6 Months - No eggs

[mrsbigtime]

Hello chicken-friends!

I am perplexed by my ladies and I am wanting to find some suggestion or solidarity if you wouldn't mind please and thank you!

We have 6 girls, all born in May and they should be 24 weeks (6 months) as of yesterday. We have 2 Color Pack, 2 Buff Orphington, 1 Golden Wyandotte and 1 Australorp...but no eggs. Zero.

We live in Central Oregon and it's been chilly at night, but the days have been between 70 and 80 and we still have sunshine until almost 7 pm. They are in a gated area and I've searched all the nooks and crannies (including their nesting boxes, obviously) but still nada. They have been on layer feed for 6 weeks and I give them garden scraps regularly (kale, corn and cucumbers mostly).

Surely they will start laying, right?? I can't imagine I got 6 duds, but I was expecting eggs (based on the little tags at Wilco) 6 weeks ago and I'm anxiously awaiting the morning when my kids and I get to celebrate the gift our girls gave us!

Is this typical? Is there any way I can support their process or encouraging laying?

Thank you so much for your thoughts - I'm loving my chickens, but my husband is ready for them so start pulling some weight

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

Hello chicken-friends!

I am perplexed by my ladies and I am wanting to find some suggestion or solidarity if you wouldn't mind please and thank you!

We have 6 girls, all born in May and they should be 24 weeks (6 months) as of yesterday. We have 2 Color Pack, 2 Buff Orphington, 1 Golden Wyandotte and 1 Australorp...but no eggs. Zero.

We live in Central Oregon and it's been chilly at night, but the days have been between 70 and 80 and we still have sunshine until almost 7 pm. They are in a gated area and I've searched all the nooks and crannies (including their nesting boxes, obviously) but still nada. They have been on layer feed for 6 weeks and I give them garden scraps regularly (kale, corn and cucumbers mostly).

Surely they will start laying, right?? I can't imagine I got 6 duds, but I was expecting eggs (based on the little tags at Wilco) 6 weeks ago and I'm anxiously awaiting the morning when my kids and I get to celebrate the gift our girls gave us!

Is this typical? Is there any way I can support their process or encouraging laying?

Thank you so much for your thoughts - I'm loving my chickens, but my husband is ready for them so start pulling some weight

Yes, they will start laying. Six months is just a suggested time frame. Each breed and each chicken is different. I have some that I got in March as chicks and they just started laying about first of October. I was figuring on end of August to first of September, but they were not ready. They know when it’s time.

 

[3KillerBs]

Chickens that mature in the shortening days of fall frequently lay later than those who mature in the lengthening days of spring.

 

[lightm]

24 weeks is not 6 months. If they were born in May, then they are at most 5 month and a half right? They will eventually lay. However, there is a possibility that they may skip this winter and start laying in the spring.

 

[Shadrach]

It is very unlikely you have 6 hens who don't lay eggs. It does happen, but the odds on getting 6 at once are miniscule.
Six months is quite a long wait but not unheard of.

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

My girls usually take a 2 month vacation about the first of November through December anyway. I can tell their laying has slowed down.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

If none are laying yet I wouldn’t have put them on layer feed. They don’t need the excess calcium yet and are still growing so could use the higher protein in grower or all flock. You might want to switch them back to a higher protein feed (mix the two for a week) and provide free choice oyster shell on the side. They will sample it and as they feel their body needing extra calcium in preparation to lay eggs should start consuming more as needed. Many people continue to feed this way even when their hens are laying as the extra protein can also help them in other areas.

Have their combs and wattles started growing and turning red? Do you have any pics you can share? Have you checked their pelvic bones?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/?page=4

 

[mrsbigtime]

If none are laying yet I wouldn’t have put them on layer feed. They don’t need the excess calcium yet and are still growing so could use the higher protein in grower or all flock. You might want to switch them back to a higher protein feed (mix the two for a week) and provide free choice oyster shell on the side. They will sample it and as they feel their body needing extra calcium in preparation to lay eggs should start consuming more as needed. Many people continue to feed this way even when their hens are laying as the extra protein can also help them in other areas.

Have their combs and wattles started growing and turning red? Do you have any pics you can share? Have you checked their pelvic bones?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/?page=4

Thank you! I will change their feed up!

 

[mrsbigtime]

You guys!! I came home from a weekend away for work and made a pass through all the hens areas and found these! They were not there on Friday, but today it seems one of our ladies has gotten the memo!

All of their combs and wattles are coming along, but one is redder than the others, I’m just so glad they aren’t duds, haha!