My chickens have not started laying yet

Oooo, yeah, that coop is pretty small.
Might be good to downsize to 4.
What is your climate?

Im in S.E Louisiana very hot temps during spring, summer and most of fall, winter can get cold but usually not for long. very humid and lot of precipitation during summer. I think i will let 2 go, does the chicken, i think is a rooster, look like a rooster to you?Which 2 would you recommend letting go for egg production value?

I dont think lighting is your problem,coop seems to have lots of openings,i think your birds are just not old enough to start laying,they look too young,you may just have to wait it out?,as for culling a couple,i think the white one is a rooster,I guess it depends on whether you like white or brown eggs?,the white leghorns lay white ones,the jersey giants lay a brownish-pink colored egg,the brown one will lay a brown egg also.I have 1 jersey giant,she is a great layer,she lays nearly everyday and will lay a double yolk egg about once a month,i also have some brown sex links,they are great layers,an egg each a day every day.It can be nerve racking waiting for the first egg,but it will come sometime.Also can you make the run larger for them,that would help some too. Good Luck

mikeclfc said:

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This is a cock/erel.....I'd cut your flock down to 3-4...with this guy the first to go.

As you don't know the age of them, they might be too young to lay.
Feather loss can be from mites/lice too...or they may only be about 3-4 months old and are still getting their adult plumage.

First year layer shouldn't need supplemental lighting to prolong the 'daylight' hours,
they can often lay all of their first winter without it.

Signs of onset of lay---I've found the pelvic points to be the most accurate.
Squatting:
If you touch their back they will hunker down on the ground, then shake their tail feathers when they get back up.
This shows they are sexually mature and egg laying is close at hand.

Combs and Wattles:
Plump, shiny red - usually means laying.
Shriveled, dryish looking and pale - usually means not laying.
Tho I have found that the combs and wattles can look full and red one minute then pale back out the next due to exertion or excitement, can drive ya nuts when waiting for a pullet to lay!

2 bony points(pelvic bones) on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.

How old do you think they may be? I was thinking by spring time they may be ready for laying. Do you think getting rid of the roo will help with hens production? As roos go hes actually nice, very friendly and from what ive seen, doesnt seem to bother the hens too much but he definitely is the boss and they all know it.

mikeclfc said:

How old do you think they may be? I was thinking by spring time they may be ready for laying. Do you think getting rid of the roo will help with hens production? As roos go hes actually nice, very friendly and from what ive seen, doesnt seem to bother the hens too much but he definitely is the boss and they all know it.

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Have no idea it's pretty hard to tell.....but I'd guess young anywhere from 3-6 months.
But I don't know if they all came from the same hatch<shrugs>

Cock/erel might be nice now, he may be immature if he's not mating the pullets.....or he may be over a year and know they are not mature enough to mate.
But either way, if you can only house 3-4 birds, I'd think you'd want all layers not a non producing male.

I agree, I never intended getting the cock, he was given to me a lot younger and when I first got him you could really tell the difference until id say the last month or so. I will probably keep the jersey giants and leg horns and get rid of the red and cockerel. I also bought 5 RIR chicks at 2 days old, I keep them in a separate coop, they're about 2 months old now doing excellent. It will be interesting to see when they lay and what the differences will be in raising them ourselves rather than buying some at an older age.

Thanks for the comments again.

i have chickens that are also "of age" and not laying yet. following your post. personally I think they just have attitude problems. I have 10 hens I feed everyday and the only thing giving me eggs is one quail..... :'D

Hello all! I'm wondering if the original poster's chickens have started laying yet and, if so, did you ever determine the reason for the delay? I'm asking because my 5 New Hampshire reds are over 8 months old (at least, they were about 2 weeks old when I got them early last May) and I still haven't seen 1 egg. I just can't account for it. They have everything a hen could possibly desire, seem to be in great health, and show no signs of marauders in their area. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!