When will my girls start laying?

[Mrs. K]

Thing is with the shortening days, that is acting against you. I would expect eggs, about a month after the shortest day. I had pullets last fall, that were so close to laying in November, but did not lay until nearly the end of January.

 

[Earls girl 3]

I have five 29-week old Black Australorp hens and still no sign of an egg from any of them! They have been on layers pellets since 23 weeks and appear happy and healthy. I am starting to wonder if the breeder wasn't honest about heir date of birth, but I don't know how to age them. Here is a picture of them 3 days ago. What can I do to kickstart things?

(PS I live in Johannesburg South Africa)

I just got my chickens yesterday. They were starting to lay. Will moving them disturb them from laying?

 

[TooCheep]

I just got my chickens yesterday. They were starting to lay. Will moving them disturb them from laying?

Very possible. Chickens don't like change and will take a while to adjust. No way you can help it since you just got them. You will likely get fewer eggs for a few days to a week.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've had a couple of pullets start to lay as early as 16 weeks of age. Tiny pullet eggs. Most of mine tend to start between 20 and 27 weeks of age. But you might enjoy this story.

I'm on the opposite side of the equator from you so the months are off by 6. I had 3 pullets from a breeder that hatched in early March that did not lay until the second week of December. Nine months old. Pretty much the shortest days of the year but the days were still barely getting shorter. My only blue egg layers so I knew it was them. Two started laying two days apart, the other one waited a couple of more weeks to start laying. By all the rules they should not have started laying then.

I hatched other pullets with them from my eggs, not the breeder's eggs, but that were raised with them. Those were laying around 24 weeks as normal. I hatched some eggs from those blue eggs crossed with my rooster. Those pullets started laying around 24 weeks like my regular pullets, not like their mothers. I have no idea what happened. The breeder was surprised they took that long to start laying.

You have another month until your days start getting longer but don't give up all hope.

What can I do to kickstart things?

Some people use artificial light to extend the daylight hours. The days getting longer is a sign Spring is here so it is time to start laying. I don't like to do this because you can cause them to stop laying and molt if the light suddenly stops and makes them think the days are getting shorter again. But many people play with the lights.

By not letting the days get shorter you can keep them laying longer. You do not have to make the days get longer to keep them laying, just stop them from getting shorter. That's why you don't want the lights to go out once you start.

Daylight starts and ends at different times both in the morning and the evening. Chickens don't care which end is getting longer or shorter, just total length. Some people use a timer and change light in the morning only, some in the evening only, and some both. With all of these some will tell you why their way is right and all other ways are wrong, even if they have not tried the other way.

A pullet or hen that is not laying will not immediately switch to laying mode. Before she can lay she has to grow ova inside her to yolk size to form the yolk, they are very small before she grows them. She has to make some changes to her internal plumbing, it dries up when she is not laying. This can take a few weeks. Don't expect immediate results.

I'd suggest you add maybe 10 to 15 minutes to the current day length and hold that steady for three or four days, than add another 10 to 15 minutes. After you've added 30 to 45 minutes stop and maintain that day length until your natural day length matches. Then you can turn off the lights.

After they have laid for 13 to 15 months straight their bodies need to molt and refresh. Egg production can drop and you can start getting some weird eggs. Thats why commercial operations have to either replace their flock or force a molt after a certain time period. Production drops and egg quality declines so much they are no longer profitable.

 

[Gloria112]

Thanks for the detailed reply Ridgerunner! I hadn't even thought of manipulating day length using lights. My hens are in quite an open coop and so it might be tricky to give the illusion of daylight, but I'll give it some thought.

 

[Gloria112]

As long as they are healthy and getting good quality food, they will lay when they are ready. You can't hurry it.

One thing to look for is when a hen squats in front of you. It is a very obvious behavior. She is indicating that she is about ready to go and will start laying in a week or so.

One of my hens has started to squat when I stroke her on the back, so maybe things are changing!

 

[FiveMileCreek]

I have five 29-week old Black Australorp hens and still no sign of an egg from any of them! They have been on layers pellets since 23 weeks and appear happy and healthy. I am starting to wonder if the breeder wasn't honest about heir date of birth, but I don't know how to age them. Here is a picture of them 3 days ago. What can I do to kickstart things?

(PS I live in Johannesburg South Africa)

I feed all my chickens, chick starter! I used to feed my hens a layer pellets, but they got to wasting it and would lay less during winter and lower body condition. So I feed chick starter year round to everything.
This is not the first Australops that haven been not laying at a decent age. Most will start around 20 weeks (5 months). Mine usually start 16 weeks (4 months) old.

 

[Gloria112]

I have five 29-week old Black Australorp hens and still no sign of an egg from any of them! They have been on layers pellets since 23 weeks and appear happy and healthy. I am starting to wonder if the breeder wasn't honest about heir date of birth, but I don't know how to age them. Here is a picture of them 3 days ago. What can I do to kickstart things?

(PS I live in Johannesburg South Africa)

One of my girls laid her first egg yesterday! She started squatting when I stroked her about a week ago. Unfortunately she also broke the egg, but at least we're turning a corner. She is 30 weeks and 3 days old. Nothing from the other 4 yet, although one of the others is also squatting.

 

[TooCheep]

One of my girls laid her first egg yesterday! She started squatting when I stroked her about a week ago. Unfortunately she also broke the egg, but at least we're turning a corner. She is 30 weeks and 3 days old. Nothing from the other 4 yet, although one of the others is also squatting.

Sorry you lost the egg. At least you know they are starting.

Brand new layers can have glitches as they start laying. Was it thin-shelled, simply laid in a place that would let the egg break, or possibly broken by the pullet?
-A single thin-shelled egg is not good, but if their system straightens out, no problem.
-Pullets laying in a bad location at first generally quickly figure out what "that feeling" is and go to the nests to lay.
-Pullets explicitly pecking and eating eggs is a more serious problem and needs to be addressed ASAP.

 

[Gloria112]

Sorry you lost the egg. At least you know they are starting.

Brand new layers can have glitches as they start laying. Was it thin-shelled, simply laid in a place that would let the egg break, or possibly broken by the pullet?
-A single thin-shelled egg is not good, but if their system straightens out, no problem.
-Pullets laying in a bad location at first generally quickly figure out what "that feeling" is and go to the nests to lay.
-Pullets explicitly pecking and eating eggs is a more serious problem and needs to be addressed ASAP.

Thanks TooCheep

She laid in the nest box so I don't think it's to do with location. I'm watching closely for the next one - hopefully it won't be broken but if it is I can try to get to the bottom of it!