Pullet not laying

[John W Blehm]

My first coops for LF were about 2' deep by 3' wide and I used the bottom of a 5 gallon pail for a nest box in one corner with a hinged piece of plywood overtop to add privacy.  Generally the hens lay in the boxes, but not always.

[Cesar Villegas]

Finally made some room and placed her in her own pen. I started her on a breeder feed, hopefully this should kick start her laying.

[Beth Curran]

I've been watching this with much interest, as I have FOUR like this, purchased as chicks from different flocks, all will be a year old next month. One has produced 2-3 dwarf eggs a few months apart, the others have not even hinted at laying. I initially had them penned alone, but it was a waste of space so I moved them in with other birds, who are laying, so if they are eating them they are only eating their own, the other birds are still producing. I sent one up to Don Cash, hopefully she'll like him better than she does me...

[Cesar Villegas]

I've been watching this with much interest, as I have FOUR like this, purchased as chicks from different flocks, all will be a year old next month. One has produced 2-3 dwarf eggs a few months apart, the others have not even hinted at laying. I initially had them penned alone, but it was a waste of space so I moved them in with other birds, who are laying, so if they are eating them they are only eating their own, the other birds are still producing. I sent one up to Don Cash, hopefully she'll like him better than she does me...

Beth, are they showing any signs of maturing? Mine has a bright red comb and lets the cockerel mount her. He's been mounting for about a month now.

[Cesar Villegas]

I have some pullets who haven't been laying. I think they don't like the breeding pens I've put them in. They've gone on strike. Only my split lav is laying 5-6 eggs a week. The others: zero. None show signs of illness or egg binding.
John, do you think adding on nest boxes to my pen design would help? Do your pens have boxes?
Currently I have removed the cocks from the pens to see if they were just not laying because of them (stage fright?), but it sounds like you sometimes leave cocks in without a problem?
My pens are 32x36 and I have 1-2 females in each.

With only one or hens per coop/pen I would try to only have a cock visit for a day or two once or twice a week.  The girls may get over worked by leaving one in 24/7.  In flock matings of say 7 or more hens I leave a cock in fulltime and rotate a different cock bird in and out once or twice a week, so one is always on his own resting up. 
My individual breeding coops for LF are a bit smaller and I have nesting areas in some, but not in the latest ones I built.  I don't thing it increases egg production either way.  With your bigger coops maybe a nest box in a secluded back corner would help.

John in your opinion how long would better feed and comfortable living space make her start laying? How fast does nutrition work on a female chicken?

[John W Blehm]

John in your opinion how long would better feed and comfortable living space make her start laying? How fast does nutrition work on a female chicken?

Opinion is all I have to offer on those.  We do know stress can cause an interruption in egg production.  Poor nutrition, parasites, inadequate housing and other things can bring on stress. 
If a hen isn't laying because genetically or due to some "condition" (perhaps hormonal) she either won't lay or lays at a very poor rate, I don't think diet or housing will help.
When I put hens in individual breeding coops I can document how well each lays and the quality of their eggs.  In flock matings I may have hens that don't lay at all, but I don't know it.  They say ignorance is bliss, but it makes me wish I had the facilities to put all the hens in individual breeding coops during hatching season. 

[Lee G]

The no laying thing has been bugging me all week. Finally had some time to relax and read last night, and I found this write up in one of my books....

No or bad egg laying (ro)
The short 'ro' comes from restricted ovulator. (Strange word 'ovulator', whats the name of the male equivalent?) Hens with 'ro' lay a few or no eggs. The eggs are much smaller than normal and the yolks are transparent and deep orange in colour compared to normal yolks which are opaque and more yellowish. The hens had hyperlipidaemia, which is the wrong amount of fat in their blood, and less iron and copper in the eggs plus more natrium and kalium. The gene 'ro' causes abnormal iron intake and metabolism. Typical is the transparent deep orange yolk. The gene 'ro' is sex linked recessive and linked to k+ (fast feather growth) and id+ (dark dermis, inside the leg) -- taken from Genetics of the Chicken Extremes by Sigrid Van Dort and Friends

Definitely something to cull hard for imo.

[Cesar Villegas]

The no laying thing has been bugging me all week. Finally had some time to relax and read last night, and I found this write up in one of my books....

