Excellent post and suggestions!I wouldn't worry too much yet. Although the breed should be laying by now, you have a lot of mitigating factors (and some birds really do take longer to start laying - especially if there are other factors). It's hot, right? That can affect laying and could affect starting to lay. The snake you and the songbirds aren't seeing could be stealing the eggs (not likely but possible). And if you're only feeding meat and forage, the birds may be on a slower track to lay.
Chickens, from what I've read, rely on 3 major things in their diets (going back to wild chicken ancestors) - seed, forbs/grass, and bugs/protein. In the wild they obviously don't get all three in large proportions all year long, but in the wild, birds don't lay eggs all year long, either.
If you're worried, I'd see if they'll take a commercial lay mash. In many feed stores you can buy it by the pound - you don't have to buy a 25 lb or 50 lb sack. You can buy 3 pounds and see - do they pick at it - do they ignore it - or do they go crazy over it and demolish it.
If they gobble it up fast, that will tell you something. You don't have to buy commercial feeds, but if the grain/seed aspect is missing from their diet, you can buy the raw ingredients (cheap if you got a farmer's coop nearby) and grind it yourself - in a regular old glass blender (plastic blenders will get chipped) - I'm talking a $24 blender from Target or Walmart.
Yeah, chickens used to get by on mainly foraging alone, but they also didn't lay five eggs per bird per week back then. Back then, they maybe laid 2 eggs a week and only part of the year.
Einstein's definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Try some commercial feed - don't feel bad. You're raising your birds pioneer style - but hoping they'll lay based on modern poultry science. You may need to compromise. And ... it could be something we're all missing.
Once they do start laying, you should be getting tasty eggs with rich, orange yolks - because they're foraging. Bugs contribute to egg quality, but I think it's more the greens that do it. Factory eggs from chickens that aren't fed any greens produce weak, non-thick yolks that are pale yellow. You'll figure this out, and the birds may only need a little more time. But do try commercial feed - and let them tell you if they need it or not (by their reaction to it). The breed you're talking about may have, to a certain extent, been bred to require that kind of feed - you never know. Good luck!
(edit - you're in Mobile, right? They should be getting plenty of light to lay, although it just became fall - if you're getting less than 14 hours of light, it could be an issue - but iirc that will happen more in a month or two. Also, a lot of modern laying breeds have been bred to lay through the winter in low light - not sure about yours. You have them outdoors, at least. But the comment above about a safe place to lay or a good nesting box, that's very important. You have some already laying, so maybe you got that taken care of. Ours lay in a plastic kitty litter box turned on its side, so they can get in and out. They feel safe in there and lay well. Again, good luck)
Thanks for the advice.
