I have 4 Isa Brown hens and we got them at 18 weeks, they are now 24 weeks and we went away for the weekend 3 weeks ago and came home to find 2 eggs (they just laid them on the grass- didn't use the nesting boxes) but they haven't laid since! They have a large clean hen house with straw on the ground and nesting boxes with straw in them. I feed them layer pellets and food scraps, they have access to plenty of food and water they wander around our backyard during the day and get locked up at night. They are pretty friendly and they don't show any signs of disease or anything. Does anyone have any suggestions??

Get a rooster. The ladies need one to keep them laying.

Farm Boy.

i owned around 30 chickens, some rhode island reds and domineckers, they always had a perch where the would sleep and lots of hay around the hen house. they always had a rooster with them too. not sure if having a male around makes them more happy, or prone to lay eggs. but pellets and scraps are what i fed them too. got between 12 to twenty eggs a day. not sure if this helps, just make sure they can stay warm.

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ive owned chickens, and theyr'e not supposed to start laying until 24-28 weeks, the eggs will most likely grow in size after the hens have laid a few. otherwise, my friend who owned chickens didnt have them all laying until she had them for two months and they had been laying for a year already, they just take a while to adjust to a new environment. hope this helps!

i owned chickens for a loooooooooooong time, our school had to do vigourous research on them, i want to be an ornathologist

They need to be about 18 - 22 weeks old to begin laying eggs, but often some breeds or individual hens will take longer.

Chickens need around 12 - 14 hours of sunlight a day to be able to produce eggs. If it is winter where you live and the days are shortened, your chickens won't lay until the days start getting longer again. Also, if your chickens are moulting (losing their old feathers in order to grow new ones) then this will also prevent them from laying, as all their energy goes into growing feathers. My girls tend to moult around September / October, stop laying from then all through the winter, and start laying again end of January or February. Mind you they are old now at 8 years :)

Also, ignore the person saying hens need roosters to lay eggs. Not true at all. You only need a rooster if you want fertilised eggs.

Put a few golf balls or rubber eggs in the nest box so that, when they do start to lay again, they will hopefully lay them in the right place!

Good luck.

experienced hen owner

Your chickens are still young and you might consider putting them on laying mash. They might be low on calcium and there for may eat their soft eggs. You most likely will not find any evidence of the eaten eggs. Do not get a rooster unless you want to raise chickens. The hens will lay regardless of having a rooster around. Give them time, you can not force them to lay if they are not ready. Get better food and watch for sneaky hens that hide their eggs. Hens always give themselves away after laying an eggs because they call and make a lot of racket.

have a bunch of chickens

you need one roster thats all really that i know sorry not alot of help but just saying:)