No or bad egg laying (ro)
The short 'ro' comes from restricted ovulator. (Strange word 'ovulator', whats the name of the male equivalent?) Hens with 'ro' lay a few or no eggs. The eggs are much smaller than normal and the yolks are transparent and deep orange in colour compared to normal yolks which are opaque and more yellowish. The hens had hyperlipidaemia, which is the wrong amount of fat in their blood, and less iron and copper in the eggs plus more natrium and kalium. The gene 'ro' causes abnormal iron intake and metabolism. Typical is the transparent deep orange yolk. The gene 'ro' is sex linked recessive and linked to k+ (fast feather growth) and id+ (dark dermis, inside the leg) -- taken from Genetics of the Chicken Extremes by Sigrid Van Dort and Friends

Definitely something to cull hard for imo.

So if RO is sexlinked then you wouldnt use her male offspring?

[Mike Gilbert]

That would be correct - assuming she ever has any.   Male equivalent?   Infertility?  Since males don't ovulate, the only thing I can think of is low sperm count.  Perhaps sperm that have low motility?

[Cesar Villegas]

I just saw this on BYC, can this be true?

"In some areas, your well water may have too much dissolved sodium, which also will stop egg production."

[Mike Gilbert]

I would take anything posted on BYC with a "grain of salt."          If you think that is a possibility you could always have your water tested.  It is not a problem in our area;   we do have a lot of iron in our own well water though.   Enough so that the untreated water coming to the coop hydrant stains the water containers over time.

[John W Blehm]

I just saw this on BYC, can this be true?

"In some areas, your well water may have too much dissolved sodium, which also will stop egg production."

I don't know how much they think is "too much", but our well water is quite salty (besides iron) and that is what the birds get.  We do have "city water" in the house. 

[Cesar Villegas]

I just saw this on BYC, can this be true?

"In some areas, your well water may have too much dissolved sodium, which also will stop egg production."

I don't know how much they think is "too much", but our well water is quite salty (besides iron) and that is what the birds get.  We do have "city water" in the house. 

Well my other pullets are drinking the same water and they are doing good haha

[Tailfeathers]

I would echo John's comments about "rate of lay" being only one of many things to consider when putting your breeding program and pens together.  It was 3-4yrs ago or so that I was experiencing 6mos or more of no eggs from my Ameraucanas.  Since I'm in this for the Exhibition and it's a hobby, and I'm not running an egg business, and I usually wind up way in the RED, I sucked up the cost and just worked with it.  I've dealt with small eggs, torpedo-shaped eggs, very light blue eggs, and even white eggs.  In fact, it was those white eggs that actually increased my production and bettered the size and shape because those 2 BW hens gave me 5 eggs/wk each. 

Now I honestly can't tell ya what the birds are producing because I haven't kept track of that - yet.  It's been pretty low on my list of priorities but it is climbing.  All I know is that I'm getting more eggs now, quite a few that are going 2oz and better, and I'm getting the best color on some I've ever had.  Oh, and no more of those stupid, tall, thin, torpedo-shaped eggs either.

So why do I bring all that up?  Just to say this... my advice is to look at your birds and set your priorities.  You can't fix everything at once.  Er, I should say I've never been able to fix everything at once.  I've had to decide what I wanted to fix and realize that it might take 2-3yrs to get it fixed and set.  Close your flock, define your lines according to your goals, and then work toward them.  Maybe you'll wanna start one line just to see if you can increase egg production, size, color, shape, or what-have-you and not worry about the SOP.  Nothing wrong with that.

I also wanted to agree with Mike about BYC.  Though I wouldn't even take BYC as a grain of salt.  There's more misinformation and outright falsehoods on there than any other poultry site I've seen.  At least there was and that's why I haven't been there in years.

[Beth Curran]

I would take anything posted on BYC with a "grain of salt."   

Haha! I'm with Royce, more like a 50# block!  I'm on city water, so we should be good, but I am curious, if anyone comes up with any info on this.

The ro thing is interesting, especially the link with k+, since Kn has been the bane of my existence...

Cesar: They vary. One pullet shows no evidence of ever breeding, not a feather turned, even though she has been paired with a male for months. One female hasn't been with a male since winter. Two have mated on a regular basis. One of those has produced dwarf eggs a few months apart, but never a full size egg. I suspect a problem with her, ro fits with what I'm seeing, although I haven't opened any of the eggs. She may be on the next auction load. The other 3 have qualities I'm willing to wait on, at least a little while longer. One of them survived coccidia as a chick and her development has been slower than the others, but steady.