No eggs at 19 wks.... Concern or not?

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aredden229

aredden229

Hatching
Jun 2, 2016
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My girls are 19 wks old, combs and waddles coming in nicely but no eggs. Should I worry? There's plenty of fresh water and oyster shells in the feed. I know they slow down j. The heat but I've not gotten one egg yet. And recently the girls have learned to "jump" their fence and are wandering the yard. Not going anywhere and always come back but it makes me nervous that a predator could get them outside the fenced run area. Am planning to build the fence taller.
 
What are you feeding them? and how much? The oyster shell has no bearing on how they lay, its just to add calcium to old hens with thin egg shells. for the earliest lay keep on chick starter till they start laying, then switch to layer pellet after they start laying. If its been really hot where you are it will delay a little because they will drink more water than eat and that slows maturity some.
 
Hi and
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I agree, there's no cause for concern. 19 weeks is still fairly early for laying, so they should start in time. In the meantime before you heighten the fence, you can just put some netting over the top of the run to keep them inside. You could also clip their feathers, but the former option would probably be simpler.

Thanks for joining us!
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I agree with the above. I have read posts where hens have started as early as 16 weeks to as late as 30. It depends on the breed, the bird and the season.

Forget what 'the book' says, chickens can't read anyway!
 
I have 8 hens, 6 are 18.5 weeks and the other 2 are 16 weeks.

2 of the 18 weekers are Golden sex links, but don't appear to be anywhere close to lay. One of my Black Australorps looks the closest, red comb and wattles and 2 finger separation of pin bones, but no one has laid yet.

It has been very hot here, over 100 most days for almost a month... So I am guessing it's just taking a bit more time. But the wait is killing us ;)

Especially when I see people post that their 14 or 16 week old is laying

However, I know the GSL are prone to burn out, so I guess if they don't start laying so early, that might mean a better longevity and more production overall.
 
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