into this problem with young hens, older hens yes but this has me perplexed. I have bought egg pellets and oyster shells to no avail. Any ideas?

How long have they been on 'egg pellets'?

What is the nutritive values of the protein on the 'egg pellets'?
Read the label sewn into the bottom of the bag for this info.

How many birds? in how much coop space(feet by feet)?