Pullets Experiencing Difficulty Laying During Cold? How to Help?

[bokbokbokBOKBOKBOKBKAAA]

(This is not a post about slower egg production, lighting, etc. which is all I could find in my search.) I have 7 month old pullets that are having a tough time either getting comfortable or finishing laying their eggs the past few days. They will be in the box for more than an hour, sometimes several hours, and come out upset, go back in, try to find another spot, etc. Eventually (next day or so) the egg will be laid in the box, but I want to help reduce the discomfort. This appears to be correlated to the cold weather right now (single digits F and less) as some have been laying near-daily for about a month without this issue. Could it be the cold weather? How can I help them be more comfortable during this time?

Thank you!

 

[bokbokbokBOKBOKBOKBKAAA]

I guess another way to word this question is how can I make my birds' nesting boxes MOST comfortable (especially in the cold), and is there anything else I can do or provide for them to ease their discomfort?

 

[User690263]

It could be the weather, what kind of bedding, if any do you have in the nesting boxes?

 

[aart]

Make sure they are getting enough water.
If they don't drink they won't eat and everything will be harder.

I highly recommend electrolytes to alleviate cold stress.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[aart]

I guess another way to word this question is how can I make my birds' nesting boxes MOST comfortable (especially in the cold), and is there anything else I can do or provide for them to ease their discomfort?

Were they laying just fine before the cold snap?
Pics of nests and bedding might help here.

 

[bokbokbokBOKBOKBOKBKAAA]

It is hay bedding which they seem to like (I had tried hemp before but they prefer the hay. I'm open to new bedding suggestions). Yes they were laying totally normally before. They drink lots of water and have clean, heated, filtered water.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think it is the cold weather, or rather, a fluctuation in weather. When the temperature crashes down, or really in the summer rises fast. It seems to take them a day or too, to adjust. Then even if the miserable weather continues, they get used to it, and go back to laying like normal.

Mrs K

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It is hay bedding which they seem to like (I had tried hemp before but they prefer the hay. I'm open to new bedding suggestions). Yes they were laying totally normally before. They drink lots of water and have clean, heated, filtered water.

We use shredded paper which we get free of charge from the bank where my DH works. It comes in big trash bags. It's very clean and easy to transport. Unlike organic material like straw or hay, it never harbors pests like lice or mites. Poop does not stick to it on those rare occasions that a hen poops in a nest. We also use it on the floor of the coop. Poop dries out and falls through to the floor while the paper stays clean and dry.

 

[bokbokbokBOKBOKBOKBKAAA]

Thank you all, I appreciate the feedback!

 

[SamLockwood]

Extra bedding in the nesting boxes helps. I use straw and some of them build surprisingly elaborate "bowl" nests out of it. When the cold weather hit I noticed they were piling up against the doors of the nesting boxes (mine open horizontally) to plug up any drafts.

They don't seem to have any particular issues beyond the usual "we have four nesting boxes to choose from but everybody wants to use the same damn box" problem.