19 and a half weeks old and still no eggs :( egg countdown anyone??

[bobbieschicks]

Well my year old B. Rocks (2 female one roo) were laying about a egg a day between them untill I let her highness set on ten eggs.... six babies later they are too busy taking care of their young to lay... Her Highness likes to attack my feet when i go to feed them and the other female is as sweet as can be and lets me pet her.... but boy do i miss the fresh eggs.... hopefully not much longer till they are laying again.

They usually start laying again 4 weeks after the babies hatch. At least that's when my broodies have done it.

 

[chookwhisperer]

2 isa browns approx 18 weeks, put a couple of ping pong balls in and waiting impatiently...

 

[DawnS]

I have 7 lovely ladies (2 red sex links and 5 black sex links). Scarlet, one of my reds, started laying on June 30th and NONE of her sister chicks have laid yet!!! They will be 20 weeks old tomorrow. It is driving me insane (more like EGGSANE) waiting!!!! The lid to my nest box will need new hinges soon due to my impatient multiple-times-a-day opening and closing of it to look for eggs. Apparently not only will a watched pot not boil, but neither shall a watched hen lay!!!

 

[real_redhead]

One of my 18 week old did the egg squat the other day so the countdown has begin. Now I go out and try to pick them up to see if the others will do the egg squat!! So exciting!

 

[bruceha2000]

I know you've been patiently waiting for your first eggs and are thinking 19 weeks is way past due, but I have an Ancona that is 50 weeks old and she STILL hasn't laid an egg! UGH!

We have a dozen 5+ week old chicks (our first chickens ever), 2 are Ancona. I hope they don't pull the "50 week and still not laying" trick. I've got several people waiting (some a bit impatiently, especially given the current age of the girls) for us to have surplus eggs to sell!

I was shocked when my 2 white pullets began laying at 16-1/2 weeks. I didn't even have the nesting boxes in their coop yet!

Looks like I better modify my "still plenty of time to make the nest boxes" timeline, just in case. I didn't figure to see any eggs until they were at LEAST 20 weeks old so I wouldn't need nest boxes until mid November at the very earliest.

Bruce

 

[Shenanigans1]

Ok 26 weeks.....but whos counting.

 

[galanie]

After having one start laying at 11 months I no longer count weeks. I do months. The wait can be excruciating!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Haha - I don't think you have to worry - they usually lay around the same time that White Leghorns start - around 19 weeks (although someone I on BYC had a WL that was at week 38 before she laid her first egg) - because they are both a Mediterranean breed. I'm seriously thinking she was defective since birth as she was the only one that hatched out of a clutch of 24 eggs during the hottest part of last summer. Maybe she will one day lay - but I am not holding my breathe.

We have a dozen 5+ week old chicks (our first chickens ever), 2 are Ancona. I hope they don't pull the "50 week and still not laying" trick. I've got several people waiting (some a bit impatiently, especially given the current age of the girls) for us to have surplus eggs to sell!



Looks like I better modify my "still plenty of time to make the nest boxes" timeline, just in case. I didn't figure to see any eggs until they were at LEAST 20 weeks old so I wouldn't need nest boxes until mid November at the very earliest.

Bruce

 

[chicknlove]

Thanks for the sympathy! I don't know. I keep saying I'm going to rehome him. I even put him on CL and mentioned him on the local forum on this site. But I could also just take him down to my feed store, and so far I haven't... I have at least two other, possibly three other cockerels. I will keep one or possibly two, but I'd prefer to keep ones that I'd want chicks from. I don't have Silkie hens, and don't really want to make Silkie mixes... On the other hand, I got him with a pullet he grew up with, my Light Brahma, and they are buddies. I feel bad sending him off on his own, and leaving her in the pen with other chickens that all came in sets of two or more, as they seem to form their closest attachments young. But maybe it's okay. we'll see. He's a really cute little guy.

He's beautiful! I just mentioned my roo to the chicken lady at the feed store. She's always so great knowing the needs of all her customers. She was able to find a fam looking for a roo because theirs had been attacked by a cyote. They were so happy to have him and I didn't feel quite so bad giving him away. Sometimes it just works out

 

[chicknlove]

SO... I thought after the first egg it wouldn't be too aweful exciting anymore.. WRONG.. Now I think I go to check for eggs 20x more often than before. Eh whadda ya gunna do?