24 week Dom's and barred rocks

So I've wanted chickens for years. I have 6 kids and hoped "home made" eggs would be helpful. I researched for about 6 months breeds, coop sizes, etc. Finally purchased 2 Dominique's and 2 Plymouth barred rocks from a farm supply store. I was told the chick's were only a few days old. So going from that, my chickens are now 24 weeks old. I've read they should begin producing eggs at 20 weeks. No eggs. I read they won't produce if stressed by too little room. So we doubled the size of the small coop area they were in. I've read they need 14 hours of day light. I'm installing a timer this weekend to turn on heat light at 3am. I read chili powder can help, so I sprinkled a tad on food. They're receiving a pellet I buy from the farm supply store. Still... no eggs. I read the redder the waddle is, the more ready they are. 2 appear to be super red but tonight in looking closer I think it's just the difference in breeds. So I'm at a loss for what else to do. Patience is not my strong suit....

imama2many said:

So I've wanted chickens for years. I have 6 kids and hoped "home made" eggs would be helpful. I researched for about 6 months breeds, coop sizes, etc. Finally purchased 2 Dominique's and 2 Plymouth barred rocks from a farm supply store. I was told the chick's were only a few days old. So going from that, my chickens are now 24 weeks old. I've read they should begin producing eggs at 20 weeks. No eggs. I read they won't produce if stressed by too little room. So we doubled the size of the small coop area they were in. I've read they need 14 hours of day light. I'm installing a timer this weekend to turn on heat light at 3am. I read chili powder can help, so I sprinkled a tad on food. They're receiving a pellet I buy from the farm supply store. Still... no eggs. I read the redder the waddle is, the more ready they are. 2 appear to be super red but tonight in looking closer I think it's just the difference in breeds. So I'm at a loss for what else to do. Patience is not my strong suit....

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Welcome to BYC.
It isn't that they "should" produce eggs at 20 weeks, but that they "may" begin producing eggs between 20-28 weeks (give or take another couple of weeks on either end of that) -- whether it is your strong suit or not patience is going to be the order of the day. They simply aren't ready to lay yet. Take a breath, sit back and enjoy your birds and the eggs will come when they come.
You did mention you felt the coop was small - what is the current size of the coop and are they confined to a run or ranging? If confined to a run, what is the size of that area?

I bought a premade coop that is approximately 3'x5'. This is where we put baskets with pine shavings. There is a ramp leading out to a fenced in run the same size. This is all they had till 2 weeks ago. We were told that each will only need 2'x2'space but it didn't seem like enough room. So we built a 5'long by 5'tall by 46"wide fenced in area. They are 100% confined to these 3 areas as we live in an area with foxes and feral cats so they can't free range. We still haven't figured out a good method of delivering water. We've done containers set on dirt. We've done containers attached to side wood/wall of run (current method, not working, they actually climb in/stand in water). We've done nipplers in PVC which worked ok except it was impossible to clean the jug. ?? Plus, I'm about a month away from freezing Temps and not sure how we're going to keep water from freezing?

Welcome to Backyard chickens.

imama2many said:

So I've wanted chickens for years. I have 6 kids and hoped "home made" eggs would be helpful. I researched for about 6 months breeds, coop sizes, etc. Finally purchased 2 Dominique's and 2 Plymouth barred rocks from a farm supply store. I was told the chick's were only a few days old. So going from that, my chickens are now 24 weeks old. I've read they should begin producing eggs at 20 weeks. No eggs. I read they won't produce if stressed by too little room. So we doubled the size of the small coop area they were in. I've read they need 14 hours of day light. I'm installing a timer this weekend to turn on heat light at 3am. I read chili powder can help, so I sprinkled a tad on food. They're receiving a pellet I buy from the farm supply store. Still... no eggs. I read the redder the waddle is, the more ready they are. 2 appear to be super red but tonight in looking closer I think it's just the difference in breeds. So I'm at a loss for what else to do. Patience is not my strong suit....

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I am new too, bit my Barred rocks are closing in on 28 weeks, and none of them are laying yet. Only my three EE/Buff that are about the same age have started a week and a half ago. Hang in there, and welcome! There are great people and lots of help here.

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!



Some are just going to take longer to mature, especially with fall setting in which leads to lower temps and and less daylight. You mentioned a couple have redder combs. Any chance they are roosters?

Also, is there any chance you can give them more space? Based on measurements and the size of your coop, your coop could stand to be a little bigger and your run should be about double to size it is if you are going what is commonly recommended.

Also, what type of pellets do you have them on? If they are not yet laying, they should not be on layer pellets yet.

Either way, just be patient, eventually they will lay as long as they are hens.

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

trailrider330 said:

Some are just going to take longer to mature, especially with fall setting in which leads to lower temps and and less daylight. You mentioned a couple have redder combs. Any chance they are roosters?

Also, is there any chance you can give them more space? Based on measurements and the size of your coop, your coop could stand to be a little bigger and your run should be about double to size it is if you are going what is commonly recommended.

Also, what type of pellets do you have them on? If they are not yet laying, they should not be on layer pellets yet.

Either way, just be patient, eventually they will lay as long as they are hens.

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Any chance they are roosters? NO... not that I believe. They were bought from a very reputable farming supply store and we were told that all chicks were sexed. They sell THOUSANDS of chicks every year... I mean trays and trays and trays every year.... so I suppose some could be a rooster?? But no... I don't think so.

The space... no... there is not really any more room to give them... and I don't believe that is a problem any longer. My brother also raises BYC's and he's sent me lots and lots of pictures of his coop/run and I believe mine is comparative in size.

The pellets... I'm not sure... a GIANT bag again I've bought at the same farm supply store... they were on a mash and now they've gone up to the pellets... I want to say the sag says something about 20% something? (I'm at work I'll h ave to wait to check at home)... once we bought a bag of something that actually had corn and seeds and such in it.. but was for chickens? I thought this pellet stuff was that kind... in reality... I've relied heavily on what the employees there tell me

imama2many said:

 Any chance they are roosters? NO... not that I believe. They were bought from a very reputable farming supply store and we were told that all chicks were sexed. They sell THOUSANDS of chicks every year... I mean trays and trays and trays every year.... so I suppose some could be a rooster?? But no... I don't think so.

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Sexed chicks of these breeds are sexed by examining the internal sex organs of day old hatchlings. The structure is actually rather complex and there is a5-15%error rate in "reading" them even worth experienced sexers.

Hello and welcome to BYC!