[dave1960]

jan 28th this year i got two point to lay brown hens, at first thay laid a few eggs then the weather went cold and wet  thay stopped laying as im told thay do, but thay havent sarted laying again properly infact one stopped laying all together and the other has laid a few but has now stopped ?. feb 14th i got a cockoo maran lovely bird that has laid every day , i showed the other birds the eggs told them to start laying or its the pot but thay just looked at me gone out. im feeding sweetcorn and sprouts in the morning then about 10am i let them out so thay have the garden to play in at night thay get corn and layers mash, the water is refreshed twice a day.
  am i doing something wrong ? is it my feed ?
  any help would be great thank you 

[Sassy]

Very good chance it is your feeding regime. They need layers mash or pellets ad lib all day and a small handful of corn between them in the evening. A little of the greens perhaps 2 or 3 times a week. It may pay you to only feed layers until they have started to lay, it contains everything they need. You may wish to provide grit and oyster shell separately.

[bood77]

It all depends on how old they are and if the are getting enough grass and are staying healthy are there combs red if they are dull it means they need more greens.

[ANHBUC]

I agree with Sassy here, just put them on layers pellets for now.  Anything else is a treat so only give occasionally.

If they have been loosing a few feathers they might be having a partial molt which can affect laying.

Other things to check for that can affect laying are mites/lice and have they been wormed within the last 3 months with flubenvet.  Even if a breeder says they have been done it is best to treat them yourself to be on the safe side.   

[dave1960]

yeah all of the above, wormed them end of feb with 'Verm-X' over 3 days. there combs are very red, thay have crushed oyster shell and grit from the garden , i will try the food but i cant see how the maren is laying and the others are not she is on the same food.
  thank you

[Springlands]

Hi Dave - As ANHBUC said you need to use flubenvet to worm your hens - VermX is a herbal based treatment and does not always work. If some of your hens are not laying at present it could just be too early for them - some of mine are laying and some are not - but eventually as they days grow longer they will all come into lay (and then I will wonder what to do with all of the eggs).

[dave1960]

i was told that chickens need 12-16 hours of day light to lay ? not in this counrty thats for sure. im going to stop giving sweetcorn and sprouts in the morning and given more layers mash with normal corn. next week im out every morning till 11.30 so thay can stay in the run a bit longer maybe that might be a problem aswel.
 thanks 

[Sassy]

The fact their combs are a deep red probably means they are getting ready to lay. A pale comb often just indicates they are not laying at the present time

[dave1960]

all the hens have a deep red comb but thay have been red for awhile. i gave them layers mash this morning mixed with water at 8am its nearly all gone, thay gave me a 'wheres me sweet corn and sprouts' look but soon tucked in to the mash.
 thanks again for your help

[Springlands]

Dave - you need to have the layers pellets available for the hens to eat all day when they wish - hens eat on and off all day.

[dave1960]

we have an egg, layers mash worked , that or the thourght of going in the pot, we only had one but its a start 

[Springlands]

That is good Dave - now that they have started you should begin to get eggs on a regular basis.

[ManicMum]

I think you migt find that they will lay well now the days have got a bit longer, but I would agree with those who have pointed out that chickens are grazers so need to have access to a balanced feed all the time - I prefer layers pellets as I find them easier to handle than the mash, and less wasteful.

Corn - a small handful - in the evening and any greens, weeds etc in moderation & not until towards evening once they've had a good amount of time to tuck into their healthy pellets.

I reckon to give the treats "after school" so around 3.30/4o'clock - this gives them time to eat it before they go to bed so there's nothing left on the ground overnight.

[Springlands]

That is exactly the way that OH and I look after our hens and ducks ManicMum and we have been having eggs from the hens from mid-February (the ducks laid all winter).